These days you can't swing a dead cat without hitting an article speculating about potential vice presidential running mates for Barack Obama or John McCain. But today's entry from the New York Times does include one line that's worth noting, when the concerns of social conservatives about the possibility of McCain choosing the pro-choice Tom Ridge is dismissed by other conservatives who said:

...that Mr. McCain’s recent public flirtation with Tom Ridge, a former Pennsylvania governor who supports abortion rights, was as much to give the appearance that Mr. McCain had an open mind on the issue as it was an embrace of Mr. Ridge.

So, these anonymous conservatives cheerfully admit that McCain willingly misled people about a possible running mate to "give the appearance" of an open mind. There's some straight talk for you.

HAVE YOU SEEN THE LATEST POLL!? BREAKING BREAKING BREAKING!

McCain is up by 5 points! Game Over Man! Game Over! We are going to get hosed man, we'red going to get hosed! The Sky is Falling! Dogs and Cats are sleeping together! Alligators will walk on their hind legs and eat small children and midgets! GAME OVER!

Unless Barack Obama does exactly what I say starting right now!

As readers know, Slinkerwink and I have been fed up with Obama’s milquetoast, undisciplined press strategy. For all the talk about how miserable a candidate McCain is, he says something, his advertising echoes it, his press releases repeat it, and his surrogates are disciplined and drill in the same talking points over and over. Obama’s camp wants to get something across, they put the candidate out there to say something once in a town hall and then they drop it. No surrogates. No repetition. No discipline.

Obama is one of the best candidates we’ve had in years and, more importantly, will make a great president. And on the ground, in terms of organization, his campaign is incredibly impressive. But a ground-game cannot make up the difference for lacking a coherent strategy for setting a macro-narrative, and it’s mind-boggling to think they’ve let McCain hit them with the "celebrity" tag over and over for a month now with no response.

So, in interests of DOING something instead of just complaining about it, Slinkerwink and I are launching a new project: putting out our own alternative press releases and talking points on behalf of the Obama campaign.  

Thats a line buried in a very interesting and scary post up over at John Aravosis' AmericaBlog.  The review of the data does raise concerns.  The analysis is from a guy namedRobert Arena who was Director of Internet Strategy for Dole for President and Dole/Kemp '96. He also was part of Christie Whitman, George Pataki's gubernatorial campaigns and became a Democrat in 2000.

The post goes through both polling data and an analysis of its validity.  Some of the insights are telling, for example:

More disturbingly for Obama, when asked what they liked most about the candidates, 40% noted McCain's personal abilities and experience. The number one answer on Obama? Nothing - 28% - a volunteered answer, not an option provided by the pollster but recorded only if volunteered by the voter. Obama's position on economic issues was second at 24%.

Found this little gem during my daily internet rummagings.

In recent months, right-wing opinion outlets of varying pedigrees have accused Barack Obama of participating in an increasingly preposterous web of dopey conspiracies, including plots to make himself the next Hitler, to forge his birth certificate and, most sinisterly, to make children learn Spanish.

....

Each conspiracy will be rated on a scale of 1 to 10 wingnuts that will be a reflection of its originality, implausibility and sheer, flat-out insanity.

Well worth a look.

Barack Obama has reached rarified political air and the precipice of greatness by standing for something. For his staunch and uncompromising ethical commitment to progressive ideals, his promise to pursue them with integrity and his raison d'être of bringing substantive change to a broken country and a political system on life support. That is what inspired an almost hysterical adulation, motivated legions of fervent progressive supporters and enabled him to defeat the Clinton machine in the primaries. It was not pandering to moderate conservatives. Yet this is what Obama, Plouffe and Axelrod have decided to do.

For all those that dismiss any news that all is not going perfectly, they should study the latest Reuters/Zogby poll that has McCain up by 5 points among likely voters. McCain is even now seen by respondents to this poll to be superior on the economy by nine points. My concern here has been that Obama let McCain define him in the last month just as Obama was having a really spectacular European/Middle East trip. Obama and his team were lulled by the success they were seeing and didn't hit back like many other democratic presidential campaigns.  Yes I know all the reasons why all polls that might show Obama losing ground as baseless: outlier, 50 state strategy, electoral college advantage and he is not Kerry - Gore - Dukakis. I also know our history in the fall.

An AlterNet article Republicans Have Handed Democrats a Winning Election Issue (http://www.alternet.org/environment/95469/) proposes that the Democrats, and Obama in particular, should shift the focus of the energy crisis to renewable energy and away from offshore oil.  According to the article, they should place the emphasis on renewable energy and allow the Republicans to filibuster in Congress against a bill proposing to extend subsidies to the renewable energy sector.  The filibuster would expose the Republican’s real agenda, which is to continue to support the oil industry and cut off funding for renewables.

