Remember when one of the big concerns about Barack Obama was whether he was “too nice” to withstand the Republican Attack Machine? That his above-the-fray style might not be assertive enough for a rough-and-tumble general election campaign?
Those questions look almost amusing in hindsight. Two weeks ago, Obama went after John McCain pretty aggressively on the GI Bill. Shortly thereafter, Obama hammered at McCain’s confusion over the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. And today’s it’s the economy.
“Sen. McCain wants to turn Bush’s policy of ‘too little, too late’ into a policy of ‘even less, even later.’ That’s not the change we need right now. That’s what got us into this mess in the first place.”
Under a headline that read, “This Is Much More Fun,” Atrios added, “Obama’s on the teevee making fun of Huggy Bear. I think I can start paying attention to this crap again.”
I know the feeling. This is enormously entertaining, not just because it removes any doubts about Obama’s willingness to go on the offensive against McCain, but because we’ve been waiting for Dems to stop fighting with each other, and start taking on McCain, for quite some time.
It’s worth noting that Obama was not exclusively critical of McCain, and weaved into his speech some interesting praise for his GOP opponent:
“John McCain is an American hero whose military service we honor. He can also legitimately tout moments of independence from his party, and on some issues, such as earmark reform and climate change, he and I share goals, even if we may differ on how to get there.
“But when it comes to the economy, John McCain and I have a fundamentally different vision of where to take the country. Because for all his talk of independence, the centerpiece of his economic plan amounts to a full-throated endorsement of George Bush’s policies.”
In general, I’d prefer less talk that paints McCain in a positive light, but Greg Sargent raises a very good point about the context in which remarks like these are made:
Obama is conceding that McCain has “moments of independence from his party” as a way, ultimately, of dealing with his primary political challenge: The fact that the national media has been searing the idea that McCain is a maverick into the consciousness of the electorate for 15 years now.
Giving a bit of ground on this question — before bringing the hammer down on all the ways McCain would represent a continuation of Bush’s policies — is probably the best way to neutralize, in advance, the McCain camp’s efforts to achieve separation from the soon-to-be-former President. The idea is to lead voters through what they’ve heard about McCain’s supposed independence to a real understanding of what electing him will actually mean to them on their most pressing issues.
Well said. I think that’s the strategy exactly.
Looking over the rest of the speech, Obama ties McCain to Bush on just about every economic angle imaginable, from healthecare to spending, taxes to housing.
More of this, please.