Urban Thought Collective

Every September my daughter’s elementary school sends home a notice from the police department with advice on keeping kids safe on the walk to and from school. Along with reminders about looking both ways before crossing the street, avoiding strangers, traveling in groups, etc. there’s a section on what a kid should do if she is threatened by a dog: stay calm, stand still, refrain from making sudden movements, slowly move away from the animal. Above all, do not try to fight the dog and do not run away in terror; in either case the beast will attack. I’ve been thinking about that advice ever since Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin started running her mouth.

The inexperienced and apparently unethical governor of Alaska compared herself to a pitbull during her condescending and issue-evading speech at last week’s Republican National Convention. It’s a comparison that fits because, apparently, Palin’s role in this campaign is to be the GOP’s attack dog, taking shots at Democratic candidate Barack Obama’s character, biography and past service as a grass-roots community organizer, Illinois State Senator and member of the U.S. Senate.

Palin’s task is to redirect this campaign toward personal attacks and away from the issues. This is crucial for the Republicans because it’s the only way they can win. If the focus of the campaign stays fixed on substantive matters like the economy, health care, jobs, education and Sen. John McCain’s support of President Bush, then Barack Obama will be elected our next President. This has Republican strategists scared to death. So, they’ve unleashed their pitbull, Gov. Palin, in hopes that she can distract the public and goad Sen. Obama into a street fight. Anything to keep voters from paying attention to what is really important in this election!

Sen. McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, revealed this strategy two days before Gov. Palin’s RNC speech. Davis told the Washington Post, “This election is not about issues. This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates.” In other words, the Republicans are hoping that voters will ignore the facts and make their choices based on vague impressions grounded in unimportant criteria such as personality, style and sloganeering.

But the American people are smarter than that. We know that in a Presidential election nothing is more critical than the candidates’ positions on potential policy matters.

Of course, John McCain has good reason to avoid talking about the issues. His plans are woefully inadequate compared to those of Barack Obama. Take healthcare, for instance. As President, Barack Obama will make affordable medical insurance available to all Americans through a national health plan. He’ll expand Medicaid and the SCHIP program for children.

Meanwhile, McCain offers only a $5,000 tax credit that families can use to shop for private health insurance. This won’t help much because, according to industry experts, the price of minimal health coverage on the open market averages between $10,000 to $15,000. But here’s the real catch: John McCain wants to tax the health insurance you get at work as income! That’s right, the guy who keeps pontificating about reducing taxes has a health care plan that would actually raise your income taxes!

And speaking of income taxes, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates that a family of four with an annual income of $70,000 would get an income tax cut of $1,300 under Sen. Barack Obama’s plan. Under John McCain’s plan that same family would only save about $700. And we all know that McCain’s tax plan maintains President Bush’s tax cuts for rich folks who earn over $200,000 a year. Obama would repeal those tax cuts.

When it comes to education, Barack Obama wants to give families a $4,000 tax credit to help pay a kid’s college tuition. McCain wants to simplify financial aid applications but he doesn’t offer any monetary assistance. When Good Morning America asked him about this, McCain’s senior policy adviser, Doug Holtz-Eakin, said, “You have to be honest about the fact that we are in a tough fiscal situation and to promise people we’re going to throw money at everything, it’s to really be very misleading. It’s about spending money wisely.”

It’s a trip how Republicans will spend billions on the military and on tax relief for corporations and wealthy individuals – driving up the federal deficit in the process – but ask them about education and other programs that empower ordinary Americans they always start poor-mouthing!

So, the Republicans have their fingers crossed that we’ll be so caught up in Sarah Palin’s smack-talking that we’ll overlook issues like these. They’re also gambling that Gov. Palin’s petty personal attacks will cause Sen. Obama to take his eye off the ball – that he’ll start fighting her instead of staying on track with the honorable, optimistic, inspiring and issue-driven campaign he has run all year.

But this tacky strategy won’t work. Sen Obama’s opponents tried it before with Rev. Jeremiah Wright and with that trumped-up “bitter-gate” nonsense. Barack didn’t take the bait then and he won’t take it now. He’s gotten this far by stating the facts, discussing the issues and laying out his vision for uniting the nation and empowering everyday Americans.

It’s like that notice from my daughter’s school. You don’t deal with a snarling dog by engaging it or by running away. You stand your ground and move methodically toward your goal. Obama’s been doing that throughout this campaign and he’ll keep on doing so through November. So, Pitbull Palin can snarl and snap all she wants. Obama’s not tripping off her and neither should you.

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.