The NYT says Obama is shifting his focus to McCain. I think this is best because we see that this tit-for-tat with Clinton isn’t helping him. He has a chance to win Indiana, and I think what’s not closing the deal for him is that he doesn’t look "presidential" to many voters. As long as he’s caught in a bitter battle with Clinton—which he can’t win because she will take him to any low—he can’t take on the Republicans.
The Nation says the men behind the "Willie Horton" ad, which many believed sunk Michael Dukakis’s candidacy, are setting their sights on Obama. He needs to spend his resources and time focusing on attacks like this. How does he do this? Policy, policy, policy. He needs to tell people about his plans to lower crime. Take on the Willie Horton-esque ad directly and show its flaws.
Obama has to make Clinton as irrelevant as she really is. She’s going to come after him with attacks in the next two weeks because that’s what works for her. He needs to say that he is focusing on America’s problems, and he will not engage in media-fueled petty fights with Clinton because it doesn’t help the American people. Perhaps as the reporter has a mic shoved in his face, Obama should rattle off policy on some pressing issue, for example, how he plans to lower gas prices.
The Obama campaign has been horrible at framing narratives during this primary season. Now is their chance to work on that. The narrative should be twofold: I care about the American people—not this pettiness between Clinton. And McCain cannot cure America’s economic woes, but I can.
On the surrogate front—his people should press hard on Clinton’s Middle East policy. An "umbrella" of security in that region is just GWB’s policy in different wrapping. And that whole obliterating Iran statement is just troubling.