The RNC’s “winter retreat” for major donors at Los Angeles’ Beverly Wilshire Hotel featured such party stalwarts as Karl Rove, RNC chairman Robert Duncan, former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams, as well as some Hollywood types, including Dave Berg, a segment producer and “political director” for "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. But chief among the RNC’s concerns were how to keep a tight grip on the White House this fall. Plenty of lowbrow Hillary Rodham Clinton jokes were tossed around at the three-day event, (classy )but of highest concern was the notion of Obama seizing the Oval Office in a contest against presumptive GOP nominee John McCain. “We all dislike Hillary,” declared Southern California Rep. Ken Calvert, from the Inland Empire east of Los Angeles, echoing thoughts of the roughly 75 attendees at a Sunday morning RNC session. “Forgetting who will be the easiest to beat, I've got to tell you, a President Hillary doesn’t scare me nearly as much as a President Obama.” After spending at least the past year planning on how they'd run against Hillary Clinton in 2008, Republican operatives are now busy putting together a plan of attack against Barack Obama now that he's currently out front for the Democrats. Among their points against him, according to a plan laid out at an RNC retreat: • He is not ready to be commander in chief. • Taking a page from the Hillary Clinton campaign, he had a "pattern of voting 'present'" in the Illinois legislature. • The Republicans "can be confident in a campaign about issues," seemingly in contrast to his mere rhetoric. • He is inexperienced. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8564.html If that is all the RNC's got, we might as well show Obama the Oval office right now!
It's kind of disturbing to me that somebody from the Tonight Show would be sitting around with republican strategists when his job on the show is "political director." I'd like to think they make fun of politicians for the sake of making fun of them, not as part of some political attack strategy. You never heard of SNL writers meeting with Republican or Democratic strategists to come up with ideas to make fun of Clinton and Bush.
Not ready to be the commander in chief, not bothering to vote, being weak in campaign issues, not having experience.....it seems he has no redeeming qualities at all to be president since those topics cover all aspects of the job. Oh well, he gives a good Joel Osteen style speech where we all leave smiling, yet somehow dumber
I heard a Rush Limbaugh promo this morning where he said that Barack Obama was going to end the designated hitter rule, institute a college football playoff system, and mandate Free Beer Fridays. He might have my vote, now.
In the interest of fairness, while I'm sure the GOP is gearing up for an attack on the Democratic candidate (hopefully Obama), I'm quite sure the Democratic Party is gearing up for an attack on McCain. Shame on both of them. The debate focus should be on issues rather than tissues.
Obama and I agree Still, it's helpful to be able to see where the discussion from republicans will come from.
I'm confident that the issues the Democratic promotes will be the very ones that Republicans will find errant in some way -- and vice versa. Once each side has expounded endlessly on the "talking/shouting" points, the voters will finally decide.
I'm confident that the 100 year war/occupation, flip-flopping on waterboarding, and McCain's own words about the original Bush tax cuts will stick like glue.
The sad truth is that the Republicans will be slamming the battleground states with thinly disguised racist attacks: Do you really want a black man as President? The good news though is the hard right will also be *attacking* their own candidate, McCain. McCain will find it hard to raise money and there could be a significant no-show fro him at the polls.
Isn't this exactly the Clinton line of attack too? You'd think they'd at least come up with at least ONE new idea?
Keating five guy attacking Obama over some random donor? That's as absurd as a lazy, privileged draft dodger attacking Kerry's war record.
That sounds like the exact same attacks that Hillary has unsuccessfully used on Obama so far. Also since Obama voted in more Senate votes than McCain during this campaign season, I don't think that will go very far for the GOP.
All McCain has to do is highlight his positions on all the issues. Obama wants to raise taxes, immediately withdraw from Iraq regardless of the consequences, and negotiate with leaders like Ahmadinejad and Chavez. He can also hit him on the issue of earmarks and wanting to give driver's licenses to illegals. Obviously Obama has zero experience and has no business being elected President. But I think McCain can show that simply by pummelling him in the debates on the issues. For all the fawning the media has done over Obama's oratory skills on the campaign trail, the guy has been mediocre at best at quite a few of the Dem debates.
The one issue of Obama's that I think Republicans can really pound him on is gun control. Part of his platform is a nationwide ban on concealed carry permits, and he has mentioned banning all semi-automatic weapons. Regardless of your feelings on this, I can promise you that it won't sell well between the coasts. It's a very easy topic to get a fear vote on, and I would expect either the Republican Party or more likely, a Gun Rights PAC to hammer this from the time he's nominated until the election.
You may be right. If it's not this issue, there will be a couple of others where the GOP will tar and feather Obama the best they can. Something like Willie Horton, the ACLU, Swift Boating, etc. When it comes to the use of fear-mongering in presidential elections, the GOP has the Dems beat by a mile.
