Obama Abandons “50 State” Strategy
September 24th, 2008 at 09:46am Mark Noonan
Why? ‘Cause only an arrogant, self-centered ass could have thought it was a good idea, though he and his team will never admit that:
…as voter registration is expected to wind down in the next two weeks and the impact of John McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, becomes clearer, the Obama campaign is apparently scaling back its outsized electoral ambitions. It has already shifted staff, abandoning some states and putting others on notice. If it once technically played in all 50, it’s now down to 48 — you can cross Alaska and North Dakota off the list — and two other states, Montana and Georgia, are on life support. The choice of Palin not only crushed Obama’s hope of winning the Frontier State — his campaign has withdrawn most of its staff and ceased advertising there — but it also caused repercussions in North Dakota, another hockey-crazed northern state where snow-mobile racing and moose burgers apparently resonate. The Obama campaign announced this week that it is redeploying its North Dakota staff — estimated in some press reports to be more than 50 people.
“We always knew it would be an uphill battle, but because people across the country in red states and blue states are hungry for change, we built a grass-roots movement we are proud of and an infrastructure that will help candidates up and down the ballot,” says Obama spokeswoman Amy Brundage of the decision to pull out. The news isn’t entirely a surprise, as Obama cut advertising in North Dakota by 50% in recent weeks. The move comes as Obama has been forced to mount more serious defenses of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin — states where the campaign spent nearly $1.5 million in television advertisements last week.
Did you catch that? Obama is being forced to defend Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin…and while its not noted, I’ll bet he’s going to have to start defending Pennsylvania and New Jersey pretty quick, with a chance that he’ll have to really pour it on in New York to ensure that State’s electoral votes go his way. Obama can’t win the White House if all he wins is Kerry’s or Gore’s States…he has to win some of Bush’s States, and perhaps a couple that Bush won twice. In the immediate aftermath of Obama’s win over Hillary it seemed he was unstoppable, had an unending supply of money and could do no wrong…but he’s being out-hustled on the campaign trail, his fundraising has dropped significantly, he’s been blindsided by the Palin pick, Congressional Democrats are distancing themselves from him, his own VP pick has proven to be a disaster (and will become a Hindenburg sized disaster once the VP debate comes up) and while he’s picked up a little bit due to the financial melt-down, he’s still proving himself unable to pull in middle class and working class voters. Obama will now have to fight - and fight very hard - in order to get to 270 electoral votes and it is a very open question as to whether or not he has the plain grit and stamina to enter that kind of fight with an experience warrior like McCain backed up by the superlative Palin.
Democrats nominated a nobody and it seems that, by so doing, the got a nobody as their nominee…and man who stands for nothing other himself, who does only what he’s told and who can’t step outside the liberal coocoon without slipping up on a regular basis. His only advantage, now, is the fact that the GOP brand (as it were) has been beaten down quite hard over the past couple years. If McCain can keep the debate off the GOP and on just about anything else, then he’ll win this thing - and, I think, if he does win it he’ll end up winning it rather handily.
Entry Filed under: Campaign 2008, Democrats, Republicans
16 Comments
1. arcman46 | September 24th, 2008 at 9:56 am
You mean “uh fifty-uh seven states, and I still haven’t uh gone to uh Hawaii or uh Alaska”
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha
2. kimberly4victory | September 24th, 2008 at 10:05 am
This is good news. Defending blue states. Gotta love it. Did you see the crazy WAPO poll … they over-polled Dems … again.
3. FactCheck | September 24th, 2008 at 10:43 am
his fundraising has dropped significantly
If it weren’t for the fact that he had a record-breaking fundraising month in August, you’d have a point.
the superlative Palin.
Comedy.
If McCain can keep the debate off the GOP and on just about anything else, then he’ll win this thing
This is also funny: “As long as we try to pretend we aren’t conservative Republicans and employ as many distractions as possible, we can win!” For a man who likes to claim he’s so very, very principled, you’re pretty quick to ditch those principles–or at least stifle them–for the sake of electoral politics. Which announces that you aren’t that principled after all, to the surprise of pretty much nobody.
But who knows? Maybe your “forget how conservatism has screwed the pooch over the last 8 years–c’mon, help us out!” gambit will work. Stranger things have happened.
