Alright. I've seen a lot of diaries since last night. People are pissed about the debate. I'm pissed too. And there's been a lot of diaries saying that people like me who are a little red in the face need to "buck up." And there are still more from Hillary supporters which amounted to "I told you so." And then there are new accusations, charges of conspiracy, ridiculous flaps about which finger Obama uses to scratch his nose, etc.
Okay. Breathe.
Now comes the big question. WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT. I've seen lots of venting, attacks on venting, attacks on the attackers... what I haven't seen is a constructive discussion. I had no problem with emailing ABC, I did so myself. That was action. We need more of that.
But we also need a debate about what kind of message we want to use to counter all this crap and new ways that we can get it out there. There was an excellent comment from Trix last night saying that anti-Obama bias should not be the focus of our outrage here because it allows ABC, or whoever is the target, to pivot by saying that we're just rabid partisans who wouldn't be happy with anything but a full endorsement. It undercuts the outrage.
IMO, complaining about the lack of substance in the debate is a far better tact. That's the line Obama took today with his "brush it off your shoulders" speech. It's effective for two reasons:
1. It's harder for them to defend themselves.
2. It will make Obama the candidate for anyone and everyone who is frustrated with the process right now.
The way I see it, if we want to make this a movement for a new and better debate, we have to stop with the attacks on Hillary. It's fine if it's issue based, like people who were less than thrilled about her promise of a security umbrella yesterday. But let's stop obsessing over her what she says, where she is, or what her campaign does. No more Tuzla stuff, even if I too think the outrage there is genuine. In short: ignore her. Everytime someone on here or in the Obama camp goes off on Hillary, it just gives them the justification to go off on him.
Next, let's try to keep the accusations of racism down. The more you do it, the more likely it is to turn off swing voters who get annoyed by that sort of thing.
We need a unified message, and while I'm happy with a discussion of what that message should be, I think the Obama campaign is on to something here and we wouldn't want to undue whatever momentum they build. Whatever comments you make on dkos are fine, obviously, but I'd like to make a modest proposal: when you write to news outlets, make videos, or do anything that might catch the public eye, keep it focused on a campaign issue, or on the war on distraction (I said it first. tm.).
And in the comments section here, let's try to think of new and more effective ways to act. Any Clinton supporters on the fence, all you critics who think we're thin skinned, this includes you. It's time to stop talking about what's happening and change it.
Yes we can.