This close to the election it is so very important to try to pull in every possible vote. There are so many Republicans and independents that are still on the fence and, though they disagree with the policies and politics of the Republican candidates, they still cannot bring themselves to vote Democratic. There is a tremendous ground game out there but these people, through experience, are likely to take offense to a Democrat showing up at their door or calling them during dinner. They can, however, be persuaded to vote "for the other side" if their privacy and pride are respected.
We attended a candidate's forum last night that at one point featured Will i Am's "Yes We Can" video. It is a powerful video based on an equally powerful speech. I propose an ad that gives the same message, but to those people who are traditionally Republican or lean Republican. This ad would be quick, easy and cheap to cut and it carries a positive message.
*******************************************************************************
"YES YOU CAN" (in black and white)
[Fade into a man holding his head in his hands, looking dismayed]
Announcer: "You feel that your party no longer represents what you hold dear."
[Fade to a woman looking off through a window]
Announcer: "You feel that your party doesn't listen to what you want."
[Fade to a contractor in Carhart clothing looking sad/worried and hugging his kids.]
Announcer: "You worry that your party broke the economy and doesn't know how to fix it. It doesn't have to be that way. Together we can be better.""
[Fade to a smiling family in a picnic setting."]
[Transition through pictures of smiling people] Announcer: "You can vote Democratic this time. You can make a difference."
[Slowly fade in each word and out each word]: "YES...YOU...CAN. Vote November 4th."
[Fade In]: "Obama/Biden '08"
The problem with the bailout is that it is a band-aid where a tournequet is necessary. The current financial crisis is directly due to the inability for homeowners to pay their mortgages and defaulting. No amount of bailout money will protect the Wall Street financial sector if something doesn't happen to keep people in their homes instead of walking away or willingly go into foreclosure.
Staunch conservatives often state that the people knew what they were getting into when they get these mortgages. I beg to differ. While I purchased well under my means, I was told by my loan officer that I could afford a lot more. We almost bit considering that the difference of $50,000 in my area is the difference between a new or newer house with a lot more ammenities in a much better neighborhood with a better school. As a parent, if I was thinking solely about the well being of my child I would have jumped at the chance to own such a house. Doing so, however, would have put us in over our heads. As for the 100% financing, our loan officer urged us to take advantage of it. We had money to put down, but she said we should keep it and/or put it into the house. After all, housing prices never go down and even if the market slowed we would still come out ahead. Why should we put it into the mortgage when we could use it to make our house nicer? We took the 100% financing. Mind you, I was my own realtor and had 17 years in the business and still I took the chance. The potential risk seemed minimal.
We won't get hit as bad as those who took the shorter-term, super low rate adjustable-rate mortgages that are currently sinking the financial sector. Nonetheless, our house is worth about $20,000 to $35,000 less now than we bought it for. We won't be able to refinance that adjustable rate mortgage. Those people not as savvy who took the 100% financing on a 5-year adjustable rate and the larger mortgage will soon see their mortgages skyrocket in 2009 and 2010. If you think that we are in trouble now, $700 billion won't cover nearly what will be needed over the next two years if we don't do something to keep these people from going under.
What can be done? We cannot reward the very stupid and deliberately greedy house flippers. They took the risk and should lose their investment. We can, however, spread out the damage from the honest owner-occupied homeowners. If the government institutes, as part of the bailout package, a freeze in the adjustable rate for five years after the note is due to adjust will give these people time to sell the house and get out from under the debt. There does need to be a caveat, however. If they prove over the course of the freeze that they can make their payment on time every month they can be qualified at the end of the five years to convert their mortgage, along with the home equity loan, to a conventional loan with a higher, but fixed rate. If they make even one payment over 30 days late, they are ineligible and must put the home on the market beginning that month at current market price as determined by a certified appraiser. At the end of the 5 years, if they are unable to sell the house they must leave immediately and then the government can step in to take over the mortgage and sell the house. They must make payments throughout the extension period or they lose the rate freeze regardless.
