As you have probably heard by now numerous times, the "no drama" edict is the one handed down from the top of the Obama campaign that permeates every facet of that organization. Every person hired to the Obama campaign gets the "no drama" speech when they are hired. We don't do drama here. Sorry. Tight ship and all that.
Perhaps it is the lull in the season, perhaps it is the fact that Obama is on vacation, perhaps it is the Olympics dominating the news cycle, but...a lot of us in the political realm and in the media are seeking the drama. Drama good. Boring bad.
Well, from what I can see, the drama doesn't help. And I'm taking the Obama no drama pledge from here on out.
Just witness in the past few weeks what the "drama" has resulted in:
1. The Veepstakes: Geesh. You'd think that whoever Obama picks for the second slot will absolutely make or break his chances to win. (Never mind that no VP candidate has really influenced election results in over 40 years.) But the "OMG, OMG, OMG, if Obama picks/does not pick Bayh/Kaine/Seibilus/Clark/Ming the Friggin' Merciless/Clinton/Gore/what's his-or-her name (?), the ticket is doomed, I tell you, doomed"...yeah, that's getting a little old. And it's drama.
Seriously, is the VP slot really that important? Meh. I wonder. Some will argue that Cheney makes it important, because Cheney really redefined the Vice-President's office as the most powerful ever. But...doesn't that have to do more with Bush than Cheney? And I sincerely hope we're not thinking Obama is anything like Bush. The only thing the Vice-Presidency really does is give a jump start to the nomination after Obama's presidency is over, but it doesn't guarantee it in any material respect. See Dan Quayle. Again, stop with the drama...much as I wouldn't like to see certain people get the nod, nobody's going to be a litmus test for me whatsoever.
2. John Edwards: Funny, really. Before Edwards confirmed his infidelity, some argued to me that if the story were true, it would absolutely doom Obama. Right before the convention, the focus would be on Edwards, and the whole world would see it. My retort was two words: Dick Morris. Bill Clinton's chief consultant in 1996 got caught with his pants down in a story that actually broke during the 1996 convention...the pundits have a field day...and guess what? Didn't hurt Clinton a bit.
Fast forward to 2008. The Edwards story is dying, except on Fox News, and doesn't seem to be hurting Obama at all. Go fig. Probably because Obama looks a hell of a lot better than Edwards at this point. But no drama Obama coasts through this one easily.
3. The Clintons: Ah, yes. Hillary is back in the news right before convention, and a lot of drama is being churned up on this one. Oh, the revelations of The Atlantic article! Oh, Bill isn't giving his full weight to the ticket! Oh, Hillary is putting her name into nomination! Drama, drama, drama!
To which I say...and? It's not Obama's drama...it's the Clintons' drama. And every time a spotlight is shone on a Mark Penn or Howard Wolfson quote, the drama spiral continues. So why even give it the time of day? It gives more attention to a true non-factor at this point. No need to tell Hillary supporters to get over it. No need to put up diaries on saying "no" to retiring Hillary's debt. No need curse out the Mark Penns or Howard Wolfsons of the world (no matter how much they may deserve it). Because when we do that, we are drama enablers. And believe me, the Clintons don't need anybody's help in that regard.
4. The Wimp and/or Screw Up Factor: We get this one a lot. Obama isn't hitting back hard enough, or conversely, Obama and his team are going to find a way to screw this up. Democratic insiders in Washington are already whispering it, and we in the unwashed masses are suckers for picking up on it. Daily calls for some sort of change in the strategy from the Obama camp, despite the fact he's still ahead in the polls, in the electoral count, etc., come and go like the weather.
And all of this hand-wringing is the point of the Obama camp's "no drama" policy in the first place. By demanding no drama from his staff, Obama himself is saying "we rise, we fall, on the strategy we lay out". Period. Because the classic case of drama killing a campaign...well, we've done that this year already. Exhibit 1: Hillary Clinton. Fact is, all the hand wringing in the world means nothing at this point, because the campaign really doesn't start until after Labor Day. With the Olympics on the tee vee and kids getting ready to go back to school, the average voter simply isn't paying attention at this point. Hate to say it, but it's true.
So, I'm adopting the Obama no drama policy. We will forge ahead with a clear vision and purpose in this campaign, and turn out every vote we can. At that point, we will win.
If we do that, the only drama we will get to enjoy is the Obama victory speech come November 4th. And THAT drama couldn't get a better script from Hollywood.