Obama/Biden: We Can't Hear You!

Chuck Todd of NBC observed last week that most voters will have a strong preference by mid-October, i.e., after the debates. I buy that, which means both sides have about a month to get their basic message across to most voters. We have said quite enough in this space about the Republican strategy, but what about the Democrats? My own analysis :

1- Barack Obama has yet to reduce to simple framing and engaging tone his basic message about specific issues like tax policy, education, health care, etc. Example: Governor Rendell has just told Democratic leaders in Pennsylvania that far more voters have heard the Republican's false claim that Obama "will raise your taxes" than know about his plan to give tax relief to 95% of families;

2 - Sound bites from speeches that criticize the GOP's most outrageous ads are not a substitute for direct, personal words to the media from Obama, Biden and other recently invisible surrogates, e.g., Senators Jim Webb and Clair McCaskill. Example: It may or may not have been a Michael Dukasis moment, but I believe Obama missed an important opportunity by not coming back against the truly smarmy "sex education" ad with a calmly stated expression of outrage at such innuendo.

3 - Recognizing the importance of listening to voters in small, informal settings in pivotal states, it is time to put Obama and Biden---separately and together---back into larger venues where their truly straight talk and appeals for a new kind of politics evoke genuine emotion by the crowd and high visibility media attention. Examples of this from the primary season are legion.

The good news for Democrats is that the Palin phenomenon resonates mostly with her fellow true believers in the party and in states where Democrats had little opportunity to compete in any case---- and she is getting a growing volume of negative media coverage. And even traditionally McCain-friendly media observers are pointing to the pattern of misleading and outright lying ads and statements by the McCain camp.

Analysis Conclusion: the "average bear" is not following the daily machinations of the campaign, and Democrats dare not bypass the opportunity to sharpen and raise the timbre of their own positive and precise message--- nationally and in key states--- in the two weeks before the first debate on September 26.

- Richard Holcomb