[POLL] Continued Campaign Good For Obama, Dems?

I am a big fan of boxing, and sometimes in boxing a young fighter needs a tough fight or even a loss to grow in the sport.  They need to face adversity, they need to taste the canvas, and they need to get up, shake it off and fight again.  From this they can--if they have the right aptitude, the right intelligence--learn what it takes to compete and win at a championship level.

Could this not be similar to the situation tonight? Could it be that this high level adversity--and I say high level because he has faced adversity in his life, we know--could this high level adversity be a net positive for Obama and his campaign?

Now, I'm sure you've all read Kos' post on the front page, so I will leave these details out.

But here is what Josh Marshall at TPM says:

So I think the big question is, can he fight back? Can he take this back to Hillary Clinton, demonstrate his ability to take punches and punch back? By this I don't mean that he's got to go ballistic on her or go after Bill's business deals or whatever else her vulnerabilities might be. Candidates fight in different ways and if they're good candidates in ways that play to their strengths and cohere with their broader message. But he's got to show he can take this back to Hillary and not get bloodied and battered when an opponent decides to lower the boom. That will obviously determine in a direct sense how he fares in the coming primaries and caucuses. And Obama's people are dead right when they say, he doesn't even have to do that well from here on out to end this with a substantial pledged delegate margin.

Whoever the Democratic nominee is come general election time, he (or she...) will have to face strong political adversity.

Simply, Obama needs to make this experience a positive.  He and his campaign need to deal with negativity, with the momentum going against him.

That way, come November, he will be prepared to go 12 rounds with John McCain.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

•  Tips

  for this old pugilist?

  by TexasBeat on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 12:30:50 AM PDT

  •  In boxing terms Hillary should throw in the towel

    She is only going to damage herself, Obama and the Democratic Party!

    by humphrey on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 12:35:52 AM PDT

    •  I wouldn't mind if she did...

      But she was going to stay in even if she performed worse tonight.  I am truly worried about rifts in the Democratic party after this whole process, but I was worried about that before tonight.

      by TexasBeat on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 12:45:37 AM PDT

•  absolutely

  good for obama, good for the voters who get to have a say in the democratic process even though they're late states, and good for the moribund local parties that desperately need the shot in the arm of a contested primary campaign.

  people gotta have faith in the democratic process, and not fear the messy stuff.

  by wu ming on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 12:33:01 AM PDT

•  Make it a positive

  He needs to make it into a positive. That's what it takes to win in a hard-fought campaign. Every setback he's had so far, he's only come back stronger. That's what I expect to happen now.  

  by Clipper on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 12:34:52 AM PDT

•  It's not like he would have gone on vacation

  He would have been campaigning all this time anyway.

  He can build the final 10 state infrastructures and re-infuse state parties in Wyoming, South Dakota, Mississippi, Kentucky in particular.

  I don't think this is really all that bad.  It's annoying, because we have to endure more soul-deadening campaigning from an incompetent campaign's figurehead who is clearly willing to equivocate on religion-baiting.

  Obama clearly built up a massive campaign that he would not have built as sturdily had he simply won NH.

  Listen, he is going to be the nominee and then crush McCain in the general.  This will happen.

  by PocketNines on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 12:41:06 AM PDT

  •  True.

    Listen, he is going to be the nominee and then crush McCain in the general.  This will happen.

    True.

    by Dr Funkenstein on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 12:46:36 AM PDT

    •  Your sig = Obama + Chappelle, awesome.

      by PocketNines on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 02:03:29 AM PDT

  •  Not on vacation, but not in the ring...

    McCain (or his surrogates most likely) will go negative.  It will make what Clinton's campaign is doing look like rainbows and ladybug kisses.

    Obama's got to have a strong chin to survive in November and it could help to have it tested now.

    by TexasBeat on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 01:54:27 AM PDT

    •  After NH

      He got on the conference call with his staffers and basically said this is a blessing in disguise because now we get to sharpen and toughen ourselves.  And you can clearly see he has done that.

      The #1 thing I have faith in is this guy's ability to honestly assess the situation and adjust, improve, evolve.  He's relentless that way.

      One difference between Clinton and McCain is he can really go after McCain hard as 4 more years of Bush myopia.  That is a winning argument in a change election.  He can't go after Clinton quite as hard, for a variety of reasons.

      by PocketNines on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 02:08:55 AM PDT

•  The Texas Democratic Party

  got a big shot in the arm from tonight's contest. In Precinct 50, there was a %1600 increase over 2004 turnout in the caucus, and 80% of the caucus goers were Obama supporters.

  That can only be good for the party's long term prospects in Texas.

  I believe Obama will win in the end, and while hard core Hillary supporters will be bitter about losing a hard fought race, this will be more than made up for by the massive increase in activity within the Democratic Party as a result of Obama's campaign.

  by Dr Funkenstein on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 12:45:21 AM PDT

•  Imagine how enormous MI and FL

  Would have been if they were about to have a primary.  I'm not too concerned about the mudslinging that will continue until either candidate (hopefully) concedes before the convention.  But it would be nice to have some of the moolah left over to go after McBush.

  by demotarian on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 12:47:57 AM PDT

  •  Just Wait

    It'll happen.  The democratic party can't ignore them.  Florida has already said it can pull the freight.  If it goes, so does Michigan.  Dean can't just ignore these states ... they're essential for the eventual democratic nominee.  

