'Obama versus McCain' kicks off fall series / LJWorld.com

Archive for Thursday, September 11, 2008

Political experts discuss strategies of candidates

Bill Lacy, from left, director of the Dole Institute of Politics, interviews Ray Strother and Joe Gaylord on Wednesday during "POTUS 44: The Next President of the United States" at the institute on the KU campus. During the program, Gaylord, a political consultant, and Strother, a political campaign manager, discussed the 2008 presidential election.

By Erin Castaneda

September 11, 2008

Election 2008

In-depth coverage of the candidates and the issues, all leading up to the Aug. 5 primary and the Nov. 4 general election.

Gunda Hiebert got just what she was looking for Wednesday night at the Dole Institute of Politics.

The retired 72-year-old, who said this is the first time she's been politically engaged in a presidential election, decided to attend the first program in the 2008 fall Dole Institute series dubbed "POTUS 44 - The Next President of the United States."

The evening program, "Obama versus McCain: Campaign 2008," that attracted about 180 people featured two career political consultants: Joe Gaylord, a Republican who served as the senior counselor to Newt Gingrich and the National Republican Congressional Committee for eight years, and Ray Strother, a Democrat who has handled more than 50 campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives, worked as a media producer and consultant for numerous senators, and is a frequent commentator on network television.

"I think I really came because I was hoping I'd hear exactly what I did hear," Hiebert said, "which was two separate people, one on each side of the fence, giving an extremely measured, well-thought-out, nonbiased and : not inflammatory type of assessment of the race and how they think it's going on both sides."

The program was led by Dole Institute Director Bill Lacy.

Watching political cycles over decades, the speakers said late October will be a more telling time of a candidate's lead, because "anything can happen in eight weeks," Gaylord said.

However, a "slip or a slide" could be all it takes to fall behind, Strother said.

"Someone's going to make a mistake," he said "The person who makes that mistake will not be elected."

A strength for Barack Obama, what's "blown him away," Strother said, is his use of technology, namely text messaging, to reach thousands of people quickly.

Gaylord said he was so interested in the messages that he signed up for them. However, "on the Republican side we're so behind it's not even funny."

But Obama needs to start inspiring again, they both agreed.

Lacy asked the speakers what each candidate would have to do to win.

For Strother, Obama needs to redouble his efforts and reinspire, but to do that he needs to focus on one or two issues, and, most important, he has to "instill confidence" in people, Strother said.

Gaylord said, "He's going to have to demonstrate a higher degree of competence : and reach people in their guts to say you've got to do this because it's for your future. I think part of the message has kind of worn away a little bit."

John McCain needs to "stay healthy, avoid Bush at all cost, and try to prove the war is going to wind down and somehow find an economic message people can believe," Strother said.

Gaylord said McCain would have to emphasize bipartisanship.

When the issue of race was raised by Lacy, Strother said, "racism is the number one factor in this campaign."

"If Obama were white he would have a 20-point lead," he said. "There's no a reason a Democratic candidate for president is tied when you have a very unpopular president, you have a sinking economy, you have a war that goes on and on with no reason people can really understand, and we're tied. It's almost impossible. What you have is ingrained racism."

Discussion

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11 September 2008
at 6:19 a.m.

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Bladerunner (Anonymous) says…

Obama has lost 19% points over the last three weeks. It will be interesting to see if his slide continues.
11 September 2008
at 7:17 a.m.

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Satirical (Anonymous) says…

I have to disagree with Srother. I doubt Obama would have a 20 point lead if he were white. I think there are more people voting for him because he is black than not voting for him for the same reason. Geraldine Ferraro may have been correct when she said during the Democratic primary that Obama would not be doing as well if he were not an African American.While it is likely there are some who will not vote for him because of his race, maybe some in the older generation who are undeducated and live in rural areas. But there are many more who will vote for Obama simply because of the color of his skin as a sort of Affirmative Action/White guilt. These are the educated whites who feel guilty for past race relations and believe they need to vote for an African American to both show they are not racist and heal past wounds. Also, there are of course many in the African American community who are voting for Obama because of his race. While I beleive the vast majority of voters base their decision on policy, personality, character, and experience; but on the whole Obama's race will be more of an asset than a liability. His poll numbers are temporarily down because his novelty is beginning to fade, the RNC, and McCain's selection of a female VP, Governor Palin.
11 September 2008
at 8:43 a.m.

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brtsmith (Anonymous) says…

Satirical - if you don't think race is the biggest obstacle for Obama then you are politically retarded. In Penn., 12% of primary voters said they didn't vote for Obama because he was Black; same story in Missouri; same story across the board. And those are the people willing to publicly admit their racists. 12% of the entire nation thinks he's a Muslim; 8% say they won't for him because he's African American. And again: Those are people who are willing to actually say it aloud, not carry their prejudice around with them silently until voting time. The numbers continue: 27% of White America says too much has been made out of the struggles of Black people in this country (They're probably right - slavery, civil rights oppression: boohoo); 24% of White America says we aren't ready for a Black President; etc., etc., etc. But you're right: Race won't be a liability, it will be an asset. Idiot.
11 September 2008
at 9:49 a.m.