To be honest, the mortgage industry is more to blame than the homeowners and they should be held accountable. I don't like the bailout plan that helps the banks that caused the problem. As one of those who could have fallen for the worst situation because I was intentionally sold on the benefits of the greater mortgage will lead to a better life for my family, I know the blame lies almost exclusively in the loan origination market for the benefit of getting two fees for two loans. We need to help those who were deceived into taking these loans if we want to curb this crisis, not stick a bandaid on the current crisis.
There is only one thing that Senator Obama needs to do during the debate that will instantly discredit John McCain and win him debate #1 in the eyes of the American people. At least once during the debate he should turn to John McCain in response and say: "Now John, that could put us at war with [insert country name here]. Do you really want another war?"
This statement could be used in response to any number of foreign policy topics: Spain, Iran, Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, China, etc. Either answer, yes or no, would bring his previous debate answer into question. A "yes" and he's an economy-killing warmonger, a "no" and he just discredited his previous statement. Then go in for the attack on his response.
*UPDATE*
There is another thing that Senator Obama can hit McCain with that would be devastating and it involves both the economy and foreign policy. Hit him with the statement: "The war in Iraq, which you, John McCain, have and continue to support through to its end, is costing the American taxpayer $10 billion per month. Senator, if you truly put country first, then you would have to agree that bringing that money, $120 billion per year, home to the American people is far more important than continuing that war. It's time to admit your mistake and bring our soldiers home for the sake of our country." It would put McCain on his heels and probably push his temper over the edge.
One thing that should be changed to the site is the addition of a very large button on the index page of www.barackobama.com to bypass the donation page. I am well versed in the web and have been on the internet since the days when Mosaic had to be ported to work with Windows (R). Even so, the ever changing location of the hidden button to bypass the donation page is frustrating and would frustrate me completely if I didn't know to look for it. If I was curious about Barack Obama but didn't want to donate or register I probalby would not go any further into the site and there would be a loss of potential voters as a result.
Another possibility that can be presented to marginalize the McCain campaign is the fact that they are the current tabloid candidates. This is a little risky because Barack Obama has been in the rags too but, if presented correctly, can put the focus back on issues.
The idea is to ask the American public what they want: "Do you want a President in the White House who cares enough about you to address the issues or do you want a tabloid candidate that you will have to guess what the next tabloid scandal will be? Haven't you had enough of the same old double-talk and CYA itactics n Washington. Don't you want change?"
Barack Obama cares about the things that matter to you most like a strong economy, affordabele healthcare for everyone, steady higher-paying jobs, low energy costs, and keeping your family safe from an icreasingly hostile world. He has outlined his plans clearly and completelely at www.barackobama.com for everyone with internet access to see. If you don't have a computer, visit your local library."
Done correctly, this tactic would neutralize Palin and lump the governor in with a candidate with no real policy changes. It would force McCain to avoid tabloid style affronts and treat the Governor like a liablilty instead of a plus.
Here is a strategy that can really hurt the McCain Campaign. While both candidates have stretched the truth on occasion, only Senator McCain and his campaign have outright lied. This can be verified on all of the fact checking sites.
So what is the strategy? Call him out on it in a way he cannot refute: "John McCain will do anything to win this campaign including lying to you about his opponent. In fact, it is more important to him that he wins than it is for him to tell you the truth. That is not putting country first, that is putting himself first. If he lies to you now, can you trust anything he tells you? How can you trust that he will do anything for you at all?
The Republicans had control of the House, the Senate, and the White House for seven years up until 10 months ago. They passed none of the programs they promised to you. They passed no binding or significant anti-abortion legislation that they promised their base. They ran the economy into the dirt. They increased government spending and the size of the governement. They increased deficit to record levels and sold that debt to countries that do things we don't like. All of these things are the opposite of what they promised you and it resulted in the American people voting most of them out of office. It is time to vote the rest of them out too."
This line of attack is devastating because it is true and will strike an emotional cord of distrust with the people that he will not be able to get out from under. His only response can be to run an honest campaign, but the damage will be irreparably done.
