The Blip on Obama's Big Screen campaign

Peter Keating aptly spells out the ambitious assumptions and strategy of the Obama campaign in this week's edition of New York magazine. At the same time, he zeroes in on a potential Achilles heal:

"Obama seems reactive partly because some of his key initiatives — registering massive numbers of new voters, reaching out to young Evangelicals — are happening off the press’ radar. But on some big issues, McCain has just made better pitches. He has framed the war as a question of whether the surge has brought added stability to Iraq, and Obama, unable to deny that it has, is stuck defending troop withdrawals. McCain has argued for offshore drilling as a way to use American resources for relief at the pump, and Obama’s responses have sounded retro and hackneyed. Meanwhile, Obama bungled the symbolism of rejecting public financing by letting McCain off the hook for agreeing to use public funds, then rejecting the system himself. And while Obama’s calls for faith-based programs and community service may prove resonant, his economic program has yet to viscerally connect with voters.

The key question: After Obama reintroduces himself as a non-radical, can he take control of the campaign narrative? During the last three months of the Democratic race, he simply ran out the clock against Clinton. Against a more unpredictable opponent and facing a possible October surprise, Obama will need better punches for a knockout."

Nearly one-third of voters told Pew Research over the past two weeks that they are undecided or could change their mind before November.---compared to only 21 percent at this time in 2004. This indecisiveness, is a cause of uneasiness to the Obama campaign.Further, while the numberous gaffes by McCain and his surrogates have been great fodder for us political junkies. McCain ads are reaching millions of undecided voters in several pivotal states where he reportedly is outspending Obama 3-1.

Obama is clearly looking to expand the electoral map---relying heavily on the largest grassroots campaign in modern history---but the answer to the question of who is getting their message to rank and file voters could be a major " blip" on his big picture screen.