Pajamas Media » Finally, the Real Campaign Begins

Finally, the Real Campaign Begins

With the general election campaign suddenly underway, Barack Obama tours the swing states while John McCain works to shape the battlefield to his advantage.

June 9, 2008 - by Bill Bradley

Now that Barack Obama, as expected, is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, he and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain are off and running in the general election. This week, Obama, who campaigned in new swing state Virginia last Thursday, embarks on a two-week tour of old and new general election battleground states, focusing on growing popular concern about the economic downturn. McCain, for his part, has launched a swing state TV advertising campaign, emphasizing his and his family’s naval service and his priority of keeping America safe. One key question for Obama now that he is finally free of the hard-fought Democratic contest with Hillary Clinton, once the overwhelming favorite, is how quickly and how thoroughly her voters come over to him.

Much has been made of fully a quarter of them telling pollsters that they will vote for McCain. But I recall that half of McCain’s backers in 2000, just after he lost to George W. Bush, said they would never vote for Bush. Most of them changed their minds by November, and Bush of course became the president.

California Senator Dianne Feinstein, a staunch backer of Hillary who also urged her to end her campaign, played peacemaker, hosting a secret Obama-Clinton meeting at her home in Washington.

On Saturday, Hillary Clinton came out strongly for Obama, in one of the best speeches she’s ever given, firmly endorsing him and exhorting her supporters to work for him and vote for him.

Of course, Clinton wants to be Obama’s running mate. I thought at first that she didn’t, and wrote that in my Game Day coverage last Tuesday. But I was quickly disabused of that notion by an old friend of the Clintons, who told me that Hillary definitely wants to be Obama’s vice president, and that Bill had come up with the idea weeks earlier. Then later that night, with her non-concession speech, it became apparent that Hillary was trying to force her way onto the Obama ticket, a move which failed, at least for now.

Obama has wrested control of the national Democratic Party away from the Clintons, who dominated it for the previous 16 years. If Hillary is on the ticket, they retain an ownership interest in the party, albeit a minority ownership interest. How that might work, with Obama dealing not only with the strong-willed Hillary but also the hard-to-control Bill, is another question.

But there will be plenty of time for speculation about running mates for both Obama and McCain. The Democrats don’t meet in Denver until late August; the Republicans don’t meet in St. Paul until early September. In addition to launching his national tour — today Obama campaigns in North Carolina (a state he can, with his superior fundraising machine, at least force the Republicans to defend) and Missouri — Obama is hiring top operatives to work with Michelle Obama and to deal with Internet rumors about him.

For months, I was hearing from sources, some of them around the Clinton campaign, that Obama’s candidacy was just about to be destroyed by new revelations about him. But time passed, Obama kept getting closer to the nomination, and it became obvious that nothing like that had happened.

Last week, there was a bizarre situation centering around a claim made by a very shrill, ostensibly pro-Hillary website that Michelle Obama had been at an event at Trinity Church with Louis Farrakhan, and had engaged in a lengthy condemnation of “whitey.” And that tape, or maybe a DVD, of this was just about to be produced. The story then kept changing, as key details like who/what/when shifted around.

The story got more attention on the right than on the left, with many hoping that this might be it for Obama. But it was finally debunked by a libertarian writer for Reason. I don’t think this sort of thing is going to bring down Obama. It’s not that kind of year. But clearly Obama, who has the resources to do many things that past Democratic candidates have not, wants to avoid distractions as he focuses on widespread popular concerns about the economy, the war, and so forth.

It’s McCain’s challenge this week to try to define the terms of the election, even as most of the focus is on Obama with his new national tour. With the keys to victory lying in the hands of independent and moderate voters, McCain has to distance himself from President Bush — who is near historic levels of presidential unpopularity — find an economic message, and define the ongoing presence in Iraq as key to preventing the rise of Islamic jihadism. And he has to do it while hanging on to conservative base voters, many of whom are upset that a candidate further to the right is not the nominee.

McCain’s new TV ad, trying to shift focus back to security from the economic woes that have taken center stage, is a start.

Bill Bradley is a Pajamas Media correspondent. His PajamasXpress blog is New West Notes.

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22 Comments

1. New West Notes » Monday Morning Quarterback:

[...] You can see the whole MMQB on PJ Media. [...]

