Should Senator Obama ignore Senator Clinton?

Should he instead focus on Senator McCain?

It seems like it could be a viable option at this time...though it does run some minor risks.

But he could say this:

"I respect Senator Clinton. I consider Senator Clinton not only a colleague, but also a friend. But at this point and time she can not win the democratic nomination. We have won more delegates, we have won twice as many contest in almost twice as many states and we have recieved  almost 1 million more votes from energized and excited American citizens."

"Senator Clinton and I will likely split the remaning contests, the remaining states and the voting process will end with these same numbers...We will have more delegates, we will have more states, we will have more of the popular vote."

"So we will be transferring our focus to Senator McCain. Not out of a lack of respect for Senator Clinton. No, we will shift our focus because it is viatally important that we as a country not have another four years of Bush policies and failures. We can not allow McCain to continue pusing forth Bush's plans and wars and disregard for the wishes and best interest of this country. No more helping his friends and lobbiest and big oli money. Now is the time to change and heal and improve our country. After 7 years of Bush and McCain harming this country, it is time to focus on the other people, the middle class, the lower class, instead of just the wealthy."

"And we start today. We can not wait till June or July or August. We have to start now. We can give no ground for people who would continue woth Bush's policies of failure and war. Policies that hurt us at home and abroad."

"So we focus today and through November to make change and progress and take back our country from the Bush/McCain policies. Because we can not have division in the democratic party. Because we can not have division in our great country. Because we can not afford 4 more years of Bush nor McCain."

It will piss off Clinton...It will piss off her supporters,,,it will (happily) piss off McCain and the republicans who want a free ride for the summer.

But it is the right thing to do, to come out swinging on McCain. Ignore Clinton...say she is a hard competitor and a smart and strong democrat that will do great things for this country and for New York, but that she lost too much ground when she lost those 12 elections in a row and that spliting the remaining states is almost inevitable and will change nothing. That the primary is over and the fight against Bush/McCain is now the most important thing and to ignore that is harmful to the race for the Presidency in November.

the last time he ignore Clinton it hurt him...I don't think it can now....he will split the remaining states, so why not campaign in those states like the nominee.?

It will piss of Clinton and probably is not a nice thing to do...but she did come out and claim that McCain is ready to be president and that Obama is not. That was an insult to not only Obama, but to the 13 million who voted for him and was giving aid to the republicans and has made it harder for any democrat to win in November...after all, if it is about experience and time served, McCain kicks Clintons butt....

So Obama must throw the attack back at McCain and away from Clinton.

g

•  Why not try that strategy...

  it could elevate the debate and start having the RWSM attack him more directly so we can start to address the full barage that will be against him in the fall...I support it.

  Of course, Hillary will still try to engage him and Barack should have his surrogates deal with the Hillary attacks...

  by dvogel001 on Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 07:43:50 PM PDT

•  Ignoring Clinton worked well before, she can only

  get leverage if she drags Obama down.  What he needs to do is link Clinton and McCain together then go after Clinton and McCain as one person.

  Hillary doesn't have that ability.

  His best moments (which CNN loves editing out of his speeches) are the ones where he hits McCain, Clinton, and Bush in one fell swoop by linking them on policy and method and then knocking them down.

  Pennsylvania is especially important because McCain has an advantage over both he and Clinton in the general.

  by NotablyZen on Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 07:54:03 PM PDT

  •  Exactly. Hillary was even helping him last week.

    What he needs to do is link Clinton and McCain together then go after Clinton and McCain as one person.

    Obama opted for a more civil response, which has so far appeared to work well for him.

    by oscarsdad on Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 07:56:28 PM PDT

•  If Obama begins the contest...

  ...against mccain now and is kicking his butt come convention time, The supers would have a hard time voting against him.

  by carver on Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 07:55:03 PM PDT

•  There's an old English saying...

  "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

  It actually is adapted from William Congreve's 1697 play, The Mourning Bride; the original line is

  Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned
  Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned

  Back here in 2008, it means I think you could count on Hillary going hydrogen-bomb on Obama if he tried it.  There are probably a few stops she hasn't yet pulled left for such an occasion.

  by oscarsdad on Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 07:55:07 PM PDT

•  I think he ignores her at his peril

  if and when she strikes, he still needs to keep an eye out for her. He's going to be fighting two fronts for awhile.