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1029 (Anonymous) says…

It's an ingrained racism. Most people don't even recognize it within themselves. They look at McCain and Obama and think of pros and cons, but deep inside of their unconscious Obama looks less appealing because of his race. A lot of the right-wing posters laugh at ideas of race playing a role, but you can see by some of their words and the arguments that they present that racism has played a role in the points of view they have developed.
11 September 2008
at 9:56 a.m.

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1029 (Anonymous) says…

It is clear that Obama is the better candidate, especially during these times.There's no “change” with McCain—the “change” idea has only been picked up by Republicans as a way of telling people, “Hey, we know you are waging war inside yourself knowing that Obama is the better candidate. But you are also bothered by the fact that he is black. Now you can vote for change and not have it on your conscious that you just voted for a black person.”
11 September 2008
at 12:54 p.m.

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Confrontation (Anonymous) says…

Racists know they're racists. Don't give them any excuse to be pigs. Posters on here have proven it, and the LJ-World doesn't have a problem with racist posts.
11 September 2008
at 12:58 p.m.

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BigPrune (Anonymous) says…

If it were an African American running for president as a Republican I don't think race would be a factor, just as I don't think race is a factor regarding Obama. It's all about each candidate's idealogy. So Obama is black, big deal. That Obama is a bigtime liberal - that's a big deal. That Obama and the democrats are sexist - that's a big deal. If people want to argue about the lipstick comment, then why did Carnahan mention lipstick on the same day Obama made his lipstick remark, when Carnahan and Biden were at a rally in Missouri? “And there's no way you can dress up that record, even with a lot of a lipstick,” Carnahan said to laughter and applause. Sexist, sexist, sexist. Hypocrits.

11 September 2008
at 1:43 p.m.

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meggers (Anonymous) says…

Big Prune,Was McCain making a sexist comment when he said that Hilalry's health care plan was akin to putting lipstick on a pig?For the love of God, people, it's a figure of speech- and one that has become a staple of modern political rhetoric. Just because Palin mentioned lipstick in one speech in an entirely different context doesn't make the phrase off limits for every other politician. Get a freakin grip.
11 September 2008
at 2:59 p.m.

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sowhatnow (Anonymous) says…

Big Prune,Is it possible in this country (or almost anywhere for that matter) for anyone NOT to have pre-judgments about other people based on their appearance, let alone their gender or race? And keep in mind that any judgment we have about another person is likely a judgment we have about our “self” but don't want to admit. It's not like one judgment about somebody different than you (i.e. calling people sexist and hypocrites) is somehow better than someone being sexist.As a population and a culture we have targeted women and blacks for discrimination. That's just a fact. I'm wondering if we can watch this race with an understanding that as a culture, we don't know how to deal with differences very well.
11 September 2008
at 6:49 p.m.

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Satirical (Anonymous) says…

I particularly enjoy people who label others, such as “idiot” or “racist” because they don't have the cognitive ability to understand opposing arguments so it is easier for them to label the opposition rather than engage in a discussion.Brtsmith:..Nice statistics. Did you know 73 % of statistics are made up on the spot? How about some proof next time to back it up. Or are real facts something you are unfamiliar with?1029…Again, it is probably easier for you to comprehend why people disagree with you on policy if you just assume they are hiding their evil feelings. When I supported Alan Keys for the 2000 Republican nomination did that make everyone else a racist who also didn't like him. Would you vote for Alan Keys if he were the Republican nominee? What about Colin Powell? In that hypothetical, using your logic I guess we could just assume everyone who didn't support him is racist including all the Dems.
11 September 2008
at 6:50 p.m.

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Satirical (Anonymous) says…

Confrontation:Is anyone who doesn't advocate for Obama a racist? Is anyone who doesn't vote for Palin a sexist?
11 September 2008
at 6:51 p.m.

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Satirical (Anonymous) says…

Meggers:”For the love of God, people, it's a figure of speech”So if McCain referring to Obama, said something like, “monkey see, monkey do,” in some political context unrelated to race which is also a common saying, do you think the media and Obama wouldn't be all over it making the assumption that McCain meant it in a racially derogatory manner? Of course they would. But I forgot, since all Democrats are necessarily pious and all Republicans are necessarily evil it makes it easier to detect when someone has bad motives for arguably offensive comments. You are right, objectivity is way overrated.
11 September 2008
at 9:01 p.m.

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christie (Anonymous) says…

Those who don't vote for Obama because he is Black will be the first to lose their jobs under McSame. And they will deserve it.Listening to Obama and McSame, it is clear:Obama is a Leader, McSame is a Politician.