What Would Stick?
By Pat Racimora on October 7, 2008 at 2:40 PM in Bamboozling, Barack Obama, Obama Attack Ads, Tony Rezko, William Ayers
It has been almost 6 months since I created my first cartoon, THIS cartoon, for No Quarter. I was campaiging hard for Hillary Clinton at the time, and it seemed clear that there was absolutely no way Obama could survive his razor-thin relevant experience, the fact that we still knew too little about him, and yet what we were beginning to learn about him and his scary friends was mighty disturbing. How could any of this not stick?
Over 40 No Quarter cartoons later, Hillary is out, Obama is in, and I am still asking the same question!
So I emailed my friend, a brilliant political strategist who occasionally blogs under the name of Sam Copeland. Here is his response:
1. Obama created a rule for the mainstream media to follow: If you attack him, you are a racist.
2. Obama created another rule: Attack him, and it is politics as usual.
3. Obama has used an effective persuasion technique called “forewarning.” If you forewarn voters that negative attacks are coming in an election and are ready for them, the impact of even truthful attacks is minimized. In other words, he told people a long time ago that they were going to be “bamboozled.”
4. McCain should have attacked earlier — just after the convention. The economic meltdown caused some people to swing to Obama and make a commitment. Once people make up their mind, even totally factual attacks are less effective.
5. McCain’s attacks have not been strong enough. The Ayers attack appeals to McCain’s base but is too complex for people who are only loosely following the campaign. Further, the Ayers appeal doesn’t attack strategy. Obama’s strategy is to look like he isn’t a politician. Thus, the best attacks would attack this strategy — Rezko and his waffling on votes. McCain would be better served by creating an ad that pieced together all of Obama’s conflicting statements on the war and ended with a tagline: Barack Obama — a politician that will say anything to get your vote.
6. Obama has an image that attracts followers with the infotainment networks — the Rock Star. And the media covers him as if he were a rock star and not a politician. This also protects him in a very interesting way. When he hangs out with bad friends, the impact is minimized. Why? It is sort of like when Brittany Spears is known to have some friends with questionable integrity–no big deal, that’s just what happens in show biz.
7. The GOP has told many lies in the past, and voters are rejecting their attacks as just more of the same. This is ironic. This time the Republicans are absolutely right, but no one believes them!
8. The economic conditions and state of the war are so bad that people want change and thus are prone to ignore any information (including factual material that clearly discredits Obama) that doesn’t give them change–even if they have no idea what that change will be, if any.
So, what do you think?
, the basis for the Best Motion Picture Nominee (Golden Globes) starring Brad Pitt.
, the novel by John Le Carre, a new motion picture starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth.
by 
* (Included in the 
* 
.by David Fredosso who wrote 2008's 
- You'll have access to 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books, as well as ultra-fast Web browsing with Amazon Silk -- faster than iPad. Full e-mail and document access and a keyboard. Fire can transmit what is on your screen onto a connected TV or monitor without an accessory. It runs Flash (iPad doesn't). 