Jun 9, 2008 - 8:28 am 2. kevin:

The real question is why would supporters of Clinton want to support McCain, this just goes beyond political alliances and is more of a popularity contest. What goes through peoples mind’s when they want a president just like the one who will precede him. I mean is the economy not in shambles or Bush just expresses optimistic woes to stop people from complaining. Bush gave is endorsement to McCain so that means they have similar policies so why would anybody in their right mind want Bush’s polices and corrupt alliances with big businesses, the white house should not be able to be bought and war should not be option. All reasons why the economic status of our country is in the toilet because it actually takes a person who “knows what is up” than somebody who is “told what is up”

Jun 9, 2008 - 9:25 am 3. Nick Fair:

Plain and simple – Clinton is nuts so its no surprise she’s out… we’ll see about the other nutjobs going for the presidency though, but I don’t have much faith. I saw this funny video with Hillary Clinton dancing (its above at my URL). I thought she lost… We need change in 2008!

Jun 9, 2008 - 9:32 am 4. gaby43:

Yes, finally the REAL CAMPAIGN begins, but guess what, OBAMA is now alone, an African American alone, in front of most “Racial Attitudes which poses a Challenge to Obama”. Let us be REALISTIC and not dream or believe in nice speeches, that the Democratcs think it will convince the American citizens.
Alone OBAMA is half the way capable to win this battle against McCain, he might have good intentions, good speeches, but the American people have THEIR OWN QUESTIONS and doubts first on his origin, his middle name Hussein, where does he come from a Kenya family on his father side, about his family’s background NOT ONLY IN THE UNITED STATES on his mother’s side, BUT IN KENYA, how long did he actually lived in the United States. I know that all this sounds unfair to him, but that is REALITY, that is how PEOPLE THINK at the time of voting States like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Florida, some might think he is little too slick and smooth, too young, not much experienced, whether he was born Muslim and raised Muslim, some may be troubled by his ties, now broken, to a former pastor who cursed the United States and accused the government of possible conspiracies against blacks.

ALL THESE QUESTIONS THOUGH UNFAIR TO SOME OF US, are real way of thinking of American people, they have their values and respects over wearing and “wear a flag pin”, otherwise they feel and say “Obama’s not one of us”. In politics you cannot deny what is a reality in
the AMERICAN SOCIETY, what is present in their minds of most citizens.

I think IT IS A PRECIOUS TIME WHICH is already passing and who know time that will be lost by OBAMA, if he does not react soon and decides to announce and NOMINATE HILLARY CLINTON as the VICEPRESIDENT. Perhaps out of convinience to his present situation, where as an African American, he is NOW ALONE, to face all these problems, all these feelings, all these questions unresolved or with no transparent solution. Not to have next to him Hillary Clinton, to back him up and continue to obtain the support of MANY AMERICANS VOTERS for the coming elections. I KNOW LIFE IS UNFAIR SOMETIMES, BUT NOW HE HAS ON HIS SIDE ALSO TO ACCEPT, THAT THERE IS A NEED THAT HE HAS TO FACE. Recognition of it will make him stronger in the face of American voters, believe me.

Jun 9, 2008 - 9:44 am 5. chester:

Gaby43’s treatise is nothing new among people who can’t accept defeat or realization that from the ashes the phoenix can rise to meet the challenge of a better USA without George Bush and his surrogate, John McCain.

Reality can appear differently depending on the eyeglasses you use, and sometimes a person who is legally blind has a better eyesight than one who talks about seeing better than the rest of humanity domiciled in the US.

In other words, I don’t believe you gaby43.

Jun 9, 2008 - 11:12 am 6. Douglas Bogle:

Win at all cost. Vote for your party line. Vote for who tells the best lie. But whatever you do do not think for yourself.

if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck it must be a….. politician.

Nobody will save us but ourselves. Look hard at the two men running.

Neither is the answer. Ouch

Jun 9, 2008 - 12:44 pm 7. john:

KEVIN
“Bush gave is endorsement to McCain so that means they have similar policies so why would anybody in their right mind want Bush’s polices and corrupt alliances with big businesses.”
HMMMM The so called REV. Wright gave Obama his endorsement so they must have similar policies.

