here is this young guy, who's done more in a single year than they've done in their political lifetimes. obama's rallying the masses with this new politics, yet he's black, which is causing them troubles, namely, how to make racist attacks without appearing racist. i'll say one thing, i'm glad i'm not a republican.
i'm hoping this is the year that voters reject negative politics. i'm hoping this is the year of the savvy voter, one who knows a distraction, one who knows the difference between a political trick and the real thing.
politico: Clinton, it seems, has been erased from the picture, Soviet-style. Republicans mostly act like she doesn’t exist—an unusual turn of events considering her run of big-state victories and the fact that not so long ago Republican campaign plans were predicated on the idea of Clinton as the Democratic nominee.
Indeed, her recent success has only increased the volume and ferocity of the attacks—not on her, but on Obama.
After her Pennsylvania win last week, the RNC did not send a single e-mail focused on Clinton through Monday. At the same time, the committee blasted out 18 that attacked Obama.
When McCain’s campaign last week launched a new morning e-mail to reporters detailing the day’s schedule and drawing attention to preferred stories, they signaled the candidate who has their undivided attention.
Included each day along with critical articles about Obama is the “Audacity Watch,” the smart-alecky rubric under which they take the Illinois senator to task for some public comment or policy position.
There has yet to be any mention of the senator from New York.
Nor did Clinton’s name surface other than in passing in a press release dressed up as a “memo” that was sent out last week by McCain campaign manager Rick Davis. While it ticked off reams of Pennsylvania exit poll data highlighting Obama’s potential vulnerabilities, there was again no discussion of potential Clinton weaknesses.
“Even though Hillary Clinton won this primary, Barack Obama is seen as the front runner among Pennsylvania Democrats and is perceived to be the candidate most likely to win the Democratic Party’s nomination,” Davis explained.
McCain himself has become more aggressive in hitting Obama.
On ABC’s “This Week” last Sunday, he raised, unprompted, the Democrat’s views on capital gains taxes and his ties to a member of the radical Weather Underground group. In a conference call with conservative bloggers Friday, McCain responded to a question about words of support a Hamas political adviser had bestowed on Obama by saying it’s “very clear who Hamas wants to be the next president of the United States.” He then noted leftist Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s support for Obama, as well.
Sunday, McCain ended his reluctance to go after the Illinois senator over Obama’s controversial pastor by bringing up two new statements made by Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
On Clinton, McCain has said next to nothing of late, including her only in broad critiques that are always twinned with shots at Obama.