Well, it's official. As requested by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, OPEC annouced that they will be dropping oil production to keep the price of oil over $100 per barrel. This means that we will never again see less than $3.50 per gallon gas before taxes. No matter how much we "Drill, drill, drill, drill here, drill now," we will never reach enough energy independence through domestic oil to lower the price of a barrel of oil below that threshold.
The United States imports approximately 65% of oil consumed from foreign sources. Even if we were somehow able to find a sustainable 30% more oil, we would still not be able to control world market prices and, since the world market is traded on the open market, all OPEC has to do if we find more oil is to reduce production to compensate.
People like Senator McCain with millions of dollars at their disposal don't see the difference between a few dollars more per gallon. On the other hand, the middle class, those on fixed incomes such as Social Security, and the poor suffer needlessly. We need to pound Senator McCain hard on this as being too blind to see that an increased drilling strategy would have little to no effect on the price of oil. He must be painted as out of touch and lacking vision to create real change.
John McCain is trying to create himself in Barack Obama's image. While immitation is the highest form of flattery, if McCain manages to sculpt this as a race of equally new programs he will be able to continue to make the election about man versus man instead of true progress versus stagnation. If he does, John McCain will win the election because the American people will see nothing more than a white man with many more years of public and military service versus a black man they are being trained to think is inexperienced. In this scenario, Senator Obama loses the white male vote, the military vote, the white female vote, and just about every fence-sitter in addition to those who will not vote for him just because of his skin color.
Sad to say, but the American public is manuevering back into the unenthusiastic "find a reason not to vote for someone" that got George W. Bush elected twice and away from the excitement and the movement that was built during the Democratic primary. If it comes down to that, the Democrats lose again. The best thing that Barack Obama can do now is to go back to those roots, reintroduce the programs, and energize the people. Do some more big speeches that outline the good things about the campaign policy platform. Who cares if they complain, every time they did Senator Obama's poll numbers didn't change or went up. It is a strength that needs to be exploited not ditched because the the republicans put it down. When their jealousy shows, they lose. Ditch the negative back-and-forth that the Republicans are experts at and retake the high road. Let the surrogates chastise McCain and Palin instead.
Much too much emphasis has been given to Governor Palin. The Governor is nothing but a second-rate politician and doesn't deserve the time of day. Let her have her day in the sun, then let her hang herself when it becomes painfully obvious that she doesn't get it and she can't compete. Three weeks away from the press just shows that the GOP is scared to death about what she is going to say and that she's a slow learner. Don't highlight it, but it's true.
Barack Obama shouldn't respond to anything she says. He should dismiss her publically as a corrupt nobody and let it lie. If anyone asks, he should say that he's already addressed it in his statement (about her being a corrupt nobody) and what she says really holds no weight. He should constantly reiterate that he is running against John McCain, McCain's poor judgment, and his promise to continue the Bush agenda. Then he should take every chance he gets to highlight his own policy programs, especially those about the economy and that appeal to the general population, and challenge John McCain to outline his agenda if he can remember back five minutes ago before he copied it from him.
Someone should piece together the following words in video clips of John McCain and post the ad on national television:
"My friends, here's some straight talk. I promise to continue George Bush's policies and call it change. I'm John McCain and I approve this message."
To be honest, having seen some of the changes in the McCain campaign after seeing them suggested in the blogs, his people are probably likely to be reading this and everything else in this blog and crafting it for their own uses. This blog can be private, but it in no way ensures that the other side won't try to join anyway and may already have. Don't forget, the GOP VP selection started as a blog entry. Any suggestions?
Besides their children, has either Senator McCain or Governor Palin started something from scratch and built it into something independent of themselves? In three years from age 22 to 25 Senator Obama did something that most business leaders only dream of: created a self-sustaining entity, did it with the support of the community, for the benefit of all involved and that is alive and well after 23 years. Senator Obama needs to showcase this feat and educate the public as to what it entails.
http://www.dcpincorp.org/
Forgive me in advance, but I watched the entire speech from beginning to end and I cannot agree with the pundits. Analysis at the end was essentially that there were lowered expectations and that she hit a “home run” with the speech.
