After Obama's strong performance in N.C. and Indiana last night, Clinton is on the ropes, digging again into her personal pocketbooks to fund her campaign. Meanwhile, commentators on MSNBC are calling Obama the nominee. Over in the McCain camp, folks are trying to figure out how 26% of N.C. voters and 22% of Indiana voters went against the old man.
The past week has been a rough one for Barack Obama. What was supposed to be a well-received unveiling of his comprehensive strategy to combat terrorism turned into a seemingly open-ended invitation to attack the Illinois Senator. His campaign to date has been wildly successful spreading its message and filling its piggy bank. For a group accustomed to adoring crowds and press fanfare, a week like this might come as a shock.
If you've missed the events as they unfolded, these two pieces from the Chicago Sun-Times will be a good place to start. Yes, it was that kind of week. The kind of week when you wake up on Sunday to discover that your hometown newspaper is running two critical editorials:
Aside from well-publicized attacks from Fox News, Senator Barack Obama has faced very little scrutiny from the mainstream media. For the most part, he is hailed as a "rock star" candidate with legions of adoring supporters in tow.
Now, as the first quarter of 2007 draws to a close, the reality of a marathon campaign sets in. The mainstream media has finally shown Obama in a more realistic lens. Having experienced his first minor missteps in recent weeks, the Illinois Senator finds his star settling back to Earth, at least for the time being.
Of even greater concern, however, is the notion that Obama has thus far soared on style and alone, and that unless he takes some serious policy stances, and soon, he may find himself flying on vapors.
Cheers to the mainstream press for asking a little more of Obama at a time when he really needs to capitalize on his momentum and differentiate himself from the competition on a policy level.
When campaigns report their quarterly fundraising numbers on March 31st, Hillary Clinton should come up strong, especially following her visit to California. Naturally, speculation will percolate whether Obama can compete with the Clinton money machine, especially with so much of the campaign trail left to blaze.
This subtle change of sentiment on behalf of the mainstream media, coupled with increased fundraising pressure from Clinton, means that now is the perfect time for Obama to get serious , to satisfy those Democrats who are sitting on the fence, hungry for serious policy discussion.
What subjects can Obama tackle to set himself apart from the pack? He's proven himself on the Iraq issue. Health Care is Hillary's pet project. The economy shouldn't be a major issue until gasoline breaks above $3.00 again.
Spring Break is over, Senator Obama. Let's hear more of what you have to say about education.
From the New York Times, '08 candidates face intense competition for black voters...
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/us/politics/04campaign.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
From the National Review Online, an author argues that, ironically, Senator Obama's campaign in many ways mirrors George W. Bush's 2000 strategy for the White House.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OTVlZGZhNmUyMWNjNGI4Y2VlZmQwNWRlOTY4N2JiZTY=
