I realize this will be ignored. I provided a link in order, in some slim hope embedded in some small part of my brain, to attract the attention of the Obama campaign. Every liberal blogger is offering advice, and I have no reason to pretend that mine is any better (or worse) than theirs.
Dear Senator Obama,
I am a constituent as well as a supporter of your Presidential campaign. More than either, I was moved by your victory speech after the New Hampshire primary to see in you the future of both the Democratic Party and the United States. You and Sen. Clinton fought a hard, sometimes nasty, campaign and came out the other side joined in the common purpose of taking back the White House not only for the Democratic Party, but the American people.
I sat and watched the speeches at the Democratic National Convention with surprise and enthusiasm. I actually had a chill up my spine as you shouted, "Enough!" to the Republican Party's constant use of distortion and destruction in the name of hollow, narrow political victories. Yet, since that triumphant night, the impetus and momentum and coverage has all been controlled by the Republican nominee because he chose the very next morning to announce his running mate selection. It has turned into "Sarah Palin" all the time.
While a certain amount of credit is due the McCain campaign for both the audacity of the pick and the way they hijacked the news cycle, there is more than enough blame and responsibility for you to shoulder for not retaking the momentum. You used the word "lie" in one ad. One. Uno. A single ad. Over the past week both the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates for the Presidency nominated by the Republican Party have released a spate of ads that are all patently false, play on dangerous racial and sexual stereotypes, and both have demonstrated an almost comical lack on understanding of even the most basic policy positions not only of the current administration, but what they might do themselves if they won office. The only way to counter this weird combination of pathological lying and ignorance is to call it by its name.
I am no longer convinced you had any idea how low the McCain campaign was willing to go. I even wrote a post in defense of your silence, in defense of your acquiescence to the on-rushing pile of bilge the Republicans started this summer with Sen. McCain's line, "He would rather lose a war than lose an election." I have read over the past couple days that you would begin to fight back.
I'm waiting.
I want to see ads that call Sen. McCain a liar. I want to see ads that call Gov. Palin a liar. I want to see ads that detail their lying. I want to see ads that feature you saying that John McCain would lose his integrity before he would lose an election. I want to see an ad that highlights the fact that, in an interview with Time magazine just a few short weeks ago, he refused to define "honor".
I want you to yank his chain so hard on his personal integrity that he begins to lose his infamously short temper. I want you to fight and win the Presidency. Do not stand on the principle that yours is a different kind of politics. That principle will lose this election for sure, because the Republicans, fearful that they might lose, have pulled out all the stops, and simply tossed factual content out the window.
I want them called out. In every townhall meeting. In every ad you put on television and radio. In every interview you give, whether locally or nationally. Use the words "lie", "lying", and "liars" as often as possible. At least one iteration per sentence would be good enough. Don't use euphemisms. Don't be afraid. Don't worry what some journalist somewhere might say. Call it what it is.
Should you lose this election, Sen. Obama, there will be little lenience, and no forgiveness. To be blunt, Senator, you had this in the bag and you are about to lose it because you refuse to fight fire with a blowtorch. Do it, not for yourself, Senator, but for all of us who still believe you want to make this country better than it has been. Before you can actually do any of that, you have to win the election. Prove you are willing to fight for it.
Regards,
Geoffrey Kruse-Safford
