McCain has one. Hillary has one. Edwards tried to have one. Giuliani never got one, really. Romney did not have one.
Two suggest themselves: better governance and the environment. Both have cross-party appeal and could work well against McCain. His message on governance is surprisingly not well recognized, even at this late date. According to polls, he is seen as no different than McCain w/r/t pac money, etc. His advisers need to give him *a lot* more game on the environment (I think).
Your ideas?
STUMP SPEECH - RETOOLED
I get the sense that Hillary is still the one who is "selling" health care as an issue, not just reflecting people's frustration on the matter. She is out there saying that it is a moral responsibility, and staking out a political claim that that is true.
Obama, on the other hand, is talking about health care as 'an issue in people's lives'. Something tells me that that alone is not going to carry the day against the upcoming campaign against change. Basically, he needs a more inspirational message, even if he cannot come up with an ideological one. Maybe just a stronger message that change is good and within our grasp and needs to be as far-reaching as possible.
If he cannot use his positioning and rhetorical skills to re-shape the landscape, he may end up the way Labour is going in Britain now, having played a little too apologetic an intellectual line ...
Monday, May 5, 2008
Does Obama Need a Signature Issue?
