Oh..Snap…

McCain Responds…

Last week on MSNBC, I was debating Obama’s southern strategy and his appeal to African-American voters in states that aren’t traditionally Democratic.

Today, Rep. Adam Putnam, who is a Republican and also Chairman of the House Republican Conference confirmed that even the GOP is worried about Obama’s Southern appeal.

No, U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, doesn’t think John McCain is in any real danger of losing Florida, given McCain’s natural appeal to veterans, independents, and pro-Israel voters. But the Chairman of the House Republican Conference thinks Barack Obama’s ability to turn out African-Americans voters across the south could pose trouble for some Republican incumbents in states that McCain will still carry.

“I think you’ll see House members who won their last race by 60%-65% percent lose because of the turnout model that Obama brings,” said Putnam after taping a Political Connections interview on Bay News 9. He wasn’t talking about any Florida seats, but his pick for the five races to watch in Florida: the seats held by Democrat Tim Mahoney, by the Diaz-Balart brothers, by Tom Feeney, and by Ric Keller.

On top of that, check out this Gallup headline…McCain Faces Enthusiasm Gap.

From The Page:

Will begin airing Friday in 18 states, including Republican-leaning Georgia, North Carolina, Alaska.

SCRIPT – “Country I Love”

OBAMA: I’m Barack Obama.

America is a country of strong families and strong values. My life’s been blessed by both.

I was raised by a single mom and my grandparents. We didn’t have much money, but they taught me values straight from the Kansas heartland where they grew up. Accountability and self-reliance. Love of country. Working hard without making excuses. Treating your neighbor as you’d like to be treated. It’s what guided me as I worked my way up — taking jobs and loans to make it through college.

It’s what led me to pass up Wall Street jobs and go to Chicago instead, helping neighborhoods devastated when steel plants closed.

That’s why I passed laws moving people from welfare to work, cut taxes for working families and extended health care for wounded troops who’d been neglected.

I approved this message because I’ll never forget those values, and if I have the honor of taking the oath of office as president, it will be with a deep and abiding faith in the country I love.

McCain has been desperately trying to distance himself from his Fundraiser-in-Chief George W. Bush. He wants to be seen as a maverick, an independent, a reformer and someone who can carry the damaged Republican brand in a new direction. Well, this all sounds like a great strategy…right?

Thanks to the great work of bloggers and researchers who know how you use Google, McCain’s declaration of independence is slowly being debunked and his true colors are starting to shine through.

From the Huffington Post:

It has been observed that one of Sen. John McCain’s most foreboding obstacles in seeking the White House will likely be the lengthy paper trail that comes with a 25-year congressional career.

And so it is, perhaps, with the macro-theme of the general election: whether or not McCain is an extension of the George Bush presidency. The Senator has worked hard to dispel such a perception, pointing to various policy disagreements with the White House and lashing out against those who claim he would be Bush’s third term.

But McCain’s case is complicated by his own words from just three years ago. In a June 2005 appearance on Meet The Press, the Senator told moderator Tim Russert that, far from being at odds with the White House, he had “been totally in agreement and support of President Bush” on “the transcendent issues.”

Here is the transcript of his remarks. Video is here.

RUSSERT: The fact is you are different than George Bush.

SEN. McCAIN: No. No. I-the fact is that I’m different but the fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed. And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I’ve been totally in agreement and support of President Bush.

How do you sell a product that just isn’t any good? Just ask the people who marketed the Yugo…

John McCain is the director of marketing for a brand that is outdated and a product that needs an extended warranty in order to sell. For nearly a decade now, Republicans have ushered in a new era of corruption and incompetence and in doing so have lost the trust of the American people. John McCain of 2000 would be utterly disgusted and ashamed with the John McCain of 2008, and as the party of Reagan attempts to re-occupy the White House this year, they should look deep into their game plan and re-tool, because the GOP brand has been cheapened and it could be sitting on the discount rack soon.

Though we’ve been at odds with Sen. Clinton at times throughout the past two years, we wanted to congratulate her, as well as her staff and supporters on a hard fought and spirited campaign. I hope over the coming weeks and months, the two teams can come together and create a massive force to take on John McCain in the fall.

One of the things that I’m most excited about in this upcoming battle between Obama and McCain is the marked differences in look, presentation, style and delivery.

McCain is old (I’m don’t mean that in an offensive way, he is literally old), his speaking style is mundane and dry, his humor doesn’t always come across to his audience and his presentation is just generally lacking. Now, this is my opinion, but I have had the opportunity to hear Sen. McCain on the stump in the lead-up to the New Hampshire primary, so I do have a good perspective.

Now, juxtapose McCain’s style with Obama. His oratory is one of his most notable characteristics. He thrives off a large audience and he delivers soaring speeches with ease. He’s young (I don’t mean that in an offensive way, he is literally young), and he looks the part of a leader.

This dynamic is going to play out over and over throughout this general election campaign - in the debates, town hall meetings, television ads, etc.

When Obama and McCain are on stage together, there will be a clear difference in the way these two candidates present their ideas, and it will be interesting to see how that dynamic plays out in the press, as well as with voters

Take last night for example. It had been reported that McCain spent three weeks preparing to make a speech on the eve of Obama’s nomination. His team chose New Orleans as a perfect place to layout his vision for this campaign and for America in the years to come. However, something happened on the way to the podium…This great video from our friends at Talking Points Memo says it all. Enjoy.