Are they going to get away with this yet again? Slime a good democrat in August? The closest thing to a referee in American Politics is the Mainstream Media. As ineffective as they are at that job, they can call attention to totally scurrilous tactics. But in August they go on vacation. The Olympics further mutes the voice of the political reporters. No more Joe Klein or Andrea Mitchell. That is why all Republican smear attacks happen in August.
Make no mistake about it. The slime has just started flowing. Last week was an initial salvo of four commercials. A series of shots meant to locate the target. They have found that the charge against Obama that resonates with their base, is
UPPITY!
But they can't call it that. So they say he is presumptuous. Their audience knows what that means. They know the code.
Will they get away with it again? Is this August different from the Augusts of the last 24 years? Is the Democrat going to take it?
I was starting to think so when Obama started the week with a powerful salvo of his own. A direct hit at McCain's integrity. Or lack thereof. A Campaign devoid of ideas and run by lobbyists in the employ Big Oil, McCain has been coasting on slogans like "Country Above All". We hope this is a new kind of Democrat. The kind that will attack back.
Walk Softly and carry a Big Stick
said Teddy Roosevelt, one of McCain's heroes.
What if you don't have a Big Stick handy?
Smile Nicely as you take the stick away from them. And hit them with it.
No more Mr. Nice Guy. Hope does not mean Naivete. Obama has nothing to lose by hitting McCain hard. After all, McCain is the one who made Obama the star of his own campaign. He cannot attract an audience of his own, so he too needs to feed off Obama's energy. They ask if Obama is Ready to be President. Let us ask if McCain waited too long for his turn? Why did he not challenge Bush in 2004? Why did he not run in 1996 instead of backing the hapless Dr. Phil Gramm? Was it a lack of Audacity? Why rot in the US Senate for 26 years if McCain was Presidential material?
What should Obama do when McCain mocks him for drawing a crowd of 200,000 in Berlin? Hold a raly in Arizona. Rent the largest stadium in Phoenix and hold the largest political rally in the history of the state right in McCain's backyard. Would you go to Arizona to show McCain where he can put his attack ad?
Americans admire Audacity. Only losers fall back on calling their opponents Presumptuous. Was it not Presumptuous for a few ragged colonies to rise up against the mighty British Empire? Was it not Presumptuous to invent the Atom Bomb? To walk on the Moon? We are an Uppity Nation. That is why we beat the people who call us Upstarts. Those who look forward to a better future have always been called Presumptuous by the tired old men who want things to stay the same.
Take that word away from them. I declare that I am Uppity. I am Presumptuous. And so are the best people I know. We do not get to where we want to go by taking our turn. We do not sit quietly in the back of the bus. We are presumptuous enough to declare that our time is now. This is our moment. Those who waited patiently in the wings for their turn waited too long. The future does not belong to them.
Uppity and Proud of it.
UPDATE: I just saw this interview with Sen. Schumer on HuffPo:
The Senator, a Harvard Law grad with a perfect SAT score, has certain maxims with which he is defining Democratic politics. The first, and perhaps most predictable, is the 24-hour rule: "They hit you, you have to hit back with the same speed and strength."
The second is to be on the offensive, if possible at all times. When we spoke, Barack Obama was not heeding this advice, having been painted by John McCain as something akin to a publicity-craving troop hater. And Schumer, after praising the presumptive Democratic nominee's trip abroad -- "one of the great tour de forces I have seen in my life" -- dispensed with some Godfather-like advice.
"Go right after them, it is such bull," he said. "These are the types of little tactical games they play. And if you just ignore them or be afraid of them you can lose. You go right after them. Say that is disgraceful of Sen. McCain. I have been with the troops, here, here, and here. And to try and make this a political issue, shame on him. That's what I say."