Here's proof the braintrust at the Republican party will a) lose and b) lose big....they think they're fighting the 2006 election all over again.

This comes from CNS news...

Master political strategist Karl Rove spoke to the American Jewish University this week. He stated that the key to attacking opponents isn't to attack their strengths -- it's to attack weaknesses they perceive as strengths. In 2004, Democratic nominee John Kerry staked his campaign on his perceived strength: his military experience. But, as Rove explained, that wasn't his strength -- he was vulnerable on foreign policy, a candidate with a record of attacking the military. By pointing out Kerry's weakness on the military, the Bush campaign was able to completely undercut Kerry.

Obama perceives his greatest strength to be his "change" message. He never shuts up about "change." His website touts his candidacy as "Change We Can Believe In." "We will change this country, and change the world," he states. His speeches are studded with the word "change." In his January 26 speech after the South Carolina primary, he used the word "change" 12 times. In his February 9 speech to Virginia's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, he used it eight times. In his February 12 speech following the Potomac primaries, he used it 11 times. In his Wisconsin primary victory speech on February 19, he used it 33 times. For the love of God, somebody buy this man a thesaurus.

While Obama believes he can win the presidency simply by uttering the word "change" like a magical incantation, his "change" message has a soft underbelly. His focus on change means he despises this country the way it is. His wife, Michelle, is crystal clear on this. "Our souls are broken in this nation," she said this month at UCLA. "That is why I am here, because Barack Obama is the only person in this race who understands that. That before we can work on the problems, we have to fix our souls." She went further in a February 18 speech in Wisconsin: "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country, and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change."

Despite all of its problems, America is not a deeply flawed place. It is the greatest nation in the history of mankind. It allows Barack Obama to run for president; it allows his wife to attend Princeton University and Harvard Law School. The Obamas' constant emphasis on change carries the disturbing undertone that the country is a disaster requiring radical reform. This isn't a message of optimism -- it's a message of profound pessimism.

This is the writer's bio -- oh, and yes, it comes from the "Christian News Service"

Ben Shapiro, 23, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School. He is the author of the recently published "Porn Generation: How Social Liberalism Is Corrupting Our Future," as well as the national bestseller "Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth."

Let's point out the obvious logical flaws in this argument, which has a headline (How to beat Barack Obama) written like it's meant to sell soap to people desperate to get clean.

Mr. Shapiro seems to think that America is not a "deeply flawed place" when at last 67 percent of Americans polled think it'll be that way in another four years if the current administration's policies continue. This comes to us from someone apparently well entrenched in the first half of the first decade of the century -- when evangelical christianity was ascendent in government. If you haven't noticed, a new poll shows "unaffiliated, non-evangelical" americans as the largest growing religious segment of the population, perhaps the reason Mr. McCain has managed to get so close the nomination of his party, even while running against someone like Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney. The evangelicals have lost their cohesion, again, as they did after Carter and Reagan made promises to them and failed to deliver. Hey, if GW Bush didn't give them what they craved, why would they ever have a chance of turning America into a theocracy? The majority of them (and they themselves aren't a majority, as the aforementioned poll pointed out) have lost that burning feeling in the gut requisite to successful organizing and GOTV action.

This piece simply harkens back to the past politics of the Rove machine, something that has turned voters toward Obama...witness the failed recent attacks on him by Hillary ("muslim" picture, "empty suit" argument, etc) - if the Republicans think Mr. Shapiro's approach is the way to salvation, then they should probably stay home. I wouldn't imagine Mr. Rove himself would buy into this one from a 23 year old graduate with some impressive sheep skins. It's the same basic misunderstanding all the Republicans made during their primary debates. The way they talked let everyone realize that the nation has moved on, but they remain stuck in the 1990s and the Bush Administration. Our bet is this plan wouldn't work very well, because it's an example of smart people playing the game based on older rules, many of which appear to have changed with the years, the poll numbers, and the nature of the candidates themselves.

If you'd like a real world example of this, just look at Iraq. It's failed precisely because it has been fought just like we found an older war - Vietnam. There wasn't any victory there, either.

Obama's message IS one of profound optimism -- a response to the obvious extreme pessimism of the American voter after more than 7 years of a bush-Republican controlled washington. They may not have any real hope of changing things that much, but they're sick to death of what they have, don't want more of the same and are willing to do just about anything to "kick the bums out" of DC.

