I watched the debate Friday night and had similar feelings to many Obama fans ... I thought he was the better candidate with superior plans, but that he could have been more aggressive. There were a couple moments when Senator Obama could have really stuck it to McCain.
Then again, McCain is the more aggressive of the two candidates and his aggression may yet sink him in this election. There was a key moment in the debate that has the potential to give Senator Obama the electoral votes he needs to take back the White House for real peoples' interests.
Follow me past the jump for the payoff.
I'm from Iowa where we grow corn and raise hogs. The economic engine that still drives the economy here is agriculture. The Ag voter is ripe for the picking for Obama right now if the message is driven home.
When Jim Lehrer asked Sen. McCain to name a program that he would cut because of the current economic crisis, he aggressively said that ethanol subsidies would end in his administration.
This is huge!
If we trumpet this issue then Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and probably Indiana will fall in the Obama column.
In todays Des Moines Register, Philip Brasher has a story that begins with the following line -
Democrats may have finally found a wedge issue to pry away some rural voters from the Republican party. Ethanol.
Understand that crop based fuel like ethanol and other cellulosic sources have increased land values here and have created a renewed prosperity for farm communities. In Des Moines, many "city folks" have invested their hard earned money in ethanol plants. These people are normally solidly in the Republican camp, but not any longer.
Here's another quote from the same article with a farm voter speaking with the local Republican organizer in northwest Iowa -
Klemme has been getting an earful when he stops in at the local grain elevator. "What's the matter with your candidate?" they ask him. "Why won't he subsidize our product?"
In Iowa, we already like Obama. He spend months here listening to our issues and meeting Iowans. McCain essentially blew us off.
If we push this narrative, which the hot head handed us himself, we can sink McCain in states he MUST WIN!
Let's do it!