Make Obama the issue

Robert Novak:

I asked one of the Republican Party's smartest, most candid heavy hitters this week whether John McCain really has a chance to defeat Barack Obama in this season of Republican discontent. "No, if the campaign is about McCain," he replied. "Yes, if it's about Obama." That underlines the importance of Obama's visit to Iraq, beginning weeks of scrutiny for the Democratic presidential candidate under a GOP spotlight.

Four years ago nearly to the day, I asked the same question to the same Republican leader about George W. Bush and John Kerry, and he gave the same answer. He proved prophetic because Bush's campaign made Kerry the issue, and the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate flunked the test.

Obama is a far more interesting personality and an incomparably more appealing candidate than Kerry. But why then, in a year where the nation clearly has rejected the GOP as a party, does McCain have a real chance to be elected? Why does Obama have trouble breaking the 50 percent barrier, nationally and in battleground states?

The answer, as seen by McCain's closest associates, is the issue they hope to ride to victory: leadership. They believe voters are hesitant to fully accept this charismatic newcomer because of doubt as to whether he can lead the nation. Now, in visiting Iraq for the first time in two and a half years, Obama tests that issue. In what on the surface looms as a public relations coup for Obama, the McCain camp will be scrutinizing -- and commenting on -- his every move in Iraq.

...

This echoes some of the theme of Novak's speech to the Defending the American Dream Summit Friday evening. While I agree with some of the premise, I think there are other opportunities for Republicans that need to be an issue.

At the top is energy. While McCain is an imperfect messenger on that issue he is better than Obama. The Democrats and Obama are so far on the wrong side of the issue on energy that a good campaign should defeat them from top to bottom. The Democrats are in trouble on this issue because their position is so nonsensical. They want to sue OPEC for not producing more while at the same time refusing to produce our own oil and gas. How can you take that as a serious policy? They block production of every energy available, but biofuels which they ware subsidizing to the detriment of the world's food supply.

Obama is also vulnerable on Taxes. The top one percent of taxpayers pay 40 percent of all income taxes and Obama says that is not enough. He also wants to raise the capital gains rates which will drive down government revenue.

Obama is also vulnerable on the war in Iraq. His judgment on the surge was disastrously wrong. Right now he is trying to finesse this error, but McCain will not let him get away with it. He is also vulnerable from teh left on his residual force he wants to leave in Iraq. He told his anti war base that he is going to remove all combat forces, but it looks like now he still plans to have at least 50,000 troops in Iraq. He ahs been scamming them on this subject and I think it will hurt him as the facts are pulled from him.

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