The buzz that made Obama’s campaign special in the primaries has dissipated and partially because they haven’t been consistently playing to Obama’s strengths. Obama and Co. have heeded conventional and wrong-headed wisdom on some things and not on others. As EJ Dionne points out in the Post:
It’s clear that Obama has lost control of this campaign. And he will not seize back the initiative with the sometimes halting, conversational and sadly reluctant sound bites he has been producing. The excitement Obama created at the beginning of the year has vanished, perhaps because his campaign (and, yes, many columnists) bought into the McCain campaign’s demonization of the big rallies. Absurdly, McCain is now contesting the terrain of change — and doing so at celebrity rallies of his own.
I remember during the run-up to the Ohio and Pennsylvania primaries, the Obama camp started ditching big rallies in favor of town halls where he could “relate” to working people. They deliberately downscaled the size and scale of their events – often choosing smaller venues like high school gyms instead of big university arenas. Maybe it helped with some folks – but it also took away from what made Obama special – his ability to show he could inspire the multitudes in a way no one else can. The made change look real.
So its time to start getting people fired up again by bringing back some of the big rallies that have been ditched in favor of small bore town halls aimed at providing TV images of Obama connecting with everyday folks. We need new voters pumped up. We need an army of volunteers. We need people to feel part of this so we need kick-ass rallies that give us/them something to be part of. I’m not saying get rid of the small townhalls at all – but arguing instead for a better mix of forums – with townhalls by day to provide footage for regional media evening TV broadcasts – and big mother rallies at night to keep the troops primed and maintain the excitement of this campaign.
And Obama should give a few more great speeches on topics that aim at the heart of what it is at stake in this election. His “race speech” back in March was a pivotal moment in deflecting the potential catastrophe Rev. Wright meant for him. How bout giving a speech about what changing America and its politics really means. How bout a speech on honor in politics – as a direct retort to the smear-laden campaign McCain has been running. When push comes to shove Obama has always been able to dig down and respond to challenges.
And beyond that – Obama just has to go after this thing with the fire in his belly he started it with. I think big rallies and big speeches will give him that. He thrives off em as much as the crowds he inspires. To get back in stride means going back in part to your comfort zone. He can’t stay within entirely to win – but he shouldn’t abandon it either.
Just some hand-wringing. I’d welcome responses talking about what else we can do to win this thing. I still think we will – but it will take everything we’ve got.
It appears to feature both of our candidates. You can RSVP here.
Knowing that Joe “Mr. Obtuse” Biden will be there, I have to ask. He doesn’t notice these things. Maybe he’s too old to run, his mind is farting.
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p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
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p> Sorry folks, I use a wheelchair and I’m not sitting at home in a corner. I am “MORETHANABLE” pronounced mor-tha-nabel meaning more than able.
After a night of drrinking at the Strangebrew Tavern on Market St.
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p>p.s. Are you sure that’s an RSVP list and not a spam-list? My understanding is that it’s at an open public square, but I could be wrong.
If by “spam list” you mean an excuse to capture your address to send out email you might be right. You can always unsubscribe as political campaigns are good about honoring such requests.
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p>I’d start by suggesting the hand-wringing be put on hold You have no idea how counter-productive it is. Obama’s message isn’t getting out because you’re busy NOT REPEATING IT.
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p>And, in another light, it’s actually kinda like a refusal of Obama. He’s the party leader now. You need to get behind him. I haven’t seen anyone do that yet. No one. I’ve only seen skittishness, second-guessing and criticism. You need to repeat his message often and loudly. You need to put away your quarterback hat (helmet?) and let him lead. You need to take your cues from him, not constantly blog about what he needs to take from you. You need to refrain from criticism of him and continue with criticism of McCain. (I know that you lanugo aren’t guilty of all these things, I’m only pointing out the general cases…)
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p>You are not, in fact, entitled to victory and you are not, in fact, responsible for defeat. Win or lose, at the end of this, if you’re true to yourself, you’ll only be entitled to sanity, that is to say: a good nights sleep.
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p>’Cause, if you believe in him, you have to believe in his capacity to lead and to get it done. He’s the general and he’s in charge. If he gives an order, unless it is clearly immoral, you should salute and get it done. That’s it. If he has a talking point, your only duty is to repeat it endlessly. You should not say, ‘well, maybe this, but he’s not doing that…’ or ‘I think he’s making a mistake…’ When it’s your turn and your running for office, I’ll take my cues from you. But now, it’s Obama. That’s what being in a party is all about.
