The Homa Files

Excerpted from MSNBC: Obama’s woes have nothing to do with ‘lipstick’, by Howard Fineman,  Sept. 10, 2008

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Note: Fineman is a left-leaning political commentator. I thought this piece was an interesting strategic analysis.   Try to put the politics aside — whether you agree or disagree — and pull out the strategy lessons.

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For two years, Obama played the golf course of presidential politics with the ice-cold self-assuredness of a Tiger Woods. But since securing the Democratic nomination, he’s made a series of strategic errors that could jeopardize his chances in November.

Here’s my list of his errant shots:

Declining to take federal financing for the general election
This mistake is multi-pronged. Obama stands accused of flip-flopping … appears to have ceded some higher ground to McCain, who, with his public funding, appears slightly more immune to interest groups …  will have to leave the campaign trail more often to headline fundraising events.

Declining McCain’s offer to hold ten town hall debates
When Obama was leading the race in leaps and bounds, he blew off this GOP proposal. Too bad. Had Obama locked in that deal, he would now be able to confront McCain face-to-face about some of the Republicans’ more aggressive … claims.

Failing to go all the way with the Clintons
I know, the Clintons are difficult to deal with and probably hope Obama fails.  They are not eager to do so, but it was still Obama’s task to trap them into displays of political enthusiasm. Obama also neglected to court Clinton fundraisers and supporters in places like Los Angeles. 

The 22-state strategy
For months, the Obama campaign invested advertising time and organizing money in an impressive array of red states that haven’t been on the Democrats’ radar in recent elections … for the most part, it was a waste of assets … He’d be more successful focusing on traditional battlegrounds.

Failing to state a sweeping, but concrete, policy idea
It is not enough to be for change – everybody is, or is trying to be. To make it stick, Obama needed, and needs, to put forth an easy-to-grasp grand proposal, one that would encapsulate what his central message … Instead, he’s got more of a laundry list than an actual rallying cry.

Remaining trapped in professor-observer speak
When you listen to Obama, it sometimes feels like you’re hearing a smart but distant analysis of the political scene. He sounds like a writer or teacher, but not the leader of a political crusade … Voters want an action plan, not an exegesis.

Failing to attack McCain early
Obama was wary of attacking a man who had suffered so much during the Vietnam War – an understandable emotion. But that wariness, combined with Obama’s natural inclination to be seen as the nice guy (one who lets others do the knifing) lead to an unfortunate result. It gave two free months for McCain to build up a head of steam as a war hero, as opposed to … a man beholden to corporate interests and a likely clone of George W. Bush. 

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I would be worried that his mistakes have a common thread – pride.

Obama seems to want to do things on his own, and on his own terms. It’s understandable. Obama has his own crowd – from Chicago, from Harvard, and from a new cadre of wealthy, Ivy-educated movers and shakers.

“He’s an arrogant S.O.B.,” one of the latter told me today. “He wants to do it his way, and his way alone.” But politics doesn’t work that way.

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Full article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26640489/

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This entry was posted on September 18, 2008 at 7:25 am and is filed under Government & Politics, Strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.