February 26, 2008

It's Kitchen Sink Time

The Hillary Clinton campaign has begun to throw everything they have left in the cupboard against Barack Obama as the window of opportunity begins to close on their candidate. Mike Allen and John F. Harris at Politico report that the campaign has also begun to turn on itself in its last throes on the national stage, and as polling numbers continue to drop nationwide:

With a week to go before climactic tests in Texas and Ohio, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign team has slipped into full recriminations mode.

Looking backward, interviews with a cross-section of campaign aides and sympathetic outsiders suggest a team consumed with frustration and finger-pointing about the apparent failure of several recent tactical moves against Barack Obama.

Looking forward, it is clear Clinton’s team has only a faint and highly improvisational strategy about what to do over the next seven days. Simply put, there is no secret weapon.

At Tuesday night’s debate in Ohio, aides are mapping plans for drawing persistent attention to Obama’s record without attempting any knock-out punch theatrics that could backfire.

Many recent decisions have done exactly that. This has left the campaign awash in anger over who is to blame.

The Clintons never got the message this cycle. They won in 1992 with James Carville fist-in-face tactics, but in sixteen years, people have tired of it. They want candidates who focus on themselves, not on their opponents. Both Barack Obama and John McCain managed to figure this much out, as did Mike Huckabee to a certain extent. They talked about their own narratives, while their opponents floundered by talking about others.

Hillary should have stuck with her own narrative. When she did that, she controlled the race. Only after she panicked after that disastrous November 2nd debate, in which she flip-flopped on drivers licenses for illegal aliens, did she come out hard against Obama. That's when her campaign started discussing his kindergarten essays as evidence of his supposedly overweening ambition. Until then, she ruled the polls.

This will be instructive in the general election. With two candidates who seem to understand this mood in the American electorate, the question will be whether any negative or "contrast" politicking will work. The first candidate who can successfully manage it will win the election.

Posted by Ed Morrissey on February 26, 2008 8:08 AM | Comments ()

Email this post Print Posts

Comments
Please note that unverified Disqus users will have comments held in moderation. Please visit Disqus to register and verify your account. Comments from verified users will appear immediately.

About

Ed Morrissey has blogged at Captain's Quarters since 2003, and has a daily radio show at BlogTalkRadio, where he serves as Political Director. Called "Captain Ed" by his readers, Ed is a father and grandfather living in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, a native Californian who moved to the North Star State because of the weather.

Read More

My Other Blog

The Crows Nest

Another Great Mention Of BTR

I can't help it -- I love it when we get attention from the press. Reuters and CNet give us a nice plug in an article also linked at Huffington Post. It also mentions me, although it misses the name of my radio show, Heading Right Radio. Give it a read!

Jon Swift Made A List

The satirical blogger, Jon Swift, has his list of the best posts for 2007 -- as selected by the bloggers themselves. Be sure to check out the extensive list, including one from Captain's Quarters!

Who Is Raul Baduel?

Fausta takes a look at the "most interesting man in Venezuela", a former Chavez ally turned opponent over Hugo's attempted coup by referendum. If you haven't heard of Raul Baduel before, you should acquaint yourself with him now.

No Libel In The Blogosphere?

Picking up on a paper written by Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds, Shaun Mullen talks about libel in the blogosphere, and why almost no legal action has ever been attempted against bloggers. Shaun has personal experience in this regard, and he has an excellent take on Glenn's piece. My first thought -- how many lawyers would take a case for the kind of money one would expect to get from a blogger?

The Tyrant Is Not Amused

So says Michael Stickings of The Reaction, one of the few liberal bloggers to see the threat from Hugo Chavez to liberty and regional security. His referendum on dictatorship has proven rather unpopular, threatening an embarrassing loss at the polls for the man who declares his commitment to socialism in the most dire terms possible. Read all of Michael's excellent update on the December 2nd poll.

Watcher's Council Nominations

It feels like years since I've linked to the Watcher of Weasels nominations for the best blog posts of the week on national security -- and it probably has been years, now that I think about it. Check it out this week, as the Council has been kind enough to nominate one of my posts.

The Old Woman

Pat Buchanan has a new book out, Day of Reckoning, which I have not yet had a chance to review. According to Rick Moran, I needn't bother. Buchanan informs his readers that America has passed into twilight. Moran refers to Buchanan as an "old woman". Don't miss this post.

Norman Podhoretz Responds

Accused of using a manufactured quote by Andrew Sullivan, Norman Podhoretz responds rather forcefully at Commentary's blog, Contentions. Podhoretz notes that Sullivan and The Economist both seem to miss the fact that the Iranians often edit Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's speeches for their own political benefit. Amir Taheri, who published the quote on which Podhoretz relied, produces the source material for the remarks by Khomeini eschewing Iranian nationalism for Islamist triumphalism. Will Sullivan apologize?

Fred Thompson On The War

Pajamas Media has a great interview with Fred Thompson as the first of its conversations with Republican candidates on the war. Thompson has one of his best web appearances in this entry -- sharp, engaged, articulate, and resolute. He talks about the fallacy of believing a nation at war can have both guns and butter, and what it takes to win a war. Don't miss it!

New Pajamas Media Podcast On BlogWorld Expo!

Don't miss Pajamas Media's new XM show, PJM Political, now available for podcast and download at PJM's site. I'm one of the featured segments, as well as Glenn Reynolds, Hugh Hewitt, James Lileks, Ed Driscoll, and more. Be sure to check it out!

Captain's Quarters Makes The Finals -- Twice!

I've been honored to be named a finalist in two different categories of the 2007 Weblog Awards -- Best Blog and Best Conservative Blog! Be sure to cast your votes in all catgories, and to use the opportunity to discover some new and worthy voices ....

UPDATE: We finished in third place for Best Conservative Blog and fourth in the overall Best Blog competition. Thanks to everyone who voted for Captain's Quarters, and I hope you enjoyed a new blog or two during the effort!

Help Project Valour-IT Make Us All Winners!

The Navy team at Soldier's Angels can use your help to make everyone a winner! Donate to the Project Valour-IT fundraiser for the Navy team and help us give our wounded warriors an opportunity to shine.

Crow's Nest Mostly Unmanned

Yes, I know the Crow's Nest has mostly been moribund since the site's relaunch. I do plan on using it more often in the future, I promise. I'll be spending a little more time on these posts as a way to link out to the blogosphere. Keep an eye on this space.

Also, please note that I've put the Amazon search bar on the main page, in the right sidebar. If you want to do some shopping at Amazon -- and who doesn't? -- be sure to shop through Captain's Quarters. Amazon does pay a small percentage of the sale to me, and it helps pay for a few sundries related to the blog. Much appreciated!

OpenCongress Web Widget

Ever wanted to announce your support or opposition to Congressional legislation? OpenCongress now has a web widget that allows bloggers to do exactly that. Take a look at this, and check out how easily you can build your own.

Maybe They're Flotation Devices?

The Australian Navy foots the bill for breast augmentations. The Labour Party would like to know why, and probably so would most of the voters in Australia.

Archives

Subscription


Lijit Search

blog advertising
Blogroll

Captain's Quarters features an authoritative blogroll, listing many websites that feature the top political thinking on the Internet. In order to make the list easier to navigate, it has been divided into a number of sections.

Click on the section title to expand the list.

MS-NBC/CapQ Partnership
Recent Comments