This article suggests a campaign ad for Barack Obama that I think is brilliant. If any Obama campaigners are reading this, you should run it.
It reads:
“
—I’m Janet Napolitano, Democratic governor of Arizona—a state Bush won twice.
—I’m Kathleen Sebelius, Democratic governor of Kansas—a state Bush won twice.
—I’m Claire McKaskill, Democratic Senator from Missouri—a state Bush won twice.
If Al Gore had won any of our states in 2000, there never would have been a Bush presidency. Instead, Democrats lost the last two presidential elections because our candidates couldn’t compete in our states, and too many others.
Any Democrat can win in your deep blue state. But to win the White House, we need someone who can win our states, too. We believe that candidate is Barack Obama.
—We think so, too. I’m Tom Kaine, governor of Virgnia, where Bush won twice. And I’m Ben Nelson, Democratic senator from Nebraska, where Bush won twice.
Please: Give us a Democratic candidate who can win the states that will decide who wins the White House. Give us Barack Obama.”
People wonder how John Edwards dropping out of the race will affect the Clintons vs. Obama. Being from Georgia, I know that many friends of mine in politics, among other reasons, supported Edwards for the “coat-tails” effect–Edwards would be the most effective President to have at the top of the ticket when building a coalition in Georgia. And I remember going home after Iowa, being all excited about Obama, and being proud to defend a progressive candidate in front of the very conservative people back in Georgia. I didn’t feel ashamed of Obama at all–and my conservative friends respected my support of him. I definitely could not say the same thing about the Clintons–I would have a hard time proudly defending them back home.
I know that in Georgia, and many other states in this ad, you’ll see many people having an experience like this. They supported Edwards as the best chance for more moderate Democrats, and even though the National Journal has just rated Hillary as more conservative than Obama, Obama could be a party-builder in the state, whereas the Clintons, at this point, would be party-killers.
So keep your eyes open. This poll, this poll (read: for last night’s data alone, Clinton and Obama were essentially even) and this one–though they are not exactly statistically significant, yet–suggest that Edwards supporters are breaking more for Obama than for the Clintons.
ERB
