The DNC has come and gone, the RNC is in full swing, and still the Democrats are suffering from a bit of confusion when it comes to packaging their message.
Now, don't get me wrong - the Democrats are typically phenomenal when it comes to talking about themselves, and their plans... the Republicans didn't have to stretch too far to spoof-deify Obama in their ads, because the average American voters was already halfway there, based on all the wonderful things we'd been hearing about Obama for the past few months. Where they run into problems is in being critical of their opposition... specifically, they're having a devil of a time criticizing John McCain. They're trying to paint him with a "4 more years of Bush" brush, to some success, but every time a senior Democrat stands up to talk about John McCain, they start off the same way:
"I like John McCain, he's a friend of mine. He's a great senator, and has served our country bravely..."
Okay, fine. We get it. I'd like to think (but can't say for sure) that most American soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen are sufficiently politically aware that you could attack McCain's policies without the preamble, and they wouldn't assume you hate all members of the Armed Forces. But that's neither here nor there... the point is, the Democrats are floundering in looking for the 30 second sound-byte... the preamble takes too long, the subsequent criticism takes too long, and the precious "quick 30", with actual footage of them speaking, is lost.
HERE'S what they should be saying (This one's on the house, guys).
"John McCain is a distinguished war hero and a great senator. He's a good man. However, he's a good man with bad ideas, taking bad advice. He deserves our respect and our admiration, but his service of this country doesn't automatically qualify him to lead this country and its economy. His policies are wrong for America, and as such he should not, and MUST not, be President of the United States."
Not saying I believe that statement... but, as a bit of a wordsmith myself, the lack of focus on the part of the Democrats and their speechwriters is driving me up the wall. So there you go, gang. Just make sure to credit The Enlightened Savage, Canadian Blogger Extraordinaire, in the briefing notes. :)
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