Obama’s secret weapon: Dick Lugar?

July 17, 2008

By all appearances, Barack Obama has a genuine friendship with Sen. Dick Lugar of Indiana, despite the fact that Lugar is a conservative Republican. The two don’t agree on much, but they’ve worked closely on counter-proliferation — a point that Obama emphasized in a new TV ad unveiled on Tuesday.

“The single most important national security threat that we face is nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists,” Obama says in the ad. “What I did was reach out to Senator Dick Lugar, a Republican, to help lock down loose nuclear weapons.” The spot is running in 18 states, including 14 “red” states, one of which is Indiana.

The next day, the Obama campaign unveiled a similar ad noting Obama’s work on the issue, and while it didn’t mention Lugar by name, the ad did show Obama and Lugar side by side in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

That Obama would seek to make this connection isn’t especially surprising. Not only is Lugar popular in a state Obama hopes to win, but the political establishment considers Lugar a very respected elder on matters of foreign affairs. If Obama and Lugar have worked together on the single most important national security threat in the world, then it bolsters Obama’s campaign pitch.

What’s curious, though, is that this is something of a risk. If the Obama campaign goes out of its way to tout Obama’s work with Lugar, and Lugar turns around and praises John McCain — or worse, says he disapproves of Obama’s ads — it could be politically embarrassing.

But that’s not what’s happened.

In fact, when Lugar had the chance to cut Obama off at the knees, Lugar did the opposite.

Lugar, who received a heads-up about the ad from Obama’s campaign, told reporters in Washington that he had no objection to the ad and is “pleased we had that opportunity to work together.”

“I’ve made no attempt to either suggest or censor ads run by Democratic candidates for office,” Lugar said Tuesday. “But I’ll simply say that the ad is accurate and that the transaction with regard to both the trip as well as the legislation we produced was successful.”

Granted, that’s not exactly an endorsement, but it certainly reinforces Obama’s message nicely — on the a pressing national security issue, Obama worked across the aisle and made a difference. Don’t believe him? Listen to the conservative red-state Republican who says Obama’s right.

That’s not a bad message to have right now.

I should add, by the way, that Charlie Cook suggested the other day that it’s not “outside of the realm of possibility” that Obama would consider Lugar for a running mate. That seems exceedingly unlikely, but in case there was any doubt, Lugar’s chief of staff told the Indianapolis Star with a laugh, “No. Hell, no.”

It’s not personal, he said, it’s just that Lugar isn’t eyeing national office.

Whoever thought Obama would pick anyone like Lugar to be VP needs to have their head checked. Geez.

But I’m sure we’ll now get McCain’s people touting Lieberman as evidence that McCain is even better able to make friends across the aisle, a point that Lieberman will be happy to support. The thing to do with that is point it out to the Republican base. He will lose as much support from them as he gets from the center.

  • Good for Lugar. Better for Obama. This is a very good ad on an issue that Obama really needs to press.

  • Really, there’s nothing for Lugar to complain about. Obama isn’t implying that Lugar endorsed him, merely that they agree on, and worked together on, nuclear weapons issues. If Lugar tried to complain, what would he complain about? That Obama HASN’T agreed with him? It’s on the Congressional Record that he did. The he DOESN’T agree with Obama on the dangers of nuclear proliferation? It’s one of his key issues. The McCain camp is busting its collective coccyx flip-flopping on various issues to the point where no one can really knows where he stands on pretty much anything, and they look like fools slamming Obama for endorsing positions McCain has endorsed or goes on to endorse, or goes on to endorse again. Lugar might be a neocon, but he’s not as dumb as McCain

  • Really, there’s nothing for Lugar to complain about

    Like this would stop most Republicans from complaining? kudos to Lugar for managing to find simple honesty, a virtue his fellow party members have long lost sight of

  • Dick Lugar had his epiphany of humane politics when he at first tried to tote the Reagan party line that the Philippines election of the early 80’s was a good demostation of democracy in action, as he was sent there to observe the election that pitted Aquino against the ruthless Marcos. I remember seeing the Honorable Senator reporting and he abruptly abandoned the party line and began to square with the American people. To this day, though I disagree many times with Sen. Lugar, I respect him as someone faithful to the truth as it can be observed.

    I say bravo to both the Honorable sentors featured in the political ad! -Kevo

  • Wonderful.
    This is exactly the way you win.
    Not by telling the sheeple that they have nothing to fear.
    But by rationalizing the threat and pointing out how seriously a bipartisan issue it is for you:

    “The single most important national security threat that we face is nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists.”

    That’s the way to flip red and purple states blue.
    And that’s what is going to win the electoral college.
    Sure it’s the economy stupid, but NEVER discount the deep fear of terrorism that lurks inside the American people.

  • Dick Lugar? Why doesn’t he just go with Penis Handgun? Seriously though that sounds like a solid ad on an issue Obama can own.

