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The Spectacle Blog
Today Barack Obama hosted an admittedly gracious bipartisan lovefest at the White House for the unveiling of George W. Bush’s official portait. But don’t be fooled: As I recently wrote, the Obama who wanted to transcend red states and blues states has been replaced with a campaigner every bit as partisan as Karl Rove.
Don’t believe me? Check out John Heilemann’s well reported New York magazine piece on Hope being followed by Fear. Consider the Obama campaign’s plans for Mitt Romney:
They will pummel him for being a vulture-vampire capitalist at Bain Capital. They will pound him for being a miserable failure as the governor of Massachusetts. They will mash him for being a water-carrier for Paul Ryan’s Social Darwinist fiscal program. They will maul him for being a combination of Jerry Falwell, Joe Arpaio, and John Galt on a range of issues that strike deep chords with the Obama coalition. “We’re gonna say, ‘Let’s be clear what he would do as president,’ ” Plouffe explains. “Potentially abortion will be criminalized. Women will be denied contraceptive services. He’s far right on immigration. He supports efforts to amend the Constitution to ban gay marriage.”
The Obama effort at disqualifying Romney will go beyond painting him as excessively conservative, however. It will aim to cast him as an avatar of revanchism. “He’s the fifties, he is retro, he is backward, and we are forward—that’s the basic construct,” says a top Obama strategist. “If you’re a woman, you’re Hispanic, you’re young, or you’ve gotten left out, you look at Romney and say, ‘This [expletive] guy is gonna take us back to the way it always was, and guess what? I’ve never been part of that.’ ”
It’s a better tactic for Obama than trying to run on his economic record.
C Bowen | 5.31.12 @ 4:08PM
Mr. Antle;
Obama painting Romney as a conservative rightwinger, would help Romney and go against the entire strategy of pointing out that Romney's Romneycare was a model for Obamacare. That Romney is not much different then Obama and just wants to buy the Presidency--the Bain Capital angle, and so forth fits in here.
If anything, the Obama camp is baiting the polling numbers so that Romney picks an issue softie for VP--one with no issue credibility (if some media charisma or invitations to DC luncheons.)
Now of course, many did like Palin--old Title 9 Girl herself--but she wasn't a conservative, just a Republican who seemed authentic--doubt that works this time around, and it didn't work last time either.
Jack in Wi| 5.31.12 @ 6:02PM
Very good commentary Mr. Bowen. The only 2 guys who I would think that could help Romney are Rand Paul and Scott Walker my governor, if he wins on Tues. Both of them are far more personally popular with the prolife conservative base of the party, then Romney is. Romney needs to move to his left for peace, to get the young, women, and independents. He needs people like Scott and Rand to get out the prolife base vote. He needs most of all to get rid of all the Neocons he has hanging around his foreign policy team. He would do well to bring on people like Jim Baker, Norm Schwartzhoph, and Brent Skowcroft who are old line professionals, not a bunch of neocons. Who are nothing but chickenhawk, boviators. Can Romney put it all together? Perhaps, but I doubt it. I expect this campaign to be dirty and personal on all levels from both sides. Heaven forbid we ever have a reasoned debate on the issues.
C Bowen | 5.31.12 @ 6:40PM
Thank you, and I will add, that I agree with Occam that Romney would do well if this really is the strategy--hence I don't think it is.
I agree with you that signaling from Romney that he will change course/flip flop from the neocons would be a very significant swing in his favor, but I do think the only issue he has credibility on with Republicans is immigration, and if he goes to the Left for a VP--particularly on the immigration issue (e.g. Rubio and his amnesty bill--let alone the WND crowd doesn't think Rubio is eligible) he will certainly lose.
Dai Alanye | 6.1.12 @ 12:41PM
Any time you have Wisc Jack agreeing with you, you may be sure your comment was either misunderstood or largely wrongheaded.
Stan25| 5.31.12 @ 5:04PM
Talk about someone living in the past. Obama wants to be known as the FDR of the 21st century. That is why he has done the things that he did. It is up to us to make sure that Obama does not do more doubling down on FDR
Occam's Tool| 5.31.12 @ 5:20PM
I hope he does---Romney will mash him hard.
spike59| 6.1.12 @ 6:36AM
i get a sense from Romney's campaign that we won't be seeing any McCain-like "my frensh, we can all be reashonable, let'sh not offend anyone" nonsense this time around...mitt's not going to bring a bouquet of daisies to a gunfight
Albert Constantine Jr.| 5.31.12 @ 7:57PM
“It will aim to cast him as an avatar of revanchism”
I recall in one of the books I read over 25 years ago (which title and author elude me), when there was still a Soviet Union, that the writer posited that when one saw the use of the word “revanchism” , that whatever author had selected the word was basically being fed talking points by Comintern, as they were the primary user of it. While some dictionaries indicate it has French origins, it was commonly used as a red flag (poor pun intended) to Russians who had experienced the Nazi Blitz in what they refer to as the Great Patriotic War, and usually was used to attack any West German action that aided its western allies.
Today marks the first time I’ve noticed it in a contemporary text in more than two decades. Given what is known and currently unknown about the current POTUS, it somehow seems to be an appropriately revived term in this context.
Occam's Tool| 5.31.12 @ 8:44PM
Jack wants Romney to move to his Left on FP---I don't think so.
Jack in Wi| 5.31.12 @ 9:43PM
He has to mmove toward peace Occam. These wars are about as popular as cancer. He will lose the youth vote, womens vote ,and the independents. The ccountry is broke and our military is broken. We are not going to take grandma off dialysis and cut grandpa's Social Security check just so Israel can keep oppressing it's neighbors. Peace is the answer. Shalom.
spike59| 6.1.12 @ 6:33AM
yes indeed...how DARE Israel defend its own civilians from rockets lauched by Hamas from schools and residential neighborhoods?
sieg heil, dumbass
Ruckweiler| 5.31.12 @ 9:51PM
When you have no record to tout then slight of hand is all that's left, isn't it?
spike59| 6.1.12 @ 6:57AM
countdown to the next 'racial outrage' begins...10, 9, 8, 7...
Dai Alanye | 6.1.12 @ 12:38PM
How can a ceremony be "gracious[ly] bipartisan" when it included an Obama riff blaming Dubya once again for our present economic difficulties. This was typical Obama-ish ungracious whining.
Apparently The One's narcissism requires constant reinforcement in the form of snide remarks concerning his predecessor.