And that's why as an Obama supporter, I'll be extremely disappointed in him.  You'll recall that she changed course on a dime and was the good soldier, telling her supporters to get behind Obama.  

If it turns out the announcement is that Hillary was picked as VP, then who's to say that he told her so way back when to get her to stop her attacking the validity of his nominating victory?  Is it possible that word wouldn't have leaked that the fix was in since that time.  Frankly, I haven't heard much talk about this being the arrangement, but of course Obama could have made the offer contingent on it remaining a secret.  

You've stopped by this diary, eh?

Well I can promise you it ain't gonna be pretty.

I'll probably say some things to piss you off. Maybe it will light a fire under your ass.  Maybe it will challenge you to a new perspective.

My intent is not to deride, but to "drill sergeant" you out of of "useless concern" mode and move you squarely into the "white hot activism" mode.

Over what? Well, I Know we have been having some *ahem" lively debates of late over what Obama and his campaign are doing, should have done, and should be doing.

Fair enough. Frustration and fear are rampant.

And that's a good thing.

This diary is designed to HARNESS those emotions and CHANNEL them into something that makes an actual difference.

And at the end of this diary, I will offer you a deal.

Note to Obama's handlers:  PLEASE don't put Barack into any situation where he's not on a twenty-foot podium with a teleprompter preaching in front of 20,000 fans.

What was Obama thinking (or was he) with the Rick Warren interview?  His flip "that's above my paygrade" remark is the kind of crap that comes out of evasive corporate cubicle dwellers, not a man running for President.

Attacking John McCain on policy differences, as powerful as those might otherwise be, is not going to get it done. They are ineffective attacks this year. The reason is that the voters are factoring in the strong likelyhood that the Democrats will be in control of Congress and will put constraints on a President McCain. [More after the jump]

It's been a rough few days for Obama according to some polls and the hourly diaries that I've seen here. Why isn't he attacking? Why isn't he fighting back more? Calls for firing of all his press people are starting to pop up. And I admit, I've been frustrated as well. It seems as if we are seeing another repeat of Kerry in 04. And while I still think he needs to get more surrogates out in front doing some of the dirty work, this article in the NYT gives me some hope.

I am not saying that there is going to be upheaval or that we need to be upset.
I am pointing out in this diary that some troubling signs are popping up and  we need to be aware and vigilant.

Last night I read an article on the strong arm tactics by some former Clinton supporters towards the delegates going to the convention next week.
Today, on Political wire I read about Hillary's brother and some former backers meeting with McCain's aide, Fiorina.

http://politicalwire.com/...

http://www.commercialappeal.com/...

I'm talking to all of you people who sit on your asses, bitching about how luke-warm the Obama campaign is, how it's not going negative enough, it's not refuting enough, it's not active enough. And then you just sit on your asses and keep bitching.

No, really.

Below the fold.......

This diary is partly a reply to all the worryworts and handwringers who are screaming "We're doomed" every time Obama does soemthing (or, more often, doesn't do something) we think he should be doing on the campaign trail.

Obama knows what he's doing, guys. Accept it.

And, I think I have an idea what he's doing, and why.

PLEASE...PLEASE..HOLD THE RUDE REMARKS AND INSULTS TO
ME ABOUT THIS POST.  I HAVE REACHED MY PERSONAL CAMPAIGN MAXIMUM CONTRIBUTION TO OBAMA.  I AM TRAVELING TO DENVER AT MY OWN EXPENSE TO HOPEFULLY BE A PART OF HISTORY.  THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME.
THIS IS ABOUT THE CONTINUED APPEALS BY OBAMA SUPPORTERS TO
SEE A HARDER FIGHT IN THIS CAMPAIGN.  THIS IS ABOUT THE
EXCUSES I AM READING AS TO WHY CHANGES ARE NOT TAKING
PLACE.  THIS IS THINGS BIGGER THAN MYSELF AND MY FAMILY.
WE ALL AGREE THAT THIS IS AN HISTORIC ELECTION WITH
CONSEQUENCES GREATER AND MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANY OTHER
ELECTION IN OUR LIVES.  BUT FOR US AS SUPPORTERS WE MUST
MAKE OUR IDEAS AND BELIEFS HEARD.  SO FAR I SEE NO
REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THE CAMPAIGN IS HEADED IN THE RIGHT
DIRECTION.  THIS DIARY IS ABOUT OBAMA.