Obama's Next Move

Obama backers' biggest fear was crystalized last night on 60 Minutes.  Steve Kroft sat down with a handful of Ohio Democrats to discuss the election.  One of the guests was Kenny S., a middle-aged man who was losing his job at the NewPage paper plant which was closing by year's-end.  Kenny is straight out of central casting in the roll of  Average Joe, Middle America.  He was forthright, likeable and self-reliant.  He asked for no sympathy in the face of his impending unemployment and loss of the health insurance that enabled him to care for his MS-stricken wife.  In short, a stand-up guy, a true Democrat.

When asked who he was voting for, he replied that he was leaning towards Obama but. . . 

Kenny:  "There's a couple issues with him I'm not too clear on.  I'm hearin' he doesn't even know the national anthem.  He wouldn't use the Holy Bible.  He's got his own beliefs, with the Muslim beliefs . . . couple issues that bothers me at heart."

Kroft:  "You know that's not true."

Kenny:  "No.  I'm just . . . this is what I've been told."

It's a fifteen-second clip that will have the Karl Roves and Mary Matalins choking back giggles of ecstasy as they try to maintain a straight face for the cameras.  The perfect illustration of how good they have gotten at their nebulous smear campaigns.  

My natural inclination is always to dismiss these attacks.  They're ridiculous and beneath response.  Who in their right mind would question the patriotism of a man who has dedicated his life to making America a country where all of her citizens have the opportunity to realize their dreams?  What could be more patriotic than that?  I was likewise inclined to dismiss the 2004 attacks against the war records of John Kerry and, perhaps most absurdly, Georgia's Max Cleland.  How did that work out again? 

Evidently, there are people out there, lots of them, who listen to this garbage.  They believe.  And, even when they don't necessarily believe (Kenny didn't seem 100% comfortable stating his concerns to a national audience), they have doubts.  And those doubts fester and mutate under the intense pressure of increasingly negative attacks until they wake up one morning firmly convinced that Obama is a Muslim racist whose wife is a traitor.  

Much of the coverage today-- on television, in newspapers, across blogs -- is focused on these smear campaigns.  It would be wonderful to be able to ignore the attacks, treat them with the lack of respect they deserve.  Unfortunately, Kenny shows us why that's not possible.  If the accusations and innuendos are just left unanswered, the right wing has won.  Many of the voters who still have reservations about a candidate (Obama in this case but it could be any candidate in any election) will give in to their inner fears and believe the worst the politics of hate and fear can conjure up.

Obama needs to hit this hard, with the most effective means at his disposal.  To date, he has responded to each new slur immediately and reasonably.  But counter-punching isn't enough.  He needs to take the fight to the slanderers and libelers on the biggest stage he can command.  Tomorrow night, when he addresses another of his packed halls on national TV after the votes have been counted, he should share with the country his personal definitions of patriotism and Christianity and how his life has embodied those ideals.  He shouldn't be vindictive towards his attackers.  The optimistic, above-the-fray tone of his campaign has been spot-on to this point and he must continue with it.  His belief in the transformative power of hope is his greatest advantage over both HRC and John McCain.  He needs to sit with his speechwriters and create another masterpiece, like he gave us after Iowa and again after South Carolina.  

His speech in Houston after winning Wisconsin was fine, but it bogged down a bit in the details, almost as if he was proving to his critics that his campaign was just as much about policy as it was about poetry.  It was fine for the faithful but I'm not sure it inspired many conversions.

Obama's strength is oratory.  He is uniquely able to connect with people of all races, faiths and political affiliations through the power of his words.  There are lots of Kenny's out there, teetering on the fence.  Obama, you need to write them a poem.  Read it to them tomorrow night.  They'll be listening.