Posted by: McQ on Friday, October 12, 2007 Bloomberg has an article about how Obama has been using tough love as a way to differentiate his campaign from his rivals. Billed by Bloomberg as the "Sister Soljah tack", Obama has been telling crowds at various stops on the campaign trail things they might not necessarily want to hear: So far this year, Obama, 46, has talked up tougher emissions standards in Detroit, gone to the Nasdaq Stock Market in New York to chastise Wall Street executives over tax loopholes and their ``what's good for me is good enough'' mentality and told black men in South Carolina that they need to ``stop acting like boys'' and face up to parental responsibilities.Now it can be argued that there may be other reasons, but it is plain to anyone that Obama's star has not been rising for some time. In fact, it's been sinking rather steadily. On the other hand, Hillary Clinton is doing none of the above and her star (and poll numbers) is rising. David Axelrod, Obama's senior adviser, said his candidate knows his tough-love strategy carries some risk. ``If you're straight-up with people, you're not always going to please them,'' he said.But is that a smart strategy for a 2nd or 3rd place candidate ... especially in the primaries where it is only the base which will turn out for you? Is it smart to turn on them when you expect them to turn out for you? I'm strictly speaking about political strategy here. It's one thing to talk like this in a general election. You can argue that while your base may not like what you have to say, at that point they have nowhere to go. OTOH, when doing it in a primary, aren't you taking the chance of alienating your base? Obama's poll numbers would indicate that may be the case. It's interesting though - I can't tell you the number of conversations I've had with people who say, "I just wish politicians would be straight with us and tell us what they really believe". Viewing Obama's steadily declining poll numbers I really wonder if that's true. In truth, it seems to me we want to be sold unicorns and rainbows during an election cycle and then, after the election, cynically criticize the politicians for not delivering on their promises. As we watch Hillary Clinton rise steadily in the polls, I think we have to honestly reflect on the question "do we want straight talk from politicians" and reluctantly conclude that in reality, for the majority, the answer is "no." And yes, that means, God help us, we will get exactly the government we deserve. |
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