  • “This is a very good ad on an issue that Obama really needs to press.”

    made all the better by the fact that he doesn’t pronounce it “nukuler!”

  • As an independent voter more news like this is solidifying my support for Obama. He demonstrates a remarkable ability to work with all people and listen to all sides. How refreshing. My biggest concern is the economy and I just read Fortune magazines cover on the two candidates. Obama’s economic team is head and shoulders over McCain’s. His chief advisor, Phil Gramm, can be traced directly back to the subprime mess – he should be shot. McCain is another Republican corporate welfare lacky – witness his Keating Five dealings. I am fed up with Republican leadership. I never thought I would be saying this several years ago when I was a staunch Republican. The more I learn, the more I want to put as much distance as possible from them. WEW. Throw those bums out.

  • Just another ploy for Obama to move to the center after a scourge of conservatives during the primaries. Sounds substantive, but should be something any Congressman or Senator could work with on either side of the aisle. All our butts are exposed with dirty bomb tech, so why the kudos?

  • Charlie, everything anyone does is political – get real. Human beings are involved in a civilization – no longer hunter gathers living in tribes – although our brains are essentially unchanged. Obama by all my reading and observation has a remarkable temperment to lead and inspire, to communicate effectively across party lines, and to reach intelligent choices based on reason, looking at all sides of a problem. We need someone with this kind of talent. McCain unfortunately has shed his “maverick” label to pander to his party faithful. A shame as I was seriously considering voting for him.

  • All our butts are exposed with dirty bomb tech, so why the kudos?

    # of dirty bombs exploded in all of history – 0

    even if this were the threat you imagine, the damage your mythical dirty bomb can do pales next to that of an an actual nuke.

  • Robin: three cheers to you and to most of you. Yes it is possible to be both an honest man and a Conservative Republican (like Lugar always has been, like John Dean — who still considers himself a “Goldwater Conservative” is). I’m not sure how, and most of them hate the Gingrichized Republican party, but it does happen.

    On the other hand, “Lugar as VP”????? Not because he wouldn’t have made a good one — he’s one of the few Republicans I ever even considered voting for for President — but because, well, put it this way. That list of ‘things younger than McCain.” He’s not on it. He’s 76.

  • Every time Senator Secretneocon has a conversation with a Republican, every time he works with a Republican, every time a Republican says something nice about him, I’m proven right that Hillary was the real progressive in the primary and Mr. Slideright is the next JC Watts. Is the rumor true that Baright Obama is going to pick James Dobson as his running mate? Who would be surprised?

  • Can someone answer how this is so different from OR Sen Gordon Smith’s ad? I’m in the tank with by a few dollars for Obama, but the snarking about Smith’s elevation-by-association seems somewhat the same.

  • Kevo @7,

    I agree with you that Lugar should be lauded for the role he played in convincing Reagan not to back Marcos in 1986. At the same time, Lugar was instrumental in getting Congress to override Reagan’s ill-considered veto of apartheid sanction legislation.

    Unfortunately, this heroic senator has been AWOL for the last seven-and-a-half years. His silence has made him complicit in the evil that is the Bush administration. Because of this, history will not treat him kindly.

  • Forget everything else, Sen.Lugar is 76. I respect him a lot, but his age alone should be a disqualifying factor.

  • Insane Fake Professor
    Every time Senator Secretneocon has a conversation with a Republican, every time he works with a Republican, every time a Republican says something nice about him, I’m proven right that Hillary was the real progressive in the primary and Mr. Slideright is the next JC Watts.
    Insane – Check.
    Fake – Probably.
    Professor> – you mean “Troll”?

  • Ramki — and this week’s crop of newcomers:

    “Professor> – you mean “Troll”?” No, ‘spoof of trolls.’ IFP was originally someone who was parodying a particularly noisy and dense Hillary supporter who claimed to have been a Professor, hence the name. Since then he has gone on to be our resident parodyist, and as brilliant at it as is “Jon Swift.” It seems necessary to repeat this about every week because, like Swift — who has seen his articles not just taken seriously but included in ‘blog carnivals’ by the side he is aprodying — particularly with his ‘Creationist’ pieces — somebody new will think he’s ‘for real.’

    (Why do I think that if a New Yorker editor was a regular reader of this blog and saw the number of times the same mistake has been made, they never would have run The Cartoon?)

  • There are some people who will not give credit for anything.
    How unhappy they must be.
    I one liked and respected McCain. No longer. He has shown his
    true colors. You would think after what Bush, Rove and the
    swift boaters did to him he would want a clean campaign.
    Wrong.
    Anything Barack Obama does is torn apart by those who hav e
    nothing to go on but to try to terrorize the American people.
    Good for you Barack, for trying to break down the barriers.
    You are intelligent enough to get advice from experts in the
    field.
    Mccain your are ???? yet to be decided.

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