Office of the Independent Blogger

There was a really “cute” quote in this article that I’m a little interested in talking about.

“The trouble with Obama is that it is hard to attack the generic, positive appeal that he offers, just as it was hard in 1976 to get a bead on Jimmy Carter,” Steve Hayward, a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, told the Huffington Post. “Oddly enough, there is a prospect that the best course for the GOP would be to press Obama about his specific policy ideas, and then debate the substance of them. Imagine that!”

Indeed, while Obama fairs better than Clinton against every potential Republican challenger, most GOP observers still expect a close White House race. Republicans may be hesitant to make an issue of Obama’s personal attributes - preferring to let outside groups do the dirty work lest they be viewed as racially insensitive - but there are several areas in his political resume that could spark conservative backlash.

I think the Republicans would be best off defeating Barack Obama like they defeated John Kerry. Proxy slander, followed by an attempt to rebut his opinions on the issues but only on Conservative issues. Obama himself will be a threat to his own candidacy, as he won’t be running in front of Liberal College Kids in the general election and his face will remind every Republican voter that they are Republican voters.

If Mike Huckabee is the Republican nominee, the Republicans won’t need half as many personal attacks as they would if, say, Mitt Romney or Rudy Giuliani were running. The “negativity” of the coming election is going to hinge on what the Republican does, as usual, and the outcome depends on that as well.

What do Democrats have to do to win the upcoming election? Retain their states and win in the trenches of the swing states — Iowa, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. This is why I have trouble “picking” a Democrat to win, or predicting it: the Democratic base of electoral vote support is weak, and so are their candidates. Fortunately, the Republican candidate has been stronger but all through recent years — a weak Republican beats a weaker Democrat.

Someone will have to step up and be strong for Democrats to win. Can Obama be that man? Hillary? Edwards? I’m not sure.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 4th, 2008 at 10:57 pm and is filed under Outside Retort (Current Affairs).