Obama's Higher Standard?

[DeepModem Mom]

WP political blog, "The Fix," by Chris Cillizza
06/18/2007
Obama's Higher Standard?

The kerfuffle last week over two opposition research documents sent out by Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) campaign provides a fascinating window into the challenges before the Illinois senator as he seeks his party's presidential nod....

***

At the start of Obama's campaign we wondered whether he hadn't put himself in a rather tight box by pronouncing his plans to run a different sort of campaign. Obviously, there is some wiggle room in his above statement -- he can always resort to the defense that his campaign was simply drawing contrasts on issues. But the perception is that these sort of tactics are beneath a candidate promising to change the dialogue in Washington and nationwide.

Obama's strongest attribute in this race is that he is widely perceived as a change agent -- a fresh face who can finally break down the partisan barriers that have turned Washington into a city widely despised by the rest of the country. Anything that tarnishes that reputation endangers Obama's unique appeal to a wide cross-section of voters, both in the Democratic primary and in the general election (if he gets there). The more he looks like every other politician, the more damage he does to his reputation as a positive force for change.

The fact is that the "every campaign does it" argument probably isn't good enough for Obama. Whether it is perception or reality, Obama is regarded as having set a higher standard for himself.

*

UPDATE: Obama addressed the controversy directly today at an editorial board meeting with the Des Moines Register, describing the two documents circulated by his campaign as a "screw up on the part of our research team." He added that neither he nor his "senior staff" had seen the documents before they were sent out. He went on to describe the memos as "stupid" and "caustic."

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/06/policy_contrast_or_negative_at.html

[Kagemusha]

1. Let me break the monotony by writing something new about this...

Let me hypothesize that the fact that this came out of even the Obama campaign against Obama's wishes shows how low politics has fallen and how deep this kind of politics is in its DNA. The system is so full of this stuff that even Obama can't beat it all down instantly: it's the start of a longer process and only makes the focus on seeing the process through, not instant results, all that much more important. That's one way to look at it and approach it.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

4. Did you really expect Obama to come and say he was involved in this?

Like any politician, Obama was always going to claim he had no knowledge of a vicious attack that risked undermining a pillar of the Obama brand. Obama makes it sound as if a 19 year old political rookie unilaterally came up with the memo. In reality he has an experienced staff. You don't hire a bunch of rookies with the budget the Obama campaign has...

[Kagemusha]

9. The truth's probably in the gray area in between.

It's not as if older, non rookie political staffers don't engage in this sort of thing like a reflexive twitch. I don't read anything here suggesting these are rookies so I'll treat that as a mild straw man. I assume these are the middle management people - not the senior staff per se, but hardly rookies. And they produced a result at odds with the campaign's message. That seems very plausible to me.

I just don't understand the grief he's getting over it. The attraction of Candidate Hillary is that she's a better throat-slitter than the other candidates, after all.

[snowbear]

2. Kudos to Obama for addressing the screw-up. Now please... can we have at least one hour...

.. one measely hour with -0- Obama bashing threads??!?

Just ONE hour?

Sorry DM Mom.. But it's been brutal around here the last few days.

I wish that DU'ers would seek out positive articles about all nine of our candidates once in a while.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. Sorry, larissa --

I've been traveling for a while, and on and off the board at odd times, and didn't realize the situation you describe. I'm actually for Obama, but post articles I find, both positive and negative, on all the candidates. I see from the first response that this subject has been discussed quite a bit. Again, sorry.

[snowbear]

7. Oh.. I know it's not you DM Mom!!!

We count on you to drop in here on certain evenings and update us on the news stories out there!

It's just that.. wow.. Senator Obama has been raked through the coals and bashed one side up and down the other on here for probably 3 days straight.

The good news that came out of it all though.. was that at least one person who loves to bash him, came out with a great thread yesterday saying that they thought it was a waste of time and only pulled us away from one another on here.. He voyed to stop the madness on his part!

I guess it's that time of the year when.. like Al Franken, you just put on your body armor


... and tough it out. Soon enough we'll all be supporting our ultimate nominee.

[ripple]

17. Hey, where is that thread, larissa?

I must have missed it- I could use a positive vibe for a change.

BTW, your emoticons always make me smile. :thumbsup: :hi:

[JI7]

3. why doesn't the whore media write up something on Bush

after all the crap he spewed during the elections, especially 2000 with the bringing morals and ethics back and the grownups being in charge.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

6. This response to the article hit the nail on the head

Chris asks
"Are the Obama memos a violation of his stated policy on opposition research and negative attacks?"

Indeed they are. If such attacks are just part of the debate, why did the Obama campaign first distribute the memos as 'not for attribution'? Perhaps in the future, the Senator will reconsider stooping to such tactics.

Posted by: bsimon | June 18, 2007 01:04 PM

[snowbear]

8. The senator himself... or the campaign staffers he employs?

[Kagemusha]

10. The working assumption here is that Obama is a big fat liar.

And that he knew all about the memos and is just lying to our faces about it.

Maybe that's the working assumption some want to work by. Or they just want to underline that the candidate should have such total centralized control that not a single memo moves without his personal approval and to underline that Obama must be held accountable for each and every mistake his campaign makes as if it is personally his own.

Six months before the first primary votes.

Mainly it's an opportunity for bloggers to demand the Obama campaign rise to their lofty standards, because Obama is a nobody who hasn't paid his dues.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

11. The assumption is Obama had some role in this

First and foremost, if he were serious about running the kind of campaign he has advertised, he would have set a blanket rule forbidding any of his staffers from engaging in such behavior. The very fact that this happened means, that at minimum, even if he never saw the memo, he is planning to run a typical campaign, not a unique above-the fray campaign.

The lofty expectations set by Obama for a "new politics" and avoiding such tactics is why he is being so heavily criticized. If anyone else did it no one would have cared.

[plantwomyn]

12. BUT WE SHOULD CARE

IF OBAMA CAN'T CONTROL HIS CAMPAIGN STAFF HOW CAN HE CONTROL THE STAFF IN HIS ADMINISTRATION? ISN'T THIS ABOUT LEADERSHIP? LET'S NOT START TO LET OUR CANDIDATES OFF THE HOOK FOR THEIR STAFF'S ACTIONS. REMEMBER LIBBY!

[draft_mario_cuomo]

13. Good point. If Obama can't manage his staff how can he manage a $2.9 trillion government?

[NYCGirl]

14. Please stop shouting. NT

[Nedsdag]

15. Then pipe down and vote for Hillary.

or wait for Gore, whichever comes first.

[Adelante]

18. Do you recall Edwards' "Black Book" from 2004?

Edwards proclaimed his campaign as "positive" 24/7, a lofty expectation, as well. The oppo research book was exposed in the press. Edwards denied any knowledge of it and said it was a wrong thing and his staff would never do it again. Same stuff, different year.

[zulchzulu]

16. Can Senator Clinton tell us where the info in the memo is incorrect?

It isn't.

Debunk please, Clinton fans...

[ieoeja]

19. I am still trying to figure out what this has to do with bipartisanship?

Because everything I have ever read by Obama reference changing the style of politics refers to including conservatives in finding common ground to govern this country, not about running an election.