Jun 9, 2008 - 1:25 pm 8. MarkJ:

Conversation between Hillary and Obama aide overheard after her “secret meeting” with Obama:

“Baracky Obama never gets the nomination! That part is perfect for him, it’ll make him a big star, and I’m gonna run him out of the Denver convention hall, and let me tell you why. Baracky Obama ruined the Democratic Party’s most valuable protege—ME. For twenty-five years I’ve been in training. Singing lessons, acting lessons, dancing lessons. I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on myself and I was gonna be a big star! And let me be even more frank, just to show you that I’m not a hard-hearted bitch, and that it’s not all dollars and cents. I used to be beautiful! I used to be young! I was innocent! I was the greatest piece of ass the Democrats ever had, and Bubba’s had’em all over the world! And then Baracky Obama comes along with his olive oil voice and post-racial charm, and my party runs off with him. My party threw it all away just to make me look ridiculous! And a woman in my position can’t afford to be made to look ridiculous! Now you get the hell outta here! And if any superdelegate goombahs try any rough stuff you tell’em I ain’t no Monica Lewinsky! Yeahhhhhh….I heard that story!”

Jun 9, 2008 - 2:43 pm 9. John:

Can you really call yourself a Hillary Democrat and then vote for John McCain who:

Repeatedly voted to deny low‐income women access to abortion care except in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment, even voting once to prohibit federal Medicaid funds for abortion services in any case.

Voted to permit federally funded Title X family‐planning clinics to decline to counsel women on abortion services. (in my opinion saying women are to stupid to make the right choice when given all the facts)

Voted against lifting the ban that forbids U.S. servicewomen from obtaining abortion services at overseas military hospitals with their own funds.

Voted to terminate the Title X family‐planning program, which provides millions of women with health‐care services ranging from birth control to breast cancer screenings.

Voted against funding teen‐pregnancy‐prevention programs and ensuring that “abstinence‐only” programs are medically accurate. (again in my opinion saying women are to stupid to make the right choice when given all the facts)

Voted for the domestic gag rule, which would have prohibited federally funded family‐planning clinics from providing women with access to full information about their reproductive‐health options. (again in my opinion saying women are to stupid to make the right choice when given all the facts)

Voted to uphold the global gag rule, a policy that bans overseas health clinics from receiving U.S. family‐planning aid if they use their own funds to provide legal abortion services, give referrals, or even take a public pro‐choice position.

Voted to de‐fund the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an organization that provides family‐planning services – not abortion – for the world’s poorest women

Voted to earmark one‐third of all HIV/AIDS prevention funds for ineffective, unproven, and dangerous “abstinence‐unless‐married” programs.

Voted to take $75 million from the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant to establish a new “abstinence‐only” program that censors information about birth control. (again in my opinion saying women are to stupid to make the right choice when given all the facts)

You are going to vote for him even when he says:

When asked about whether he supported supplying condoms to Africa to assist in the fight against HIV/AIDS, McCain had the following exchange with a reporter:
• Reporter: “What about grants for sex education in the United States? Should they include instructions about using contraceptives? Or should it be Bush’s policy, which is just abstinence?”
• Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy.”
• Reporter: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”
• Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”

In one of the most important health crisis facing the our nation and the world – THIS is his response? “You’ve stumped me.”

Vote the issues, please.

Jun 9, 2008 - 2:45 pm 10. Bill Bradley:

I think in the end that JM gets very few of the Hillary voters. At this stage in 2000, half of JM’s supporters said they wouldn’t vote for Bush. That changed, dramatically. It’s part of the emotional dynamic of a heated primary campaign.

Jun 9, 2008 - 3:51 pm 11. Bill Bradley:

A sense of humor is important in politics …

>MarkJ:

Conversation between Hillary and Obama aide overheard after her “secret meeting” with Obama:

“Baracky Obama never gets the nomination! That part is perfect for him, it’ll make him a big star, and I’m gonna run him out of the Denver

Jun 9, 2008 - 3:52 pm 12. Bill Bradley:

And who is the bigger albatross?

>john:

Jun 9, 2008 - 3:53 pm 13. Bill Bradley:

These are issues that Obama needs to deal with. They will probably not be determinative in this election.

>gaby43:

Jun 9, 2008 - 3:54 pm 14. Bill Bradley:

In the end, particularly since the Clintons will be out there campaigning for Obama, they won’t.

>kevin:

Jun 9, 2008 - 3:55 pm 15. Bill Bradley:

And what’s so bad about dancing?