Keep planning, Republicans, you may eventually come up with a plan that addresses a changed electoral environment, but this ain't it.

...VIA

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Labels: CHRISTIAN, Elections, MCCAIN, Obama

(or, we continue to piss off our friends as we rant against the hometown favorite in tonight's Democratic debate, and wonder why magic doesn't necessarily rub off when one most needs it to)

What a shame tonight in Ohio.

We could very well be wrong, but what we saw sure looked like the end of the Clinton-Bush presidencies unfolding.

Again, we're not Hillary loyalists here. We respect her, and think she'd make a fantastic president of the United States. She's served as a role model, fought for civil rights for years,is truly among the most gifted and right-thinking citizens in this nation. And, yes, our wives all love her.

However, we simply don't think she can win this, and agree with Newsweek that she should do herself and everyone else in the party a favor, and join the fight against McCain ('cause is sure ain't gonna be Mike Huckabee on the other side.)

She was shrill, she looked out-of-control, she acted and argued far from the woman we'd love to see as President. This person, we're not sure should be in the Senate.

The SNL comment?

C'mon! Very petty.

Where was her passion, her composure, her grace?

She played right into Senator Obama's hands in this one. He wore the mantle of composure tonight, and that's what televised debates are all about - Just ask Nixon or Kennedy (oh, wait a second, you can't...)

What really happened when we watched both of these candidates is something that we assume has happened to many of you over the past 8 years. We asked ourselves how Bill would be handling this if he was sitting up there this evening. We can't imagine he'd behave like Hillary did. He'd have handled this with a lot more grace and composure...Hell, he'd be making his opponent look bad with his smiles and his gentle joking.

That's the visible role Obama took tonight. Hillary instead spent a lot of time gasping and looking just plain frustrated.

That's understandable. Nothing she's done this past week has worked. Each time she tried to slap a below-the-belt jab on her opponent, she got called for it and it's made her look worse. "Xerox" comment? Booed. SNL comment? Drew actual hisses from the crowd. She can't win with the media because now she has the "liberal" and "conservative" msm out against her.

Our tip of the hat tonight to Russert, who made the CNN gang look like rank amateurs by comparison.

That Austin debate? Pretty lame outing by the reporters and Campbell Brown. Tonight? This is more like what political journalism should be. Tim hit it out of the park, and beat up on both candidates. You might notice that he eventually got them to shut up with rapid-fire questions to which neither candidate had good answers and then cut them off when they failed to answer the questions directly. Neither candidate looked like they were ready for the hardball treatment tonight.

And, yes, one of us IS partial to NBC.

However, Hillary loses this one. Online votes in several places say so, commentary rightly says so early this morning. As the Huffington Post writes, "Hillary's Ignominious End" - OK, that's close to a quote, but more likely a paraphrase.

We're actually sad, because we agree with that assessment. However, we're also excited because we've been listening to Obama, and reading his books, and we don't understand where people don't think he has any substance - we've seen quite a lot, and it's a substance that would seem to yield a formula that could actually unite the country. I know, sounds like we've taking a few sips of the "Koolaid" - but it's true. He has some fantastic ideas.

And remember, he's been selling hope when no one else has, and everyone wants to have hope. McCain has been selling more time in Iraq, more screwed up tax cuts for the rich, and Hillary has been too busy calling anyone who supports Obama a fool and other unkind things.

A couple of observations.

So far, he's still the only one selling hope. We again bring up Reagan, whom we detest. But it was hard to resist his promise of "morning in america" during the early 80s. We think the nation needs that from time-to-time to stay young.

Also, we've noticed that most recent winning campaigns have picked a winning storyline and stuck to it -- Clinton, "It's the economy, STUPID!" - Bush, "He's dumb, but getting better, and you'd rather have a beer with him than with Al" - etc and so on and so forth, if you're old enough to remember back to World War II, nearly every winning election came up with a storyline that the nation wanted and needed to hear, something worth watching. Obama truly has that now, and nothing Hillary has done has managed to dent that, whether you like her or not.

Tonight wasn't a good night for her. We sincerely hope she has better ones in the future.

...VIA

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Labels: Debate, Elections, Hillary, Obama