  I have every faith that his campaign is able to withstand the onslaught. Its Obama supporters like us who need to turn down the outrage meter--its a distraction and keep our heads down and working:

  1. spreading message

  2. keeping the campaign tent open to late deciders and "crossovers" - stay open with warm hearts and open minds

  3. counterbalancing disinformation

  by Fe Bongolan on Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 08:06:49 PM PDT

•  main issue is to beat McCain

  At this point, this is what the race should be about...beating McCain. Of course, Obama needs to respond quickly and concisely to Clinton's challenges. There is no nominee yet. But the focus, frankly, for both Obama and Clinton, should at this point be on pointing out the chasm between them and McCain.
  At this point, I think most people have already made up their minds on who they will vote for. For the rest who are still wondering, their decision should be on who will be able to beat McCain. Thus, both should focus on McCain.

  by Kevin Orr on Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 08:21:56 PM PDT

•  You assume

  there is a difference between running against Clinton and running against McCain.

  by Lib Dem FoP on Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 08:24:21 PM PDT

•  I agree

  There was a victory speech he gave awhile back after winning a state (I can't remember which one) when he started attacking McCain and sounded very Presidential in the process.

  He knows he's going to be the nominee, he should start acting like it.

  I say ignore her.

  by bsegel on Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 08:24:55 PM PDT

•  He could try it carefully, in such a way

  as to not seem arrogant.  But Clinton's campaign is not going to stop the negativity, so at some point Obama is just gonna have to look forward.  

  I think he can win Pennsylvania like he won Iowa - by meeting and convincing people.

  by Chi on Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 08:40:30 PM PDT

•  I wouldn't

  I think it's too early to start ignoring her.  That will just make Obama look arrogant.  Plus, they will just spin it as if he isn't tough enough to respond.

  It's a fine line for the Obama campaign.  They can't let too much go unchallenged or uncorrected, but the Clinton campaign would like nothing better than to drag him down into a messy fight every day and make him look like just another politician.  The more the Obama camp protests or gets angry about anything the better it is for Clinton.

  I like the approach the Obama campaign has taken lately, i.e. making fun of the idiocy that is displayed daily in the messages from Penn, Wolfson, et al.  Bill Burton should get his own show when all of this is over.

  I think the solution is partly continuing to use humor and also just weathering the storm and making sure Obama continues to build his delegate and popular vote lead.  Kudos to the campaign also for not buying into the idea that Pennsylvania is a must-win for Obama.  It's really not, so he shouldn't let her get away with winning the expectations game.

  If she won't quit, he'll just have to keep on grinding away.  If we get to June and Obama is ahead in pledged delegates and the popular vote, the only argument the Clintons can really make at that point is the "big state" argument, which should be ripped to shreds whenever it gets discussed in the proverbial smoke-filled rooms since it's complete bunk.  Like Obama wouldn't win New York - whointhef*** does she think she's kidding?

  My bigger concern is whether or not Hillary is honestly trying to win this election or has more sinister motives.  What if she stone cold knows she is going to lose this one, but is still convinced that she absolutely must be President?  That means her next chance is 2012, but Obama is young, so she can't wait if he is still viable then.  Thus, she stays in this one, not because she thinks she can win, but to keep going negative until she can kill Obama's chances forever.  Then, McCain wins and Hillary runs again in four years on her alleged economic prowess and "comeback kid-ness" after McBush and his cronies choke the remaining life out of the economy.  Either that or a damaged Obama is not able to get anything done (thanks in part to Hillary in the Senate), loses seats mid-term and she then mounts a primary challenge.  

  Hopefully, Obama can pull off a win in Pennsylvania and end this madness.  If not, I think he still wins the nomination, but it gets more Pyrrhic the longer it goes.  

  by Michael James on Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 08:47:21 PM PDT

•  I think he should ...

  do 60-40 McCain/Hil.  

  Or go back to the McClinton strategy and get a 2fer. ;-)

  by C Mac on Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 09:24:46 PM PDT