Fuck the race thing, to blow up as far as Obama has from being fairly unknown is a pretty big accomplishment on his part. What do people here feel he did to make jump?

I think the getting people just to vote campaign paid off(we may set a voting record). I heard countless commercials on urban radio stations by obama that were strictly about voting rather than trying to con them into voting for him.

Because he is the right man for the right time--because American wanted to finally do the right thing and be free. An election is not always about the campaign--it can be about the people who receive the message, In this case, America received the message, they listened, and the voted with their conscience and looked at the issues, and rejected our past. This is the most positive thing that has happened in this country since Robert Kennedy engineered the change that occured in the 60s. Now, America must stick with it, must endure, and must allow Barak Obama to succeed--and to fail--and must judge him simply by what he can do or can't do.

I understand that, but i'm talking about the beginning to now, its not as simple as right man for the job. He had a strategy and thats what I wanted to look at.

His strategy was to appeal to thinking Americans.

Possibly the most successful grass roots campaign ever. He really built it from the ground up rather than just skimming the surface and going for general audiences from the get go. A couple years ago he was giving a speech at a community college across the street from my parents house to an audience of only a couple hundred people.

He is a great orator, and his speeches are very motivating. That strongly tied into your point about just getting people to vote rather than converting voters.

The two things that stand out most for me are the tightly linked decision to opt out of public financing and his 50-state strategy.

He leveraged modern technology to create a network of donors and supporters from scratch. Not only doing an end run around the old, existing political machines but dwarfing them almost into irrelevance.

All that money allowed him to deploy a serious campaign in every state and McCain was simply unable to muster a defense on so many fronts. Soaking up so much money basically starved the 527s and swiftboaters of the left wing, leaving Obama's campaign in total control of his message.

His strategy was to appeal to thinking Americans.

the young and educated helped carry the day

the old and uneducated are sad

Actually, I'd argue that the educated did NOT carry the day, unless you're talking the highly educated. Obama did well with the extremely educated and extremely uneducated, and it was those people with "some college" or "just" a 4-year degree where his support was narrowest.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#val=USP00p1

I'd say that his being able to win the Hispanic vote by big margins was the key. That's how he gets Florida, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada.

Sorry I'm not going to give full-on felatio to BO here but part of it is the new face factor. Carter even rode that wave, Reagan, Clinton and Dubya.

Its not the only factor but its part of it.

#8 GD, go search Utube for BO supporters or something. Its pretty amazing. They feel Palin was a good choice for BO. lol

I think the optimistic message was significantly helped by the strong ground game. Optimism that doesn't seem personal often leads to the candidate looking out of touch or head in the clouds.

Another thing he did right was pick a year when the Repubs nominated JM.

Another thing he did right was pick a year when the Repubs nominated JM.
and you've already made two excuses.

The last one was and it was a lil joke. What the fuck is wrong with you? Can't joke around here anymore? BO is prez so you set the rules now? No more snarky posts? No more sarcasm? JUST KIDDING

Seriously if you can't handle the fact that a new face vs someone that has a huge track record can't be a factor, then you are wrong and have learned nothing.

^BO is not the president, yet.

Seriously if you can't handle the fact that a new face vs someone that has a huge track record can't be a factor, then you are wrong and have learned nothing.
It is a factor. McCain had an uphill battle thanks to Bush. However, being a new face is not something Obama DID right.

You can say he used Bush's terrible 8 years as a reason to run the change campaign. That was something he did right. Change we can believe in was a much better message than Country First. Credit Obama on that one. McCain tried to be a change candidate late, but nobody bought it after his voting record and all the republican endorsements he went after.

I don't agree with that last part, but your point of what BO did right is correct. I appologize to everyone cept Gutz.

In addition to the popular loathing for Bush, I think people were primed for an appeal to something other than fear after eight years of being told to go shopping, stick your head in the ground and be afraid, very afraid.

McCain tried to run away from Bush but he still used the same tactics. Fear Obama, he's too risky, too radical, he'll raise your taxes and terrorists will run wild in the streets of america.

Obama played to aspirations more than fears.

I don't agree with that last part, but your point of what BO did right is correct. I appologize to everyone cept Gutz.

I accept your appology.

Obama talking Dumars into trading Billups for AI was PIVOTAL to winning MI!

