Obama pulls up his socks, strides forward

Obama has been getting some flack from donors over his numbers vs. those of Hillary Clinton.  There's been "mounting alarm among supporters that his lack of assertiveness has allowed her to dominate the presidential race."

Morale at his Chicago headquarters, aides said, has been dragged down by the perception that Mrs. Clinton is lapping Mr. Obama. And aides said that they had been struggling for weeks for a balance between offering a contrast with Mrs. Clinton and avoiding the anger that they said had marked Mr. Edwards’s candidacy.

In a 53-minute interview as he ate breakfast aboard a chartered jet that brought him here from Chicago, Mr. Obama said Mrs. Clinton had been untruthful or misleading in describing her positions on problems facing the nation. He accused her of “straddling between the Giuliani, Romney side of the foreign policy equation and the Barack Obama side of the equation.” He said that she was trying to “sound or vote” like a Republican on national security issues and that that was “bad for the country and ultimately bad for Democrats.”

You can forget "Kumbaya."  The Clinton campaign has been giving him a hard time.

...Every time we point out a difference between me and her, they say, ‘What happened to the politics of hope?’ which is just silly,” he said, laughing. ... “The notion that somehow changing the tone means simply that we let them say whatever they want to say or that there are no disagreements and that we’re all holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya’ is obviously not what I had in mind and not how I function...”

Which is to say, Barack Obama represents the real Democratic wing of the Democratic party where "Kumbaya" has been sidelined in the past several years thanks to minority status and hard reality.  Clinton is nowhere near that Democratic party. 

Now a full-fledged, pants-suited DLC candidate, she has offered nothing so far that doesn't lean towards old fashioned centrist Republican corporatism (or worse).  It's more than a matter of emphasis.  Hillary's new lyrics to "Kumbaya" could easily be sung, with gusto, on any MillionAir or Marquis jet.

Comments

[Suetonius@religious.com]

Pulse Opinion Research
Iowa
Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters
October 23, 2007

1* I'd like you to compare two Presidential tickets. The first ticket is Hillary Clinton as President and an unidentified Southern male as Vice President. The second ticket is Al Gore as President and Barack Obama as Vice President.

Would a Clinton Presidency be more effective, equally effective, or less effective than a Gore-Obama Presidency at securing global cooperation on climate change with India, China, and Russia?

14% More effective
26% Equally effective
41% Less effective
19% Not sure

2* Is a Clinton White House more likely, equally likely, or less likely than a Gore-Obama White House to invade Iran without reason?

16% More likely
40% Equally likely
23% Less likely
20% Not sure

3*Great, is a Clinton Presidency more likely, equally likely, or less likely than a Gore-Obama Presidency to shut down detainee facilities in Guantanamo Bay?

17% More likely
48% Equally likely
14% Less likely
21% Not sure

4* Does a Gore-Obama Presidency have a better chance, equal chance or a worse chance than a Clinton Presidency of reducing global proliferation of loose nuclear weapons?

26% Better chance
43% Equal chance
12% Worse chance
18% Not sure

5* Fine, is a Gore-Obama Presidency more willing, equally willing, or less willing than a Clinton Presidency to risk alienating special interests by reforming Social Security?

23% More willing
42% Equally willing
13% Less willing
23% Not sure

6* Is a Gore-Obama Presidency more likely, equally likely, or less likely than a Clinton Presidency to reduce American dependence on foreign oil?

35% More likely
36% Equally likely
12% Less likely
17% Not sure

7*Okay, would a Gore-Obama Presidency be better, worse, or just as good as a Clinton Presidency for the environment?

46% Better
14% Worse
27% Just as good
14% Not sure

8* Is a Gore-Obama Presidency more likely, equally likely, or less likely than a Clinton Presidency to reduce the total number of abortions in the United States?

12% More likely
53% Equally likely
13% Less likely
22% Not sure

9* Next, would a Clinton Presidency have a greater chance, an equal chance, or a lesser chance than a Gore-Obama Presidency of changing America for the better?

19% Greater chance
36% Equal chance
29% Lesser chance
16% Not sure

10* Is Al Gore less honest, more honest or just as honest as Hillary Clinton?

31% More honest
14% Less honest
43% Just as honest
13% Not sure

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence

The telephone survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted by Pulse Opinion Research on October 23, 2007. Pulse Opinion Research, LLC is an independent public opinion research firm using automated polling methodology and procedures licensed from Rasmussen Reports, LLC.