Candidate
Obama: “What We Need Now Is Not Misleading Charges And Divisive
Attacks.” OBAMA: “Well, what we need now is not misleading charges and
divisive attacks. What we need is honest leadership and real change, and that's
why I'm running for President of the United States.” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks,
Richmond, VA, 10/22/08)
OBAMA’S NEGATIVE CAMPAIGN IS STARTING TO WORRY HIS
SUPPORTERS
Obama’s
Supporters Worry That His “In-Your-Face Negativity” Has Caused “A Backlash Among
Independent Voters Who Have Finally Given Up The Image Of Obama As A New-Breed
Politician.” “But the president’s enemies, and a few of his friends,
think his in-your-face negativity, on display in his attacks on Bain Capital and
a snark offensive that included comparing Romney’s statements to a ‘cow pie of
distortion,’ have produced a backlash among independent voters who have finally
given up the image of Obama as a new-breed politician.” (Glenn Thrush, “Obama’s
Negative Feedback Loop,” Politico,
5/30/12)
For
Some Democrats, The Obama Campaign Is “Too Divisive, Too Conventional, And Too
Nakedly Political.” “For many Democrats, this is just fine and dandy,
for they believe that in the Romney-Republican agenda there is plenty to be
scared of. For others in the party in both politics and business, however, the
new Obama posture is cause for concern. From the gay- marriage decision to the
onslaught on Bain, they see the president and his team as coming across as too
divisive, too conventional, and too nakedly political, putting at risk Obama’s
greatest asset his likability with the voters in the middle of the electorate
who will ultimately decide his fate.” (John Heilemann, “Hope: The Sequel,” New
York Magazine, 5/27/12)
“Several
Top Democrats” Said Obama’s Attacks “May Further Damage A Hope-And-Change
Persona Already Dented” By The Past Three Years. “But several top
Democrats interviewed by POLITICO said Obama’s recent attacks — including his
long defense, at a press conference in Chicago last week, of his decision to
target Bain — may further damage a hope-and-change persona already dented by
three years of partisan combat and economic turmoil.” (Glenn Thrush, “Obama’s
Negative Feedback Loop,” Politico,
5/30/12)
Senior
Democrat Strategist Active In The Obama Campaign: “There Is Some Validity To The
Point That We Lose Something By Attacking.” “After all, it was Clinton
who infamously announced, ‘Now the fun part starts’ when she began directly
attacking Obama in late 2007 — just before her campaign collapsed in the Iowa
caucuses for want of a more positive and coherent message. ‘There is some
validity to the point that we lose something’ by attacking Romney, said one
senior Democratic strategist active in the campaign.” (Glenn Thrush, “Obama’s
Negative Feedback Loop,” Politico,
5/30/12)
The
New York Times ’ David Brooks: “So I Think Starting
Negative … Also Damages His Personal Reputation.” “And I question the
Obama decision to go after, to start negative. They’ve decided to focus on a
negative way and this seems to me self-destructive. People (inaudible) Obama,
they like him personally, they admire him. And now I think he’s at a risk of
throwing that away by starting negative, by going extremely tough and extremely
hard, looking conventional and frankly, running ads that are inaccurate. The
ad they ran against the steel company that Bain took over had a couple of
inaccuracies that were the basis of the ad. They said the company was successful
until Bain took it over, that’s false. They said Romney threw people out on the
street, Romney was gone by then. They said they’re loading up debt, these
companies and dumping them. These companies have no higher default rates than
anybody else . So I think starting negative not only distracts you from what
he should be talking about – the big agenda for structural problems, but also
damages his personal reputation. ”(NBC’s “Meet
The Press,” 5/27/12)
