The Discerning Texan

After sitting back for a couple in the weeks and basking in the glow of his clearly prescient pick of a VP candidate, Barack Obama and his slimy surrogates have been attacking McCain (and Palin) relentlessly; meanwhile it seemed as if McCain reverted back to his previous MO when he was double digits behind Obama: i.e. talking only about his plans, his vision, etc.

Now Obama has gone negative, exponentially so. Just watch any of his most recent speeches. Nothing about himself. Everything about his opponents. And suddenly, Obama is gaining on McCain again.

McCain MUST reply in kind, and he must not let up. This is bloodsport, and the ugly attacks on Palin are a clear indication that there is NOTHING the Left will not do; there are no depths of depravity or lies to which it will not stoop.

Now I am not saying McCain should get down to THAT level--but he does have to attack and keep attacking, from now until the second Tuesday. It is distasteful, but the facts are that going negative does work: and Obama has MANY more negatives. His entire life is a target-rich enviornment of hidden agendas, lies (on tape!), flip-flops, generalities--and especially Marxist philosophy and associations with VERY seedy characters.

You will recall that Hillary was way behind until she started going negative, and that doing so almost brought her back enough to overtake the Messiah.

This is why it was so refreshing to see McCain finally come out swinging again today (via Ed Morrissey at Hot Air):

John McCain shifted gears in Iowa today and reminded voters in Cedar Rapids that he predicted the outcome of the credit crisis two years ago, and few bothered to act. McCain also aggressively painted Barack Obama as a prime example of do-nothing politicians co-opted by lobbyist money. His speech pointed out the amount of money Obama has received from Fannie/Freddie donors and the advisers he uses that helped create the crisis (emphases mine):

Senator Obama talks a tough game on the financial markets but the facts tell a different story. He took more money from Fannie and Freddie than any Senator but the Democratic chairman of the committee that regulates them. He put Fannie Mae’s CEO who helped create this disaster in charge of finding his Vice President. Fannie’s former General Counsel is a senior advisor to his campaign. Whose side do you think he is on? When I pushed legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Senator Obama was silent. He didn’t lift a hand to avert this crisis. While the leaders of Fannie and Freddie were lining the pockets of his campaign, they were sowing the seeds of the financial crisis we see today and enriching themselves with millions of dollars in payments. That’s not change, that’s what’s broken in Washington.

He also goes after the Brave Sir Robin Congress:

Those same Congressional leaders who give Senator Obama his marching orders are now saying that this mess isn’t their fault and they aren’t going to take any action on this crisis until after the election. Senator Obama’s own advisers are saying that crisis will benefit him politically. My friends, that is the kind of me-first, country-second politics that are broken in Washington.

And he rips Joe Biden and his comment this morning about taxes being “patriotic”:

Today Senator Obama’s running mate said that raising taxes is patriotic. Raising taxes in a tough economy isn’t patriotic. It’s not a badge of honor. It’s just dumb policy.

This shows a rapid response capability that could turn this into a solid campaign theme for McCain. Today is Thursday. If Team McCain hammers on Biden’s inept comment, especially as a way to show that Obama/Biden would raise taxes as a matter of first recourse in any situation, then he could own the weekend news cycle with both that and Obama’s inaction to, and coziness with, the Fannie/Freddie people who in large part created the problem in the first place.

Message to John McCain and Sarah Palin: KEEP IT UP!