I am looking hard at this election — and once again finding neither party particularly appealing. It is fascinating watching the Demos stumble and tumble as they try to attack the Superwoman female candidate with a daughter who will be a single mother (“hey, isn’t she supposed to work for us?” seems to be the subliminal line of thought). Even here in this bastion of tempered thought, criticism of the McCain-Palin seems shrill and poorly aimed. For example, the Bush Doctrine question was not fumbled nearly as badly as some here seem to think (linking to a definition in Wikipedia does not help your case). Don’t get me wrong: Palin did not answer the question well, but as the saying goes, you doth protest too much. She dodged it. And she should have dodged it: no one wants any part of the doctrine right now, not even Bush! And no candidate wants to answer a vaguely defined question about invading a specific country. I give her credit for political instincts here.
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p>The GOP for its part has operated only slightly more effectively, but man is it fascinating to watch the emotional Demo-implosion.
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p>So, I am standing outside two house parties, watching the goings-on inside. What is the best case that the Democratic Party can make? I have yet to see it. And it will take a lot more than overwraught repetition of the arguments made so far.
To those here who want to really help elect Obama, here’s the message until we hear otherwise (from Obama’s newest ad, out today):
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p>””We’ve heard a lot of talk about change this election. The question is… change to what? To me, change is a government that doesn’t let banks and oil companies rip off the American people. Change is when we finally fix healthcare, instead of just talking about it. Change is giving tax breaks to middle class families, instead of companies that send jobs overseas. Change is a president who brings people together. I’m Barack Obama, and I approve this message, because this year, change has to be more than a slogan.”
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p>Lather, rinse, and most importantly, repeat.
We have our democratic state legislature and governor to rip us off. In Massachusetts change would be welcome!
I have yet to hear about wheelchair accessibility in Manchester. We gimps vote also. As a matter of fact, there’s 3 million of us. If you don’t care about us, we’ll find someone who does. One of the other candidates mentioned being an advocate in Washington for us.
See:
http://www.barackobama.com/pdf…
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p>Palin said she would be an advocate for “families of special needs children.”
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p>Nothing about those in wheelchairs.
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p>For the record, I believe both McCain and Obama would be good for those seeking more accessibility. McCain co-sponsored the landmark Americans with Disability Act in 1990. Obama fought for similar legislation as a state senator and sought increased spending for veterans with traumatic brain injury in the Senate.
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p>Bush – who’s father signed the ADA – hasn’t been terrible either.
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p>However, my experience is that Republicans tend to be opposed to more regulations and mandates creating access as a general “small government” principle. Democrats tend to look more favorably on “unfunded mandates” like those included in the ADA.
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p>The Palace Theater, which will host the rally, says this on their website: “Accessibility: Any special needs should be mentioned at the time of ticket purchase. Box office personnel will do their best to accommodate any disability. The Palace Theatre has seven spaces reserved exclusively for patrons who require wheelchair-accessible seating.”
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p>I’d bet a bunch of money, the Obama campaign does even more to accommodate those with access issues from their end.
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Are wheelchairs “special needs”? The beginning of your post says no. In quoting the Palace Theater they say yes. Then again I’m “morethanable” pronounced mor-tha-nabel. I heard about the democratic state convention where it was “gimps to the rear”. I know from personal experience the Worcester Centrum doesn’t like us on the floor. Too much work for them. I think I’ll skip voting next week, none of them/you deserve a vote. No, I’ll bullet-vote Ed O’reilly. Kerry is that dispicable.
It’s an open air park, but I don’t know specific logistics, which is why I didn’t answer before.
I’m tied up in a primary contest so I haven’t done any canvassing for Obama. In the experience of those who have done it, has canvassing been effective?
you talk to, but I did find receptive people who were still making up their minds. I also found people who wanted Obama lawn signs (one a Republican for whom McCain’s choice of Palin seemed to be the last straw!), and people who would consider doing volunteer work.
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p>Remember, too, that I was doing canvasses focused on voter identification, not persuasion. Since a large number of people will let you know whether they’re Obama supporters, McCain supporters, or something in between, voter-ID canvasses are definitely effective in narrowing the field of people to be contacted in later passes.
