Monday, April 07, 2008

BARACK OBAMA

Coming Slogan: 'Barack Obama: He's Not Who You Think He Is'

Today William Kristol writes, after meeting with many conservatives in recent days, including the memorial service for William F. Buckley, that many of them think Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States.

Ironically, it is the Democrats who think their man Obama may fall short.

A surprising number of Democrats with whom I’ve spoken expect a McCain victory. One told me he was struck by the current polls showing a dead-even race, suggesting both a surprising openness to McCain among Americans who disapprove of Bush and a striking hesitation among the same voters about Obama.

Then there’s the fact that we’re at war. As a Congressional staffer put it, “Here’s something to consider: Although Hillary will be out in May, she may determine the outcome in November. McCain’s secret weapon — among Clinton supporters — may be Hillary’s 3 a.m. national security ad.”

And an experienced Democratic operative e-mailed: “Finally, I think [McCain’s] going to win. Obama isn’t growing in stature. Once I thought he could be Jimmy Carter, but now he reminds me more of Michael Dukakis with the flag lapel thing and defending Wright. Plus he doesn’t have a clue how to talk to the middle class. He’s in the Stevenson reform mold out of Illinois, with a dash of Harvard disease thrown in.”

But this theoretical line of criticism for a 527 jumped out at me: "Last week, over drinks, one Republican strategist not affiliated with the McCain campaign mused about how an independent advertising effort against Obama might work. “Barack Obama: He’s not who you think he is” would be the theme. The supporting evidence would come from his left-wing voting record in Illinois and Washington, spiced up with fun video clips of Reverend Wright."

Liberals will howl, but that message is likely to fit. I suspect a lot of conservatives — perhaps once potential 'Obamacans' — now look at the candidate and conclude he's just more of the same in a smoother, slicker package.

Obama talks about changing the tone of our politics, but when the warmup act called John McCain a 'warmonger,' the Obama campaign disavowed the attack in a tepid statement only when the press asked about it. (Contrast that with McCain's pre-emptive, full-throated denunciation of a radio talk show host using Obama's middle name.) There are no accounts of gasps, boos, grumbles or murmurs in response to Ed Schultz' diatribe against McCain. Even if Obama wants to run a higher-minded campaign, no one around him seems to have gotten that memo.

His advertising recycles some of the best Clinton evasions. He brags that he takes no money from oil companies, forgetting to mention that corporations can't make contributions to candidates. He brags that he takes no money from lobbyists, but "he takes plenty of money and advice from those who work for lobbyists, such as former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle."

Bob Novak details how he can't get a straight answer out of the campaign on whether the candidate supports the D.C. gun ban or not.

Personal attacks, half-truths, flip-flopping and evasions... yeah, we've seen this movie before. When he first appeared on the national scene, Obama seemed like a fundamentally decent fellow, but recent evidence suggests he's not who we thought he was.

04/07 09:23 AMShare