Thought of the Day: Obama Strategy

There has been much speculation on how Obama intends to coordinate his various assets and contingencies. The big questions remain: Which states to visit? Whom to address? Where to advertise? Who to send where? The answers to these questions will determine how the states go on election day.

There was an interesting article on PoliticalWire on Obama's handling of Indiana. Frankly, he has no real chance of winning there. However, by spending money on ads there, he is "messing with McCain's mind". He is following a strategy which may backfire, but if successful will win us an advantage. Namely, Obama is making a strong effort in states which McCain should take for granted. This will force McCain to make visits to states, such as Indiana, Georgia, Alaska, and even Idaho, which should normally be taken for granted and ignored.

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But this is not the goal of the next six weeks. The goal of the next six weeks is to have Obama spending as much time as possible on Michigan. He should go on a Michigan tour, stumping nonstop for two weeks, and then go elsewhere (N0rth Carolina or Virginia?) while Michigan is deluged with pro-Obama ads. We need a series of huge rallies akin to the ones in Oregon to rekindle the Democratic party in Michigan. If we carry Michigan, we carry the election. If we don't, we can still win, but we have to win Virginia.

Let's carpetbomb them both Michigan and Florida with Obama-Hillary fliers and anti-McCain literature. After all, the best use of Hillary is in the states she carried in the primaries, namely:
-Michigan
-Florida
-Ohio
-Arkansas
-Pennsylvania

Hillary will hurt us in the south and NC-VA-GA triangle, the areas where she lost by a lot in the primaries and is quite unpopular. She should go through the blue collar belt preaching the Obama gospel. We need her voters, but we especially need them in these white, blue collar states.

Bill should be delegated solely to Arkansas and Missouri. He's to radioactive and distracting to display elsewhere. AR (6) + MO (11) = 17 (Michigan). If he can deliver these two states, then we have basically won. One or the other would help as well. Have him campaign on and off for the next five months throughout these two states. In this deadlocked climate, 17 electoral votes will likely mean the difference between winning and losing.

Meanwhile, Bill Richardson, the Democratic governor of New Mexico (who will not get tapped for VP) should tour the southwest, stirring up Hispanic support. This means definitively providing his home state.

In the meantime, we need Chet Culver, the new Democratic governor of Iowa, campaigning for Obama around the state.

It goes without saying that whereever Obama goes, the grassroots effort should be tapped to the fullest to ensure the largest possible crowds.

Florida is our weak spot. With a lack of established Democratic politicians, we need Senator Nelson and former Senator Bob Graham meeting with party leaders to minimize the damage. Hillary should stump here.

If we divide up the effort, with each popular leader delegated to delivering one or two states, victory in November looks increasingly likely. The change is in the air, but the challenge is clear.

Obama '08!
-The Young Sentinel