Let’s keep with the baseball theme and equate Governor Palin to the minor-leaguer she is. A player comes up from the minors with lowered expectations. He comes up to the plate and nails a line-drive base hit. Is he awarded a home run because he was expected to strike out? No, he gets a base hit and lives to play another day.
Governor Palin hit that base hit, nothing more. In comparison to Rudy Giuliani or Mike Huckabee, her poise and delivery came off as amateurish. The first several minutes of the speech she fidgeted and bobbed like a high-school kid. Her speech patterns were broken. Even when she was talking about her family she didn’t appear at ease. It wasn’t until she started talking about oil, something she is well acquainted with through her husband and being from Alaska, that she started getting more comfortable. She seemed perfectly comfortable attacking Senator Obama for the very things that are her own weaknesses. Don’t knock community organizing when the community you are criticizing outnumbers your small town by tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people. Don’t try to equate yourself to a Chicago community organizer who did the organizing himself without the help of an administrative assistant ordered by the state when you were unable to do your job. These things are likely to come back to haunt you.
The good things about the speech do not detract from the fact that Governor Palin is not ready for prime-time. She was forceful when she was in her element: personal attacks and Oil. She was uncomfortable otherwise. She is disconnected from the American people and it shows. She lacks knowledge and it shows. We cannot afford a Vice President who is one heartbeat away from the Presidency, yet needs to be brought up-to-speed on national and international issues. We have that now in George Bush and look where it got us.
Some speech items to note:
· Hockey mom? Snow machine races? Is this Canada? You can count on one hand the number of states where the term “hockey mom” might be commonplace and they are sparsely populated states indeed. It seems that Governor Palin has very little in common with mainstream America.
· Was she reading from paper-copy? Does she know how to use a teleprompter?
· Governor Palin did not appear as comfortable when talking about her family as she did talking about oil and attacking Senator Obama. Is it possible that she knows less about her family than she does about oil or being confrontational? From the way her second-youngest acted around the baby, it is evident that the little girl takes on a lot of responsibility for that child. It seems that Governor Palin may not put the importance on family that she tries to portray. She does fit the mold of someone who puts career first and expects her children to take care of each other.
· You could see the fear in her eldest son’s eyes when she reminded him that he would soon report for duty in Iraq, yet she fully supports John McCain’s policies regarding the war and enthusiastically pushed her son into the spotlight to highlight the point.
· She closed her speech with the same fidgety lack of confidence she showed when she started it. That is a major concern because the end of her speech was about her love of country and “God bless America.” Did she mean it?
· She attacked community organizing without any knowledge of what it is or what it entails. That is irresponsible, petty and shows a lack of judgment. It is also one part of the speech that drew boos and it appeared that the detractors did not like her criticism. With all of the politicos in the audience, there were likely quite a few organizers there.
· Most of the speech was flat and boring with very little response, positive or negative, from the audience. Not nearly as electrifying as nearly every other prominent speaker.
· She mentioned her outsider status and that it is necessary for her to be that way to forcefully change Washington, yet she spoke of working across party lines and bringing the country together. You can’t have it both ways. The last major Presidential politician to attempt this “outsider” line was President Carter and when he reached office he had the rude awakening of not being able to get anything done. To work with Washington, a politician must know Washington. Governor Palin doesn’t know Washington.
· During Palin’s speech someone was escorted out. It would be interesting to know why.
· Senator McCain has repeatedly said that he did not offer the job to Governor Palin in an attempt to attract Hillary voters, yet she addressed said voters and tried to appeal to them directly. So which is it?
· Did you see the McCain/Palin hug? Her reaction was almost like he was a reptile and she was too good for the hug. There is no chemistry between them.
Just what does it mean to put "Country First?" It means that we are willing to listen and dedicate time and energy regarding those subjects that make our country better. How does our country work better?
So how do our two Presidential candidates fare in placing our country first?
Senator McCain
Senator Obama
So who puts country first? Barack Obama puts his country first while John McCain should not be allowed such loose usage of such an important statement.