4. Patrick | September 24th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Funny stuff, Mark. Obama raises 67M, most ever in a month, and his fundraising is drying up… And there are wayyyyy more Bush states McCain is defending than the other way around… Certainly Obama hasn’t locked this thing up but I know which candidate is looking great right now.
5. hermie | September 24th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Obama looking great?
He’s has to publically slap down his own VP pick because of the double-talk regarding issues. He plays up that he wants coal, but then his VP panders to extremist environmentalists and says there will be no coal plants in the US under an Obama Administration.
6. js | September 24th, 2008 at 10:52 am
and he is ramping up more slanderous commercials in florida…almost lost the TV last night but for the fact that its an LCD instead of the old tube….that shoe would have surely busted a tube!!
7. Fredrick Schwartz | September 24th, 2008 at 10:54 am
This is so simple that I can explain it even to you guys. There are ten states in play:
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Michigan
Florida
Georgia
North Carolina
Virginia
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Colorado
Any comination of Florida Ohio and Pennsylvania + any two others plus all the states won by your last canidate wins the election. Obama chooses to blanket four of five states where he can win like Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, Virginia and Wisconsin. If he “defends” those five and loses Ohio and Florida he still loses. Michigan can go to Hell and so can Wisconsin and if either man wins Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. Those three are the locks. Those are the polls you should watch daily. Thjose are the only states [+ 2 of the others ] that matter at all. Of course no candidate will say this but that is the truth right now. As long as the economy is center stage Obama will gain 1,5 points in the polls nationally per week up until the Monday of the election. If on that day he hasn’t cracked 50% with a 4% margin over the MoE, he’ll lose; same goes for McCain.
The 50 state strategy is like putting 9 men in the box on defense to force and audible and then backing out to play two deep zone. This made McCain so force his hand that Steve Schmidt had to come in to run the daily ops.
No candidate can run a 50 state strategy and expect to have enough gas in the tank which equals money in the bank to finish strong.
Look, you LEARNED something; now go spread it around like you knew it all your life.
8. WhatChange | September 24th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Bambi can pack Idaho, Oklahoma and Alabama also. Rasmussen has McCain 68-29, a 39 point lead in Idaho. That will be a new retirement destination for those living in California and Taxachusetts.
9. js | September 24th, 2008 at 11:31 am
it makes me laught when you folks assume obama can win anything….truely its a joke….right?
10. kimberly4victory | September 24th, 2008 at 11:34 am
“No candidate can run a 50 state strategy and expect to have enough gas in the tank which equals money in the bank to finish strong.
Look, you LEARNED something; now go spread it around like you knew it all your life.”
Are you talking to me or BO? LOL.
11. Fredrick Schwartz | September 24th, 2008 at 11:53 am
10. kimberly4victory | September 24th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Here’s how the convo went shortly after the DNC informed Obama that HRC was done and he’d be the nominee:
Axelrod: Boss we’re gonna float an idea that we’re going full bore in all 50 like they are in play
Obama: And the reason for spending that coin is?
Axelrod: It puts McCain back on his heels. He won’t know where to spread it around to so he’ll tip his hand on where he wants to win.
Obama: that’s brilliant!
Axelrod: I know. Hey can we bring Samantha Power back? She was the smartest person in the room until that “monster” thing about HRC. But heck even that was true.
Obama: [Laughs] Sure, but wait until after the conventions and do it quiet like it’ll be our October surprise.
Axelrod: Three plus two equals White House Boss!
I’m sure it went something like that.
12. kimberly4victory | September 24th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
You forgot to add:
Axelrod: BTW, Winner & Associates is going to help us win by spreading lies about McCain and his VP pick.
Obama: Way to go, dude. I knew your association with Winner would pay off big.
13. jbw | September 24th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I can tell you he hasn’t given up on NC. He is on air here seems like 24/7 and not just TV also radio including on Country stations and talk radio stations; plus during Sean Hannity’s show. McCain is on air here also but not nearly the amount.
14. Zach | September 24th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Same here in Indiana. He’s blowing up TV and radio ads here like crazy and has been for about 2 weeks
15. Just Another Taxpayer | September 24th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Obama may have abondoned a few states but McCain has just conceded the whole country!
Have a nice day!
16. arcman46 | September 24th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
McCain is actually doing the job that the taxpayers are paying him to do. Plus he is showing leadership. Obama is still trying to figure out how to vote “present”.