The time in now when Obama and Clinton must show off their stuff as regards their ability to give this Republican Party its long overdue and well deserved blistering criticism for what its done to the American people and the world. Conversley, they must not allow themselves to be goaded into some sort of ugly Party-destroying internecine attack against each other because some pundits, and/or even some advisers, think that's how they will ascend to clear front runner status. They must show, especially in these final debates and the times that follow, that they have done their homework and are fully ready to dismantle this Bush hugging Mr. McCain and the Party he represents. The Democratic candidate who does this best will win the nomination and this is what long-suffering progressives have waited many years to witness. Now is the time.
The Republican Party and its 'more of the same' candidate John McCain must become like a Piñata doll for these Democrats. Foremost amongst the stuffings that need to be knocked out is the myth that the 'Surge' is working. While giving due to the relative reduction in American casualties, down from the all-time highs of 2006 and first half of 2007, Obama and Clinton must expose the fallacy of measuring the real quality of life in Iraq by this metric alone. The numbers of continuing suicide bombings, the near completion of ethnic (Sunni-Shia) cleansing and relocation as additional reasons some casualty figures and bodies in the street are finally lower must be noted. And the numbers of displaced residents to other areas of Iraq, refugees to neighboring counties and high unemployment must be made known. The ‘Surge’ has not yet come close to working if a return to near normalcy in daily life in Iraq is the proper measure it should be.
The downturn in the American economy as exemplified and fueled by the housing foreclosure debacle is among the next of the Piñata’s stuffings to be resolutely exposed. That the Republican Party’s generally permissive blind eye to corporate abuse and exploitation is only being especially highlighted by the real estate disaster where predatory lenders were given unfettered free-reign on vulnerable citizens in this most basic and precious aspect of American life – home ownership.
There is much more the Republican Piñata doll has accumulated in its innards that needs articulate and relentless exposure in the weeks and months ahead. Although they are known -- Health Care, Education, downsizing American jobs, the sacrifice of the environment, lack of support for alternative fuels, incompetence in repairs after natural disasters and the aging and neglected infrastructure of the nation -- all are essential focal points for a concerted critical synopsis throughout the times ahead.
These are the appropriate kinds of targets for the Democratic candidates. If, instead, they turn on each other, they will divert from this essential exposure. They will allow McCain to move stealthily ahead with galvanizing his Republicans and ultimately may even risk the ruination of the Democratic Party and its opportunity to take back the government.
The Democratic candidate who shows they have done their homework, shows they know what the real targets are and can mount and sustain a withering attacking exposure which details the neglect, abandonment and, in some cases, outright assault on the American citizenry by the Republican Party, abetted by its corporate benefactors, is the candidate who deserves the nomination and who will win the opportunity to try to right these many wrongs.