I know, now that you've gotten nauseous, hear me out. And yes this is another suggestion from a nobody but it dovetails with what Josh Marshall has argued about how Obama needs consistent arguments.
Flame me if you want. Call me a concern troll. But I see what McCain is doing and Obama is not doing and something really needs to be done about it.
And here's the Rove recipe. Attack in 3s. Sounds simple. It is.
I witnessed Bush beat Ann Richards for governor and he did it by picking three issues which were weak about Richard's past 4 year term. He repeated these three over and over and over. Soon the campaign became about those three arguments. I believe one was a rise in teenage crime. There was so little to criticize her on but he found three. Soon the campaign becamse about those three issues and Richards was forced to play defense. And despite great popularity, she lost to Shrub.
It was Karl Rove who did this and he laughed about it later. Americans have such a short attention span, they won't spend time disecting issues. Pick three points and run with them. That's all you need. Three weaknesses of your opponent.
Why threes? It works. When writing persuasive papers or making a closing argument, uses threes. It works. Simple. Direct. Repeatedly.
McCain is doing it now. Drill here drill now. Taxes. Surge. Laced with those is his BS about how Obama puts ambition over country (ironic since McCain admitted doing so in 2000) as the reason for Obama's weaknesses.
That's what this campaign has become. A referendum on Obama's 3 weaknesses. And McCain says it over and over and over.
Compare Obama. Every week it's a different speech. He's either defending himself or jumping from subject to subject. People don't know what Obama is about except "hope and change".
Americans don't watch politics like we do. They have to be fed politics like Proctor and Gamble feeds them information about toothpaste or shampoo. Simple. Direct. Repeatedly.
Pick three things negative about McCain. Switch Hope and Change to those three. Let's say:
- More of the same.
- No healthcare plan.
- Lobbyist control.
Or whatever. McCain's 3 biggest weaknesses.
Say it over and over and over in every speech. Make those issues (or whatever are chosen) the subject of the campaign. Put McCain on the defensive. Make this a referendum on those three weaknesses of McCain.
Go ahead and give speeches on other issues but never without your appointed 3.
We have got to fight back. We have got to stop with this nuance campaign and get to basics.
Remember 1992? It's the economy stupid. Pick a frickin theme, pick your issues and stick to it!
OK now I've vented.