OBAMA: TO THE MIDDLE!

Let me start off by saying that I still love Obama. He should be President in a big way, and a few recent events aren't going to sway me! But, jeez, man ... could you be a little more subtle with your mad dash to the middle. I mean, I know this is what politicians have to do to get elected these days (I guess), but let's not forget what got you here and the passion that many of us have for your positive stance for the things we care about.

Let's be honest: this was not a good couple of weeks for Obama. First, he opted out of public financing, and I'm not even going to try to spin that one (on the other hand, I really can't blame him either). However, I'm genuinely angry about the FISA thing. He should not support that horrible bill ... period! And then came this recent gem from an article on MSN ...

Democrat Barack Obama struggled Thursday to explain how his upcoming trip to Iraq might refine, but not basically alter, his promise to quickly remove U.S. combat troops from the war.

Rut-Ro!

Democrats keep saying we want someone who will win in November. And I suppose it could be argued that Obama is just doing what it takes. Although, I think Arianna Huffington might have the right idea in her post titled Moving to the Middle is for Losers. Here's a portion of it ...

Running to the middle in an attempt to attract undecided swing voters didn't work for Al Gore in 2000. It didn't work for John Kerry in 2004. And it didn't work when Mark Penn (obsessed with his "microtrends" and missing the megatrend) convinced Hillary Clinton to do it in 2008.

Fixating on -- and pandering to -- this fickle crowd is all about messaging tailored to avoid offending rather than to inspire and galvanize. And isn't galvanizing the electorate to demand fundamental change the raison d'etre of the Obama campaign in the first place? This is how David Axelrod put it at the end of February, contrasting the tired Washington model of "I'll do these things for you" with Obama's "Let's do these things together"

In a previous post, I also argued that Obama would be better than Clinton due partly to the fact that he wouldn't run the same loser playbook as Gore and Kerry. Prove me right, Barack.

I'd like to end with a little more about Obama's position on FISA. But rather than listen to me, you should listen to this ...