(and yes, they do talk with each other -- both Obama and Dumars have Blackberries!)

What Obama Did Right

1- Public Financing. His campaign had bank accounts that self-replenished themselves.

2- Avoiding the topics of Ayers/Wright/Khalidi/Rezko. It's unbelieveable McCain never put the pressure on Obama to explain these things in further detail. It was obvious Obama's got some dirty laundry, but McCain just couldn't find a way to expose it.

3- The mainstream media ALWAYS had his back. I'm not going to bitch about this one. It's obvious, it's always going to be like this.

4- Young voters. People my age who know little about politics think Obama's a celebrity. And to them that's appealing. They look at McCain and see the stereotypical, white-haired, elderly politican, which doesn't come off as 'exciting' like Obama does.

5- The 'Bush' factor. The criticism George W. Bush get's has been way overblown. Now I'm by no means going to tell you he had a great 8 year run. He didn't. But the way Obama's campaign marketed Bush to be this complete fool was influential to alot of voters on both parties. It was just a tough year for Republicans. I don't think it was fair for McCain to be mixed in with Bush's propaganda. Just because they're both Republican, doesn't mean they're the same politican. Unfortunately, it was just too big to overcome.

6- McCain's inability to properly point out the flaws of Obama's 'tax' plan. It wasn't like the mainstream media was going to do that for him. The whole "95% of Americans..." slogan is just complete bullshit.

7- Obama's charisma. He's articulate, proper, clean (appearance), and has a good way of 'charming' people when he speaks. Barack is the only person I know who can completely "wow" an audience by saying absolutely nothing. He's got a rockstar status from his A-list celebrity endorsements, he has a modern demeanor, and he says all the things people want to hear (college affordable, 'change', etc.). With all that going on, you don't need to have substance in your words.


Well played by the Obama camp. For as much time as he spent campaigning, it definitely paid off.

I don't agree with that last part, but your point of what BO did right is correct. I appologize to everyone cept Gutz.
:) Whatever floats your boat.

Let's put this one through the WTF Translator:


What Obama Did Right

1- Public Financing. His campaign had bank accounts that self-replenished themselves.

Everyone believed in Obama more than McCain and he took advantage of it

2- Avoiding the topics of Ayers/Wright/Khalidi/Rezko. It's unbelieveable McCain never put the pressure on Obama to explain these things in further detail. It was obvious Obama's got some dirty laundry, but McCain just couldn't find a way to expose it.

McCain ONLY brought these things up a half dozen times in debates. When Obama said they are not influencing him he's a dirty lier. Also, McCain's shady connections are irrelevant because he's a POW.

3- The mainstream media ALWAYS had his back. I'm not going to bitch about this one. It's obvious, it's always going to be like this.

Fox News is the most watched news program but they are not mainstream.

4- Young voters. People my age who know little about politics think Obama's a celebrity. And to them that's appealing. They look at McCain and see the stereotypical, white-haired, elderly politican, which doesn't come off as 'exciting' like Obama does.

Young people are stupid. Old people and racist people know more about politics and do not vote based on demographics.

5- The 'Bush' factor. The criticism George W. Bush get's has been way overblown. Now I'm by no means going to tell you he had a great 8 year run. He didn't. But the way Obama's campaign marketed Bush to be this complete fool was influential to alot of voters on both parties. It was just a tough year for Republicans. I don't think it was fair for McCain to be mixed in with Bush's propaganda. Just because they're both Republican, doesn't mean they're the same politican. Unfortunately, it was just too big to overcome.

W is not a fool. Voting %90 of the time with him does not mean they think alike.

6- McCain's inability to properly point out the flaws of Obama's 'tax' plan. It wasn't like the mainstream media was going to do that for him. The whole "95% of Americans..." slogan is just complete bullshit.

McCain is allowed to lie and say everyone making 42k a year will get taxed more under Obama while the media should call Obama a liar even though he didn't lie about his plan

7- Obama's charisma. He's articulate, proper, clean (appearance), and has a good way of 'charming' people when he speaks. Barack is the only person I know who can completely "wow" an audience by saying absolutely nothing. He's got a rockstar status from his A-list celebrity endorsements, he has a modern demeanor, and he says all the things people want to hear (college affordable, 'change', etc.). With all that going on, you don't need to have substance in your words.

