2 posts tagged “reagan”
Obama’s team retaliated to Palin’s weekend attack (linking Obama to Ayers see below) with a counter-offensive about McCain’s involvement with a savings and loans fraudster from the 1980s. Though seemingly relevant, this piece is somewhat academic in its material and message. Its effect will not reverberate with the people of America – so it is interesting to see why Obama would calculate that this small advantage is worth pressing.
It is clear that Obama is willing to get his hands dirty in this election but why now? My assumption was that, if he was even capable of this (of which I was far from certain), then he would have waited for this riposte until much later in the game. This belief was based on the assumption that Obama has far more to lose than to gain from the elections turning nasty. It is these particular tactics that the Republicans can turn back on the Democrats hurting their majority as well as their ability to govern in a becoming manner after the election, should they win.
The danger for the Democrats with their national lead at this late stage is not so much lethargy, or the ‘swift boat’ tactics that many fervently believe brought down Kerry in ’04, is that they are shown to lack that connection or that common touch with the American people. It is this particular ability mastered so well from Reagan to Palin (and including both Bush 41 as well as McCain at their best) that the suave, northern and sophisticated Democrats don’t have, don’t get and don’t see the point of getting.
Yesterday evening saw a substantive and comprehensive debate. The emphasis was international affairs but the beginning was abruptly changed to include some coverage of the financial crisis engulfing the country. This was a subject that both were happy to give general and non-specific answers to – not wanting to touch such a live issue they dug deep on their respective record on retrenchments in public spending.
This debate, the subject of which was foreign affairs, was always considered McCain happy hunting ground. And he sure commanded the territory, he barrickaded Obama with history lessons, his own longevity in public office, his military expertise, and the names of obscure dictators the world over. As a learned professor teaching his student who has not done the set reading he explained Ronald Reagan’s response to the Soviet Union as well as critiquing the sainted President’s Lebanon policy.
Under such a comprehensive bombardment Obama held up well. He agreed with McCain just enough, drew clear water between their policies just enough and looked professional enough. The foreign policy of the United States, which is so important to outsiders and even an increasing number of US after 9/11, is not going to be the basis on which this election is won. Maybe foreign policy is a sine qua non of being a President, but it is not the ultimate test.
