As anyone can tell from my infrequent diaries, I tend to be pessimistic and cynical even at the best of times. So I have delayed writing this diary, as it will probably be dismissed out of hand as being "Chicken Little" or even concern trolling. But then I saw the video in this diary
That really hits home the importance of this election, doesn't it? And yet this site, the largest and arguably the most influential political website in the country, continues to focus on small unimportant issues. In short, everyone is still obsessed with Palin.
I honestly don't get it. I thought the front pagers at least had more sense, but even markos is getting in on the act, with numerous posts on Palin's unimpressive and corrupt record. Let me be blunt: If this election is about Palin, we lose. Period. It doesn't matter how unqualified she is. It doesn't matter how corrupt she is, or how hardcore conservative her views, or what a hypocrite she is on issue after issue. It DOESN"T MATTER. Palin is attractive and likeable, and constantly attacking her will only help McCain.
Remember him? They guy actually running for President? Maybe we can re-focus on him. Yes, I understand that attacking Palin should undermine his campaign as well. But it's a losing strategy. People already think she was picked for solely political reasons. And guess what? It worked.
McCain is surging right now. Yes, it's a "convention bounce", but if we do not re-focus, it will last. Obama is losing this election, and the narrative needs to change. All the attacks on Palin do nothing but keep her in the media spotlight, which is exactly what Republicans want. It doesn't matter if there are negative attacks, people will just attribute that to politics. Meanwhile Obama gets less media attention, and with less exposure it becomes easier to swiftboat him.
So please, for the love of god, stop the Palin obsession. I'm starting to think that everyone on this site will continue to explore every damn detail of her political career long after McCain wins the damn election.
The biggest problem Obama has right now isn't Palin. It's that the Obama campaign missed its chance to define McCain early in the race. McCain's biggest strength is not his POW status, but rather his image as a "maverick" with integrity. That image needs to be attacked on a daily basis, both by the Obama campaign and those of us online, by relentlessly pointing out his ties to lobbyists, his constant flip flopping on issues for political reasons, and his strong support for Bush. In other words, portray him as just another politician.
The Obama campaign has done a good job with its "More of the Same" ads, but there needs to be more to it than the Bush support, and it needs to be harder hitting. Quite frankly I think it's too late to "define" McCain; coming out of his convention, he retains the public image of an independent with integrity. That's why McCain could afford to appease the base with Palin. He doesn't need to appeal to independents through actual issues, he can do it through his media created image.
I'm done ranting. Frankly I'm not too optimistic about this election. This diary, like others, will be ignored. Anything that expresses even the slightest concern about either Obama's strategy or this site's focus is treated as concern trolling. The same thing happened in 2004. It's as if people think that ignoring bad news will make it go away. I have every expectation that people on this site will continue to obsess over Palin, while McCain's poll ratings continue to inch upwards.
But there's still time. We can re-focus our efforts on McCain, and hammer him every day with his ties to lobbyists, his political corruption, his constantly changing political views. Just use the same energy and effort that has been spent on Palin and re-direct it to McCain, the actual opponent in this race.