There has been a war of sorts here on Daily Kos between those who are criticizing the Obama campaign for weakness since he won the Democratic nomination and those who feel that any criticism of our Dear Leader is inappropriate and that critics should just shut up.
I can't say that the latter's philosophy resonates well with the democratic portion of this community.
McCain/Palin is a big, fat target of opportunity for attacks on corruption, lies and incompetence, and the Obama/Biden camp seems to have Pelosi's Disease: An inexplicable lack of testosterone, a willingness to take advice from losers and one's enemies, and an inability to assert oneself on obvious issues, which reluctance grows more sharply in direct relation to how directly one is being attacked.
I hate to break the news to denialists: Obama does not have a "Secret Plan." His plans of increased voter registration coupled with an enormous get-out-the-vote assault are well known. These are good plans, to be sure, but not secret. These plans will not improve his standing in the minds of voters between now and election day one iota.
Obama has not responded to McCain-Palin's increased Republican Base support. Some are saying that because Palin is an extremist she will not be appealing to mainstream Republicans. These people are not watching the polls, which have only gone up for their ticket. It's kind of insane to make that argument, when you think about it: Republicans afraid of right-wing extremism?
Yes, yes, the polls are skewed, they're being weighted inaccurately, but they have been all year. The fact is McCain's numbers are way too high considering that he's a Republican and a Bush supporter. The fact that Obama is not leading by more than 5% everywhere is a sure sign that he is doing something wrong. Unless you're prepared to demonstrate that ALL the polls are outright lies, this can't be denied.
Obama is also failing in the media war. All the press is about McCain-Palin; their lies being treated as truth, their mavericky-ness, their attacks on Obama. There is no original material from Obama-Biden. Biden is practically missing in action when he's not saying something stupid. Obama is speaking softly to small crowds making glib remarks that only give openings for Macain's Fox-style assinine sarcasm attacks. Obama IS NOT ATTACKING, despite the claims to the contrary.
I won't say what particular attack Obama must do, but the fact is that he should do something. Sitting on his hands saying, "Oh, I'm satisfied with the way things are now," will not win this. I don't recall "complacency" being a job requirement when we hired him.
There are plenty of ways to attack, but apparently Obama thinks that attacking is itself bad form. Now where have we seen this before? Oh, I remember; Dukakis in '88. Kerry in '04. Pelosi in '07.
Cure your Pelosi's Disease, Obama! Don't take your best cards off the table. Please play Corruption, Lies, and Incompetence. Play other cards too! Play ALL of them! They will serve you better on the table than keeping them close to your chest.