>Nick Fair:

Jun 9, 2008 - 3:56 pm 16. seansarto:

O-bummin’ fer change…I don’t see the sense of votin’ fer either of these candidates outside of RACE (Or because folks like Bono think Africa is where it’s “AT”. I’ve been around Bono…he’s got his own assets to protect an’ that makes him no great judge of character.)…Which is really the moot of the spin goin’ on here.(How did these low-life’s get such power?..Who let that slip by? It’s not like an issue such as LABOR or WAR..Race has no bearin’ outside of this “sumethin’ fer nuthin” crowd lookin’ ta sieze the run of the show. Face Value Pathological politics.) It’s an outright stab in the back…Cosmetics in a dark age of consequence.(“Race”,at this point to anyone close enough to see it for what it is, is negligible…but some want ta keep that cash cow kickin’ fer their own thread bare distinctions.Look at LA’s court system an’ how it’s dollin’ out federal bucks, to whom, an’ why,under whose influence an’ how that protect’s those distinctions not protected under constitution an’ law (though they’d like to see the ammendment)…I’ll say it again the “American Dream” is not in the nation’s constitution for common sense an’ philosophoical sound reason..Too much leeway there in the fabrication of it by commercial entities of economic principles tryin’ ta highjack the social priciples of the nation to suit their own purposes..)…Ya gotta ask who has a RIGHT to such things…an’ why that is. If you build yer house an’ yer in a peaceful way about it, an’ somebody pops up on yer doorstep demandin’ entrance…They have no right to it, to say they do is kinda more communist then all the Koreans in North Korea….(an’ speakin’ of North Koreans, let’s talk about who’s on that axis of evil an’ who’s curiously been left off..so as not to “offend” our dainty toed racists in these here states.) Anybody usin’ “race” as a means of empowerment, political office especially..either side of the fence is not engagin’ in free market capitalisim. It’s sayin’ I have to let him in my house just because of the way he looks…doesn’t matter if he’s a thief, or part of a gang of such…Suddenly some bum’s got the support of law, he’s got an’ officer who shares no hand in the weight of the issue to apply force to lay down in my own child’s bed. That’s rapin’ me big man. Pissin’ in my pool…don’t matter ’bout how swell the party or the little song an’ dance goin’ on.Man turns his back on his family..he’s suicide.
What i can say is that at least with McCain,I can see that he’s a man who knows the phsycological torture of an’ enemy as well as those he counts as “friends”…Outside of that I don’t know the man. But he seems to have kept his mind. Sadly, I can relate to that here in the USA 2008 more then I care to….Woulda rather seen him run in 2000 though…then after all the political maneuvers of the last 8 years.

Jun 10, 2008 - 11:17 am 17. Bennett:

Obama should choose Ron Paul to be his Vice President.

Jun 10, 2008 - 1:15 pm 18. Bill Bradley:

That’s a good way to finish off his candidacy.

Jun 10, 2008 - 3:19 pm 19. Bill Bradley:

Okay then.

>seansarto:

Jun 10, 2008 - 3:20 pm 20. LCSusan:

It may seem odd but as a Hillary supporter I am glad the primary race is finally over and hopeful that she will not accept an invitation to be on the bottom of the ticket (and except for pressure from some of HRC’s supporters I would imagine there are few things the Obama-ites would like less than an Obama/Clinton ticket). I also do not want this election decided by anything other than well run, above board campaigns on both sides. Still, no matter what history may say, the hurt felt by many Hillary supporters is far different from that felt in previous elections and the DNC would do well to realize that my vote is not a given.

http://strictlyanecdotal.com/2008/06/10/the-suspension-of-senator-hillary-clintons-campaign-came-almost.aspx

Jun 10, 2008 - 4:37 pm 21. Ken Hahn:

With Obama’s win in the Democratic race the only real change will be that the media will be trying to hide his radical policies from the general public instead of just Democrats. It’s going to be a tough year for me. Every time the Democrats almost persuade me to vote for McCain, McCain does his best to convince me to vote for none of the above. We are left with the choice of Bush’s third term or Carter’s second. Heaven help us.

Jun 11, 2008 - 10:51 pm 22. Bill Bradley:

Yes. Just as they hid Hillary Clinton’s policies. Which are down the line the same as Obama’s …

Jun 12, 2008 - 6:58 am

Finally, the Real Campaign Begins

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