Conventions Give Obama and McCain the Chance to Reach New Groups of Voters
Barack Obama and John McCain are courting a new electorate in unexpected battleground states as they vie for the White House
Though the McCain camp recently embarked on a week of negative ads against Obama (most notably a much-criticized one that mocked the Democrat's "celebrity") and also raised the specter of race after being accused by Obama of trying to "scare" voters, both candidates seem to have settled on a mix of hard-hitting ads and those with broader-appeal messages. One of McCain's efforts portrayed him as a maverick working to fix a "broken" Washington by "taking on" corruption. Obama has responded with themes he is expected to highlight at the convention: McCain's 26 years in Washington, his links to Big Oil, and his relationship with the Bush administration. Both candidates have made multimillion-dollar ad buys during the coming weeks of Olympics coverage.
In the limelight. What do they need to accomplish in the convention spotlight? GOP pollster John McLaughlin says that McCain must take Bush out of the calculation. "He has to put Obama in a headlock and make it a very sharp, one-on-one contrast," McLaughlin says. "The Democrats at their convention are going to beat the daylights out of Bush and the Republicans—they might as well give out Bush piñatas." GOP strategist Brad Blakeman says that McCain, who trails Obama with voters concerned about domestic issues, has to convince skeptics that he has the experience, leadership, and bipartisan record to tackle problems like high energy prices and a struggling economy. There is little doubt that Obama can best McCain on the rhetorical front, but a specific agenda from the Republican could mitigate that gap, strategists say. McCain can chase Obama by talking about his liberal voting record and portraying him as an "unknown" quantity, Shafer says. After all, it was a 17-minute convention speech in 2004 that catapulted Obama, then a Senate candidate from Illinois, into the national consciousness.
Obama's imperative hasn't changed since he secured the nomination: explain the "change" he has promised and come across as a commander in chief, strategists say. "I expect him to downplay race—the code words historic candidacy will likely come from others, not him," says Des Moines-based pollster J. Ann Selzer. "But the big challenge for Obama is to position himself as a problem-solver who will lead the nation out of its current mess, both on the domestic and foreign fronts." Shafer says Obama must tie McCain to Bush.
With so much at stake this year and so many new voters in play in unexpected parts of the country, the conventions hold the promise of providing more than what some skeptics of political gatherings past have characterized as the well-worn script of razzle, dazzle, and ratify.
Reader Comments
Who to vote for, in a few weeks not as easy as it seems!
I am a proud to be an American for 15 years, I love this country, I cried the day I swear to become a true citizen, and sat by many who spoke different language like me, wanting the same thing like me, desiring the same thing like me.
I came from Italy where my grandfather worked as a Fascist Captain in the army, under of course Mussolini. The history and photos, letters that I've seen and read, the stories that I heard from my father and mother my grandmother and tears, the loss of many, and many tears I've seen, the news I on TV when I was a little girl of people killed, right in front of my eyes of the Holocoust. To me that History is not really History is part of my growing up and generation I've seen what the Germans had done, and Mussolini had done, and my grandpa had done in Africa, and unfortunately what many other had done.
Many made an oath that day 15 years 1/2 ago with me because they knew what the principals of this great country were, they knew what this great country trusted in, they knew what the value and moral were based on.They knew there was freedom!!! That was just not too many years ago!
And now... it's seem such a different world to me. People are not united anymore, they don't believe in each other, greed, power, wow!!! History seems to be repeating its self, with one difference, the umpire is not falling anymore in the old worlds, and country's.
All of us studied history some of us lived it, some of us still remembers it, what I see, in Obama, Biden - McCain, Palin is the rising of nothing else than a new couple of
people that means well, overpower by greed and power, and too many wealthy people, without counting old politician.
I seen it before it will happen again, the great and wonderful new loved soo loved world, the great America Umpire will come tumbling down. Who to vote for? I don't know, one knows too much, even the corners to avoid, the other one is so nice and naive, that he might forgive even the one that is going to pick his pocket couple of times.
Good intentions are to be respected, but they also come with great responsibility, of promises to keep.
Mussolini started with great intentions, but fail to keep some of his promises, he had strength and love for his people, but because of greed he lost many lives, money, lands, he believed in a God, and in the end brought the Devil into our county and into many others.
We are not even close of what Europe ever was back then, but in 15 years, education, has really taken a dive, America public school are having trouble, stock market, housing, wars, families health, jobs, industry, farming, health care. Overall the government can't even have a conversation with each other without blame-ing it on Johnny.
Let's go back to second grade for a second may be a teacher can fix the government.
Overall I know they mean well but where is the integrity that everyone wants?
Where is the Honesty?
We just need someone to lead us foreword, with integrity young or old
John McCain
What America needs now is youthful vigorism.McCain is a good man but he too old and too tied up to the past and will not offer any new ideas to make America great again.
Confidencail candidate John McCain
Who can believe that a strongest candidate like McCain is coming to serve the world from terror. He is the men that the world was waiting, He is the one, that the men, son, women were waiting for to rescue the world. america people wake and vote for McCain, the only candidate that the world trust.
He can do what God has not done on earth, John can do.
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