Friday, February 15, 2013

How We Foresaw Obama's 2012 Campaign Strategy

More than a year ago (in January, 2012) we tried to warn Romney and the Republicans about the kind of campaign that Obama was prepared to run: Distract, distort, discredit and deny.
We laid it all out.
Now, coming up on four months after the election, it's worth looking back on what we said and why. Here's what we posted right here on this blog on January 6, 2012. Tell us if we weren't right:
George W. Bush called it "strategery."
And in so doing he coined an apt term: the way to describe a pin-pointed, goal-driven strategy for success.
So, what will President Obama's strategery be for the fall campaign? The answer shouldn't be too complicated to anyone who's really been paying attention. And it can be summed up in the following points:
1) Plan on facing Romney. Obama & Co. would love to face somebody from the extreme right wing of the GOP but they know they will probably face Romney and they know that will be tough. So, they're preparing now. They will gather everything they can on Romney and hit him hard. The Obamamaniacs play Chicago hardball so they will throw everything they've got at Romney. For his part, Romney better be ready and he better not only be prepared to fight back forcefully and promptly but he ought to strengthen his offense as well. And he needs to do it now.
2) Throw money into the campaign. We're talking A BILLION DOLLARS here, folks. Obama will not only flood the airwaves but he will run a sophisticated social-media campaign as well. Plus, Obama will use all the PACs he can and he will benefit from Big labor bucks as well. The GOP may not be able to match this but they need to come close.
3) Inflame class warfare. Obama will stir up class resentment and run against Wall Street as much as possible even though that's precisely where much of his money comes from. High finance, big corporations and so-called monied interests will become the enemy. And, incredibly the Team Obama will do all this while hobnobbing with the rich and famous, especially in Hollywood and among disconnected liberal elites everywhere. Obama & Co. will attempt to paint Romney as an out-of-touch zillionaire who couldn't care less about ordinary "working people," let alone even begin to understand them.
4) Play for time. In 1982 Ronald Reagan said "stay the course." He wanted (and needed) more time for his policy and programs to begin to work. The slogan stuck. Obama will play the same tune. He'll argue that his programs are only now beginning to work, beginning to take effect and that things are finally beginning to move in the right direction. He will conjure up the image of "W' and the darkest days of the Bush era and plead: "Don't turn back the clock. I said it wasn't gonna be easy but we're finally on the right track now. Give us a chance to finish the job."
Expect lots of rhetoric as the golden-tongued orator revs up. His teleprompter will be working overtime.
5) Run against Congress. Obama will borrow a page from Harry Truman's history-making 1948 campaign and run against what he calls a "do nothing" Congress. He will say that he has not hesitated to act unilaterally when he could (and even when legally, he probably couldn't have and shouldn't have) but that Congress has refused to act and has stood in his way. Of course, he'll have to focus only on the House because his own party still controls the Senate.
But that's a minor matter to Obama.
This is gonna be a rough 'n tough campaign all the way.
And it will be made more difficult for the Republicans because Obama will have the dominant media solidly in his corner.
Old-line print and electronic media will hail every bit of good news available (even if they have to skew some of the facts and/or make some of it up) and they will cast Obama in the best possible light. They already have too much at stake to do anything else.
Let's remember this: After just two years under Reagan there was good reason to "stay the course" and by the end of his third year he was well-positioned to stay in office. The signs were already pointing in the right direction.
It didn't take long for Reaganism to prove its mettle. The die had been cast and Reagan was able to run a very upbeat ("Morning In America") and positive campaign.
It's not the same with Obama. This President will have to run a nasty, combative campaign. Three out of four Americans say the country is clearly headed in the wrong direction. So, Obama will have to scurry -- he'll have to run away from the mess he created as fast as he can; he'll have to play the blame game.
Obama and his people are amply experienced in the blame business. It's their forte. It's what they do best.
Message to Mitt: The onslaught is coming. Sharpen your strategery.

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