Urban Thought Collective

Last month Barack Obama was smoking John McCain in the polls by 15 points. As of this week, his lead has disintegrated to a measly three points. Obviously, Obama’s strategy of reaching out to conservative and middle-of-the-road voters by modifying his positions on key issues (ie: supporting renewal of the FISA wiretapping law and saying he would consult military leaders before finalizing his plans to withdraw from Iraq) has not worked. In a word, Barack’s been blowing it.

Obama electrified the nation by articulating a bold, new vision for the United States. But lately he’s starting to sound like just another politician. Voters are not checking for that and if Obama continues along this path he will lose an election that should be his for the taking.

John Kerry and Al Gore lost the Presidency because they ran scared. They spent their campaigns on the defensive, trying not to seen “too liberal.” The predictable doom of this strategy was proven by George Bush’s back-to-back wins. (Yeah, I know the GOP jacked Florida in 2000, but if Gore had run a stronger campaign the election wouldn’t have come down to a few hanging chads in a single state.)

There are signs that Obama is trying to reconnect with his more recognizable self. This week, in both a New York Times op-ed piece and a foreign policy address in Washington, Obama reaffirmed his commitment to getting our troops out of Iraq within 16 months. His speech to the NAACP convention on Monday combined calls for personal responsibility with a commitment to boost government investment in public schools, job training and health care.

This is good stuff. It’s the kind of thing Barack Obama needs to say more and more forcefully. Mainly, he needs to stop trying too hard to appeal to conservatives. Obama was right to make “change” the cornerstone of his campaign because most Americans are ready to move away from the GOP approach. Even McCain has been forced to co-op the change theme. So, by staying true to his original, powerful “Yes We Can” theme and tone, Barack Obama will win the support of a huge majority and he will sweep to victory in November.

He promised us something new and different. If he delivers, we will follow him.

One last thought. Props to Obama for gently checking Bernie Mac over the off-color jokes the Mac Man told at Obama’s fundraiser in Chicago. Bernie’s got a good heart but that was the wrong place for blue humor. But Bernie’s jokes were nothing compared to the John McCain’s evil quip about Iran. When he was asked about the rise in U.S. cigarette exports to Iran, McCain said “that’s one way to kill ‘em.” Then he tried to play it off by saying he meant that mess as a joke. Wow. A major party’s candidate to be President of the United States thinks joking about killing civilians through cancer is a joke. As if killing civilians should be our goal in Iran. As if killing anyone in Iran should be our goal. The Iranian foreign minister was right to denounce McCain’s wicked words as further examples of a “warmongering foreign policy.”

Thanks for listening. I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents.

THINK! IT AIN’T ILLEGAL…YET!

Cameron Turner is a Los Angeles-area native whose editorials, entertainment news features and audio documentaries have appeared on national radio networks, online and in print for over 20 years.