The incompetence of McCain's campaign is so atrocious that the new hire can do nothing but good. If there's one thing we know about the Bush 04 campaign, it is that they were good at messaging and making lables stick, like flip-flopper. To this day, after 8 years of disaster from Bush, people still would rather vote for him than Kerry, citing that they cannot trust him for flip-flopping.

Sad to say, Obama is a flip-flopper. He wants to tack to the middle and hold on to the Obamacans so badly that he's gone back on many issues you all know. Of course he would still have our votes, but vote we do much less enthusiastically.

Rove is also becoming more active in trying different labels on Obama. Today in WSJ, he is asking: Can Obama buy the presidency? Couple this with the flip-flop move on public finance, this would get some traction as well.

But Obama isn't doing anything to start defining McCain. Throw a few labels out and see what sticks. How about an old grumpy man with a rich, plastically-enhanced wife with million dollar mensions? Of course, this is a job for the surrogates.

Posted at July 3, 2008 1:31 PM in response to McCain's New Campaign Boss Begins Tightening Grip On Operation

Judging from unscientific sampling of online feedbacks on various sites, this Gore thing really isn't helping much in terms of healing wounds or dispelling biases against Obama. A lot of Hillary supporters are dead set against Obama on grounds of alleged sexism or cheating, or both.

So Gore isn't gonna convert any Obama-haters. Anyone else sitting on the fence would have been for Obama since last week.

But can Gore blunt McCain's pro-environmental image? But then, you can attack McCain on many other grounds than the environment.

So I can't help but be disappointed at this Gore thing. Too little too late.

Posted at June 16, 2008 8:43 PM in response to Gore Endorsement Of Obama Could Help Win Over Undecided Or Embittered Democrats

Clarification: That Johnson is *not* Bob Johnson.
The full article here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121258746079045001.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

Posted at June 4, 2008 3:07 PM in response to Hillary Ally Says She Authorized Him To Launch Campaign To Make Her Veep

Troubling sign that maybe Obama is caving in on the VP choice: from wsj.com
---
Mr. Johnson is the former CEO of Fannie Mae who also oversaw the vice presidential vetting for John Kerry in 2004 and Walter Mondale in 1984. Holder was deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration and has been a senior legal adviser to Sen. Obama's campaign.
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Mondale ended up caving in to angry feminists and picked, you know who, to be the VP in 84 and the ticket went down the drain.

I hope Caroline Kennedy, who is also on the VP search team, would inject some common sense into it.

Posted at June 4, 2008 3:03 PM in response to Hillary Ally Says She Authorized Him To Launch Campaign To Make Her Veep

If Bob Johnson is on this VP thing, I'm sure it won't happen. Hillary can't be serious if she is using a loud mouth idiot like Johnson for this.

This VP thing is the only way Hillary can stay in the press. She can't accept going back to the senate with no reporters following her around.

Posted at June 4, 2008 1:30 PM in response to Hillary Ally Says She Authorized Him To Launch Campaign To Make Her Veep

Hey seats at the party is for *donors* who can help pay off some debt. Go away you free-riders, the queen's done with using you!

Posted at June 3, 2008 7:50 PM in response to Greetings From The Scene Of Hillary's Party Tonight

Honestly I find it condescending for people to crank up this pressure on Obama about his choice of Hillary as the VP.

Leave that choice to Obama. He's earned his right to that as our nominee. Have some respect and trust in his judgement.

VP choice isn't simple electoral math. And it certainly isn't popular vote math. So lots of people like Hillary, that's fine. But she's lost the nomination fight. And she is not entitled to anything, unless and until the rules are changed so that the runner-up automatically becomes the VP.

VP choice is about chemistry, compatibility in vision and style, and whether he/she complement the president.

I simply don't see that in the "dream" ticket.

And personally, I can't stand one more minute of HRC. She will taint the ticket with all the anger and victimhood mentality she's customed to, not to mention the disfunctional politics of the Clinton brand.

Hillary simply can't give it up. She needs to make life miserable for others.

Posted at June 3, 2008 7:03 PM in response to Hillary Campaign Downplays Reports That She Said She'd Be "Open" To Being Veep

More and more rational Clinton supporters are now seeing the folly in her stubbornness not to quit and are distancing themselves from HRC. See Feinstein, Rendall. What remain are die-hard followers, who are becoming a bunch of angry feminists that thought they've been victimized and they seek revenge. The longer she stays in with her little cult, the more she marginalizes the Clinton brand. Wouldn't that be a nice payback for Bill's indiscretions?

Maybe HRC can run for the National Victims of Sexism party in November. She would have, I guarantee you, less than 17 million votes.

Posted at June 3, 2008 1:30 PM in response to Why Does Hillary Continue? Because It Strengthens Her Emotional Grip On Her Supporters

Notice HRC keeps trumpeting the popular vote win, albeit a questionable one. She is signalling to SDs that now you've got cover to switch. The SDs that came out today were using the same line as the campaign about how she is the *stronger* candidate. Doesn't sound like someone giving up. She's not making these points just to win an argument. She is pulling strings behind the scene to get the weak SDs to flip.

Why the party for big donors? Well, if I were a poor congressman SD currently supporting Obama, and I see my #1 donor in that party, and I just got a call from Bill to switch on the TV. I guess I got the idea.

Obama can probably claim victory tomorrow, but the fight ain't over behind the scene until Denver.

Posted at June 2, 2008 4:43 PM in response to Hillary's Top Fundraiser Pooh-Poohs Idea That Tuesday Party Signals The End

McCain is shaping up to be quite a disaster for the republicans. In a week, he managed 3 gaffs over military and defense related issues.

Voted no on the GI bill.

Misspoke on Iraq troop level.

Admitted to have politicized the military.

This goes a long way to neutralize the national security advantage McCain has over Obama.

Posted at May 30, 2008 6:32 PM in response to McCain Concedes That Political Use Of Petraeus Picture Was A Goof