All I can say is watch out for the dogs! Almost every house has a dog waiting for you to ring the bell so he can attack. In terms of effectiveness, that’s a hard call. The majority of people that I met did not want to disclose or were undecided. Several were concerned about who his running mate would be (at that time he had not picked Biden). Not a lot of stong “yes votes” considering I was there for several hours. I do plan on canvassing again at some point in the next week or so.
From your and AlanF’s responses, I get the sense that the Obama campaign’s canvassing operation is much more of a voter ID operation, for the get-out-the-vote effort in November, than a persuasion effort.
I think that describes it perfectly. I can’t recall if we were even provided with talking points. I think we just had hand outs. I know Obama did well there in the primary, but I wasn’t getting a whole lot of support there,
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p>Disclaimer: I stuck out like a sore thumb there.
is done by the pros after the run-of-the-mill volunteers (like me) have identified the people to target. Those pros are generally the actual staff. I base this on the fact that I’ve been told by staff “Don’t worry, we’ll talk with them later.” I’m not sure whether they actually recruit especially experienced and skillful volunteers to do persuasion canvassing. It wouldn’t be my cup of tea, which is why I’m perfectly content to focus on voter ID canvassing.
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p>I was provided with talking points both in July and in August. I can’t see why they wouldn’t send anyone out there without them — it’s cheap to photocopy a single flyer for each clipboard. I’ve never seen a clipboard without one.
However, I do have to disagree regarding the threat of dogs. Again this is what I experienced a few weeks ago in NH. Myself and the young man that I canvassed with were literally almost attacked by two dogs. This is not the first time that I have canvassed for a campaign, but is is the first time that I almost got mauled. I say this to say, to enter an unfamiliar place and not have any concerns for your safety i.e. dogs etc is not realistic. I would however go back again.
I’ve never been attacked by a dog in all the time I’ve canvassed, nor have I ever seriously been threatened. Barked at, yes, by dogs behind windows and owners. If I saw a dog that was threatening me without something or someone between us, I’d skip the house. Haven’t had to do that as far back as I remember.
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p>I assume that the bulk of the “persuasion” that I do involves showing the people who don’t want to disclose or are undecided that I care enough to show up at their house. Hard to quantify that effectiveness, but even if it means an overall effectiveness of switching 1 in 15 voters to my side, it pays off if the margin of votes is as close as it has been and if there are the number of canvassers on our side that there have been.
Has more lobbyists than McCain.
I don’t believe you, frankly.
… an interview on this subject.
I’ve seen a couple diaries that suggest the bounce is mostly limited to the South. McCain has a substantial lead there but in the other three quadrants, the Northeast, the Midwest, and the West, he remains behind.
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p>It does McCain no more good to win South Carolina by 20 points instead of by 2 points.
Everyone here in Essex County, Middlesex County, etc. have or know friends or relatives in New Hampshire. We speak with them regularly.
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p>The Obama-Biden folks are pushing canvassing in a battleground state like New Hampshire. But don’t underestimate the value of us building strength here so folks call people they know in New Hampshire, Maine, etc. and bring them onboard.
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p>Strength here in Massachusetts, a state that incredibly had 16-years of Republican governors, would assist in convinsing the voters of swing states to back Obama-Biden.
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p>We can win in New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Pensylvania, West Virginia, and other swing states if we see strength here. There isn’t much time.
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p>Go Obama-Biden!
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p>Yes we can!
I received the following email last night and I think it is important that you see the content. Regardless of the political polls and pollsters making statements about Massachusetts I have seen serious signs here in Woburn and the surrounding towns of real weakness in the National ticket. Mainly because the message has not hit home or been sold well
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p>”It’s the Economy Stupid” and we are in for some real trouble.
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p>But read for your self,
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p>I find the efforts thus far here in Massachusetts severely lacking to put a finer point Arlington and Lexington have an office with an extensive phone bank and have received no phone lists to call from the campaign. When I offered to provide some lists from NH they politely refused not wanting to over step their responsibilities and the Massachusetts chain of command.
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p>I hope information like this above gets everyone into a higher gear and realize we are in a fight of our lives, 2000 and 2004 are only relevant if you constantly remember we lost. We need more effort and a better effort if we want to win and thus far in my opinion and experience having worked for Gore and Kerry we are really lacking here in Massachusetts. This is by no means a safe state.
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p>Hope to see you in NH and on the phones in MA keeping New England Blue
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p>Best to All
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