All I do is bask in his star quality and ignore his actual words.

Well played by the Obama camp. For as much time as he spent campaigning, it definitely paid off.

Obama bought the White House. McCain was a vastly superior canidate but all these idiots watching ads bought into Obama's BS

http://www.jeremyhanks.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/nailed_it.jpg

Let's put this one through the WTF Translator:


Interpret it how you want. My reasons are valid. Like I said, Obama's campaign was very well planned & executed. That's all that matters.

But if you think John McCain = George W. Bush...then tell me why I shouldn't think Barack Obama = Jimmy Carter?

Similarities between Barack & Jimmy

- Both ran their campaigns on the promises of 'change' and 'hope', two words that can only be interpreted in one's individual imagination.

- Both we're relatively 'newcomers' to the political scene. Lacking the experience that past Presidents had when they we're elected.

- Jimmy told voters he would keep their taxes down since it was a troubled economy (similar to what our economy is now), and he also tried to come off as a 'fiscal conservative', just as Barack is.

- Back when Jimmy won, the Democrats also had a large majority in Congress.

- Both had next to no legitimate foreign-policy experience.

- Both have complete inept morons as VP's (Mondale, Biden).

So what happened back in the late '70s? Carter & the Democratic Congress generated an 18% inflation and economic stagnation at the very same time. Unemployment rose. He damaged our relationship with allies and sought better relations with those who didn't like us (just as Barack wants to do). And when his 4 years was up, he was completely obliterated in the most lopsided election ever, and is notoriously regarded as the single worst President ever.

History's always bound to repeat itself. We just have to learn through trial & error. I have the patience, I'm only 20.

I think one could say that staying in the backroom during the 700billion dollar bailout was smart for him. For some reason the voting public felt BO was the guy to fix this. That's when the election turned. JM was winning before that. Not by much but he was polling ahead of BO.

RNC bounce.

My responses in blue:


Interpret it how you want. My reasons are valid. Like I said, Obama's campaign was very well planned & executed. That's all that matters.

But if you think John McCain = George W. Bush...then tell me why I shouldn't think Barack Obama = Jimmy Carter?

Similarities between Barack & Jimmy

- Both ran their campaigns on the promises of 'change' and 'hope', two words that can only be interpreted in one's individual imagination.

So anybody that runs on change is Jimmy Carter then? McCain rain on change in the end.

- Both we're relatively 'newcomers' to the political scene. Lacking the experience that past Presidents had when they we're elected.

Clinton didn't have much experience. Neither did Reagan. What is your point? There are plenty of presidents with the same level as Barack.

- Jimmy told voters he would keep their taxes down since it was a troubled economy (similar to what our economy is now), and he also tried to come off as a 'fiscal conservative', just as Barack is.

Obama's tax plans are similar to Clinton's, you should go by him.

- Back when Jimmy won, the Democrats also had a large majority in Congress.

How does the congress mean he is the same as a president? There is no correlation there at all. 9/11 happened on Bush's watch. Are all presidents who preside over a terrorist attack the same as Bush?

- Both had next to no legitimate foreign-policy experience.

True, but see the experience answer above.

- Both have complete inept morons as VP's (Mondale, Biden).

Biden is an inept moron? I think he's pretty solid. Considering you have been defending Palin I don't think this point is even worth discussing.

Its the economy, stupid!

without the financial crisis i don't think Obama would have won so easily, and his reaction to this crisis, calm and at least acting like he knows what to do showed the americans they can trust Obama and the democrats more when it comes to the economy than McCain and the republicans, talking about the fundamentals of our economy are strong and suspending the campaign when it counted the most.

The well-worn path for presidents is through a governor's office. Governors don't tend to have much foreign policy experience unless they can see russia from their porch.


2- Avoiding the topics of Ayers/Wright/Khalidi/Rezko. It's unbelieveable McCain never put the pressure on Obama to explain these things in further detail. It was obvious Obama's got some dirty laundry, but McCain just couldn't find a way to expose it.
I see this argument a lot in the right wing punditry. To paraphrase the line from jaws: They think they needed a bigger swiftboat.

Talk about learning the wrong lesson. McCain lost because he couldn't make the case for McCain. If he could only win on the strength of his smear campaign, he didn't deserve the job.