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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dale Baker who wrote (69128)	5/29/2008 9:20:28 AM
From: KonKilo	Respond to of 542139

Good point...

To: Dale Baker who wrote (69128)	5/29/2008 9:29:47 AM
From: Dale Baker	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 542139

--------------------------------------------------------- First Read: The day in politics by NBC News for NBC News --------------------------------------------------------- FIRST THOUGHTS. * Boxing Obama In On Iraq? Lost yesterday in the frenzy over Scott McClellan's new book was McCain's blistering attack on Obama over the fact that the Illinois senator hasn't been to Iraq since 2006. Indeed, the RNC even released an online clock counting the days since Obama last visited the Middle East country. Then later in the day, the New York Times reported that Obama is considering a trip to Iraq; his campaign, in fact, has been discussing such a trip for weeks. Has McCain boxed Obama in on this issue -- because if he does actually go to Iraq, will it look like McCain's idea? There are certainly a few other pros to McCain's line of attack here: It moves the issue terrain to ground on which the Arizona senator is comfortable (Iraq), and it makes McCain look like the knowledgeable and experienced one. "The important thing is for him to go and see the facts on the ground and the success we are achieving," McCain said yesterday. But there are a couple of cons, too. For starters, this debate will spur news organizations to whip up the video of McCain's widely panned stroll through that Baghdad market, evidence that politicians don't always see everything when they visit Iraq. But more important, if Obama DOES go, it could provide him a real commander-in-chief moment. As conservative commentator Jennifer Rubin puts it, "He might be able to . show he is not 'afraid' to get out and meet with the troops and commanders. He might even impress some voters that he is fluent enough in national security matters to be a credible commander-in-chief." Short-term gain for McCain, potential long-term opportunity for Obama? Perhaps. * Replaying Clinton's Greatest Hits: McCain's attack on Obama yesterday also included this line: "Sen. Obama is the chairman of important subcommittee that has the oversight of what's going on in Afghanistan. He has not held one single hearing on Afghanistan." Later in the day, a McCain spokesman released this statement: "In 2004, Barack Obama said he had the same position [on Iraq] as President George W. Bush." Um, haven't we heard this stuff before -- from Clinton and her campaign? In fact, there is a danger here for McCain in recycling Clinton's greatest hits on Obama over the last several months. For one thing, the attacks seem a bit dated (Afghanistan and the subcommittee?) Two, they didn't exactly work for Clinton, did they? Then again, perhaps they might work better with general election voters. But so far, they haven't been a silver bullet. Some non-connected McCain watchers have been warning the campaign against recycling the same lines of attack on Obama -- don't hit him on the obvious weaknesses (inexperience); instead try and hug him on his supposed strength (non-polarizing) and lay claim to being the, well, reformer with results. But that sounds like Clinton's "solutions" gambit, doesn't it? *** Still Dominating The News: Per NBC's John Yang, as Scott McClellan starts trying to explain his book -- as he did on TODAY this morning -- and as the chorus of Bush loyalists both inside and outside the White House continue their defense, the White House has nothing to try to push this story out of the headlines. Mr. Bush is on the final day of his Western swing, where he has two events: a meeting with the head of the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City and a fundraiser for a Republican House challenger in Kansas, both closed to coverage. He returns to the White House around this evening. McClellan will appear on Olbermann tonight, as well as on Meet the Press on Sunday. This is turning into a five-day news story -- minimum. And that's not just unhelpful to Bush as he attempts to repair his image even a little, but also to John McCain, who doesn't need White House Bush drama eating into his coverage. Also, nevermind how McClellan has stepped on Clinton's final attempt to bring attention to the Florida-Michigan process. For more: The latest edition of First Read is available now at firstread.msnbc.com