A family member sent us a link to clips of the Saddleback Forum and asked my wife to watch them and come to her own conclusions. After watching several clips, other than saying watching them made her feel even more comfortable in her support of Senator Obama, she mentioned something that really separated the two candidates: Barack Obama was calm and thoughtful in his responses but John McCain appeared, well, angry. This got me thinking, Is John McCain just too angry to be the President of the United States?
Our country's position as a respected world leader is greatly diminished since we decided to invade Iraq unilaterally. Our next President must repair that or we risk being isolated and a target for attack either economically or through all-out war. Already countries like Russia, Iran and Venezuela are thumbing their respective noses at us because they know that we are overextended and can do nothing about it. China knows that as long as they own and buy our debt that we can say nothing about human rights abuses. There is nothing good that can come from this position and we must improve it. A President Obama would make a concerted effort to work with world leaders to improve our world standing, a President McCain would not.
Based on his posturing over the Russia/Georgia conflict, John McCain would have rushed to war with the Russians. He tastelessly taunted Iran with his "Bomb, bomb, bomb...bomb, bomb Iran" joke. Though he denies it, there is also the instance of the Nicaraguan offical that he reportedly "roughed up" as reported by fellow Republican Senator Thad Cochrane, R-Miss. Several current and former senators have expressed that they have been the brunt of his anger. Is this man a ticking time-bomb? Yes he is and the American public needs to know.
So here is my solution to the Senator McCain problem. I propose that in response to the bogus and repetitive "Not ready to lead" that the Obama Campaign respond with "McCain: too angry to lead." It will not take much to get people from both sides in Washington to verify his temper as being unfit for a President of the United States. It will also make Senator McCain very, very angry. At worst, the McCain campaign will have to back down on the attack dog tactics because it will make the American Public take notice of just how angry he is (angry little man.) At best, it will push him over the edge and can become a debate topic that he will lose. The message is also a fair contrast of character: it shows that, opposed to Barack Obama who is a voice of reason and gets angry only when necessary, Senator McCain has a fuse that is always ready to blow and is quick to retaliate. Whatever way you look at it, it is a win-win for the Obama Campaign and the United States.
Note:
Just be prepared for the McCain campaign to try to spin this one and have him say: "Yes, I'm angry and I'm angry because..." It must be framed such that it shows that his general temperament is in question and that he is dangerous in general because he cannot control it. John McCain seems to get angry simply because someone disagrees with him or he doesn't like somebody or something irrationally. It is not about his deep dislike of one or two issues, he is angry in general and the country can't afford a loose cannon in the White House in these times of trouble.
There is a catch-22 with the FISA vote that really must be considered. If Senator Obama votes against the measure, the RNC and Senator McCain's campaign will try to use the nay vote as evidence that he is soft on national security. This is potentially very bad. On the other hand, if Senator Obama votes for the measure he will be going against our wishes.
We all know that this bill is very, very wrong but it makes a large portion of the American population feel better to know that the government has the ability to screen our phone lines to potentially detect terrorist activity. It is a feel-good measure for these people to know it exists. What they don't realize because they have not been informed is that it continues the erosion of our civil liberties because the government is actually listening to everyone and there are too many loopholes in the definitions. Big-Brother encroaches, but not enough people seem to care so long as it is in the name of keeping our families safe.
Between now, the passing of the bill, and the general election, there is not enough time to inform the general public about the downfalls of the bill. Senator Obama will have to rely on the House and Senate to kill this, but he will have to vote for it. If, however, he makes sure that the American public is aware of the good things about the bill but that there are problems that should and will be re-addressed in the very near future he can calm all of us and the Democrats can get rid of this awful legislation when they have control of the White House, the Senate and House of Representatives.
It is of utmost importance that we elect Senator Obama President regardless of his vote on this issue. There will not be many votes lost if he votes for it and he cannot give the Republicans the pleasure of painting him as weak which can easily lose him votes from many fence-sitters and possibly the election. For now we must suck-it-up and wait for a better day.
