Who is this guy, really?
Words may be inspiring, but a president must have solutions; Obama is all words.
He's a newcomer and a "roll of the dice." He has no proven track record. We do.
We're the voice of experience, of Washington know-how, of stature.
He talks about "hope," we talk about reality.
McClinton wants Hillary to be the Democratic nominee: the Hillary head wants to be the nominee so she can be president; the McCain head wants Hillary, with her high negatives, to be the nominee so he can be president.
The McClinton strategy will not work. Each one of the attacks can easily be countered by Obama.
The "who is this guy?" strategy can easily be countered with a campaign commercial and a series of talking points highlighting all of his accomplishments as a community organizer, attorney and professor, Illinois State Senator, and Senator in Washington. His past and current colleagues can each point to one or more of his accomplishments and show how competent he is.
The accusation that he is "all words" and has no "proven track record" can be demolished with commercials and speeches that pair his inspirational words with both accomplishments and policy plans.
The "newcomer" vs. "experience" and "Washington know how" accusation won't fly as voters in presidential elections prefer candidates with less Washington experience, especially when that experience is intimately connected to lobbyists and gridlock. And let's face it, no matter how much experience you have as a Senator or Washington insider or as a First Lady or war hero, nothing can prepare you adequately for the job of the presidency. The most important characteristics you must have for the job are good judgment and grace under fire. Obama has both.
As for "hope" vs. "reality," Americans have had enough of reality in these past seven years. They both want and need "hope." And the interesting thing about Obama's message of hope isn't that he is asking Americans to hope HE can do something, but to both hope and get to work doing something with him. Unlike McClinton, he isn't saying "I have experience" and "I will bring solutions." He is asking the Americans to accept the difficulty of the task ahead and to join him in the hard work of changing the country for the better.
That is a message the American people cannot and will not resist no matter what McClinton says or does.
