Barack Obama and his team sat down and carefully plotted out a campaign that would, against all odds, produce a larger pledged delegate count than Hillary's. This campaign was run like a third party insurgency. Basically, the strategy was slow and steady wins the race.
And measuring by their own game plan, they are already way ahead. And barring a catastrophe, they will win.
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Look at their accomplishments and marvel.
- The Obama campaign has built
an entirely new parallel power base to challenge the state party machines that have backed Hillary.
- The new, pay as you go, Dean-inspired funding has provided the campaign with
a huge strategic reserve of donors and activists, and they keep growing it.
- The 1.5 million (so far) donors now all have skin in the game. They are invested, and prepared to throw good money after good. The motivation for Hillary's donors is far weaker, regardless of the post-PA spike.
- The engine of growth has been the enthusiasm of disaffected (OK, bitter) individuals, who have been given hope, and free rein to develop their own events.
- The hands-off approach has allowed the volunteers to work with great speed and flexibility. The campaign has bet on
the creativity and initiative of individual Americans. That is one of our strongest national traits. It is incredibly empowering and self-fulfilling. Even when outnumbered, the Obama supporters are far more enthusiastic and positive.
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The campaign is built on an ethic. This one is huge. Working on this campaign doesn't make you feel dirty, doesn't compromise your integrity. By contrast, the Clinton campaign has now reached the soul-sucking "we'll do anything to win" stage. The ends justify the means. One of the most revolting aspects of Bush administration and the Republicans is precisely that. We'll chuck out every principle to get what we want.
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Barack Obama is kicking Hillary's ass in her own party! Who saw that coming? How can Hillary call herself a better candidate if she can't even beat an insurgent. Where's the props for Obama on that one?
- The campaign has played by the rules. That's right,
they sat down and examined each and every contest and crafted their tactics accordingly. Hillary has now stopped believing in the rules, at least the ones we started from. This is just plain hilarious. Imagine the losers of baseball's National League complaining that if they had been using the American League pinch hitter option, they would have won. And what about the men left on base?
Those should count too!!! People who think that this approach is necessary and respectable, well... maybe they're in the wrong party.
- Last but not least, the Obama campaign has grown the Democratic party by an incredible amount. New registrations have broken all records. New demographic groups have been stirred out of their apathy. We're coming out of the wilderness, people! How can the supers, who've been in a powerless minority for so long, not consider that to be the greatest accomplishment of the Obama campaign?
I'm sure I've missed a few points. But now that we are in sight of the original goal -- accumulating the most pledged delegates -- this is not the time to waver! A great victory is about to be achieved, no matter how hard the other side howls.
And look how Obama has done even under the deluge of hits. The GOP has joined Hillary to do everything it can to take him down, because they know they are going to get bulldozed in November.
Some Hillary supporters will remain disaffected. But as the result becomes clear in the coming weeks, there will be a natural huge new surge of respect and cred for Barack's incredible achievement. The harder the fight, the sweeter the victory.
The Republicans have shot their load prematurely, and they've got nothing. The country is not going to pick a president based on flag lapel pins or unfortunate words by Barack's acquaintances. Gas will be even more expensive, inflation will be on the rise, health care deteriorating, foreclosures reaching mind-numbing heights, and the war will continue to bleed the country's dedicated troops and our national treasury. No contest. The GOP is screwed, and they know it. 2006 was just a warm-up. Sorry, pundits!
Lastly, I have to shake my head in disbelief at Barack's pushback on Wright controversy. Here we have the entire right-wing noise machine cranking the volume all the way up to 11, and what happens? Barack Obama goes home, writes a speech with the Lincolnesque title "A More Perfect Union", delivers it with heart and sincerity -- and people listen (huge awareness across the board) and for the most part, they buy it. That's right, no sound bites, but a lengthy protracted argument that appeals to American's judgement and sense of fairness.
That's crazy stuff. I mean, when does that ever happen in real life? At that precise moment, the campaign entered a zone previously reserved forFrank Capra movies. Move over, Jimmy Stewart!