    It's gonna get messier before it clears up.  Whining and acting like a perpetually shocked Pollyanna is not going to change the situation.  

    It's not about HRC, if you're supporting Obama.  It's about consistently following through with what's worked, sharpening the message and doing search and destroy on anything untrue the Clinton campaign come up with ... and it'll be good f*cking practice, because it'll be 100 times worse in the general election.  

    We can wish or we can work.  It's a marathon.

    by crescentdave on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 01:15:51 AM PDT

    •  No, Jen Granholm is still delusionally convinced

      that Michigan's delegates will be seated by brute force based on Jan 15 primary, and somehow, that will be vindication.   She has lost the forest through the trees.  The goal of an early primary was to get attentions to Michigan's economic problems not to shove an early primary delegates down the DNC's throat.

      by jeffwtux on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 01:20:19 AM PDT

      •  So offer her something better.

        New primary in exchange for something at the convention?

        Female governor of Michigan?  Not a bad choice for VP.  I've been trying to think of a woman who Obama could offer the VP slot (I think Clinton would be a big mistake as would pretty much any Senator, most Representatives are too obscure, and I don't think Sebelius or Gregoire, or Pelosi, would take it).

        by neroden on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 01:27:55 AM PDT

        •  She is being offered the greatest jackpot of all

          a decisive primary where easily 10,000 media people will be staying in our hotels, eating in our restaurants, and hearing about our economic problems, and forcing the candidates to focus on them.  What more could Jen Granholm want?

          Her delegates being seated?  How many jobs will that create.  TUNNELVISION BABY!! TUNNELVISION
          JOBS, JOBS, JOBS

          by jeffwtux on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 01:41:29 AM PDT

        •  Granholm can't

          She's a naturalized Canadian.

          by kismet on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 04:37:52 AM PDT

    •  Early primaries are about 3 things: MONEY MONEY &

      MONEY.

      They are about getting TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MEDIA PEOPLE TO spend 9 months in your state and infusing your states treasury with tens of billions dollars single handledly paying for the states budget(that's what happens in Iowa, right? ok maybe an exaggeration, but not by much)

      Whether or not these Jan 15 primary delegates are seated at this point will do nothing solve Michigan's budget problems, get attention to it's economic problems, or help create Michigan jobs.  Now, if the DNC hadn't caved to every one of NH & Iowa's demands and allowed an early Michigan primary like they SHOULD'VE WANTED TO, then yes, the goals would've been met.

      HOWARD DEAN IS DEAD WRONG HERE AND SO IS JEN GRANHOLM

      by jeffwtux on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 01:24:56 AM PDT

•  one thing is that even if

  HRC's campaign keeps up the negative angles on Obama, maybe by the time it comes down to (ASSUMING--as seems reasonable--it comes down to) Obama and McCain, most Americans might already be so fatigued of negativity against Obama that the Republican attack machine will fall on largely numb ears.  Unless the Republican machine can generate new lines of attack, Obama might be, in a sense, inoculated against negative ads by this summer and autumn--in addition to by then having developed and practiced countermeasures and grown thicker skin and so forth. Maybe it's just wishful thinking.  But I generally believe there's only so much negativity the populace can take over a given period, because it starts getting nauseating and people tune out.

  by TomY on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 01:19:37 AM PDT

•  there is no point in continuing

  Both canidates have failed to knock the other out.. and at this point.. unless obama wins Penn... neither will

  So we can go on spending 10s of millions of dollars and tearing our canidates down through June.. and where will that put us?  Obama +140-160 delegates.. exactly where we are now

  by Capt Morgan on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 01:23:49 AM PDT

  •  So this will be decided in a backroom

    what a shame

    by jeffwtux on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 01:33:15 AM PDT

•  I still REALLLLY HATE Howard Dean for all this

  He has his priorities shoved up where I don't know.  The values of the DEMs are to create economic opportunity where it needs it most: that's MICHIGAN.

  A GOOD LEADER WOULD'VE MADE MICHIGAN FIRST, even if it broke prior promises.

  by jeffwtux on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 01:27:07 AM PDT

  •  RNC chair: RIGHT...Howard DEAN: DEAD WRONG

    I know I'm getting bashed for this, but it's true.  The punishment that the RNC gave FOR THE EXACT SAME CRIME to MI & FL was a far smarter one and left it's party with fewer headaches.

    by jeffwtux on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 01:28:32 AM PDT

•  SO...

  About half the responders are saying no. Fair enough.  Only time will tell.

  That said, the hand-wringing, the emotional sniping at Clinton supporters . . . It's a bit much.  

  Obama should still win this nomination, and to angrily accuse Clinton and her supporters of tearing apart the party, well it's at least ironic, 'cause that ain't bringing us any closer together.

  by TexasBeat on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 01:59:55 AM PDT

•  IF Clinton is positive

  it could be a real positive. How many people will watch a Pennsylvania debate, as opposed to a McCain speech? In a sense, it can be free publicity across the country.

  And if, in the end, there are some spending controls on the last two months, it would be very good to have continued POSITIVE debates through the spring.

  BUT every Democrat must contact the Clinton campaign and let them know you won't tolerate the negativism. It can turn around, you know.

  by MrMichaelMT on Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 03:22:37 AM PDT