The Rovian Moon
SFWillie has written an excellent commentary about Barack Obama’s recent remarks on his planned approach to foreign policy.
According to Barack, he will return to the “traditional bipartisan realistic policy” of Ronald Reagan, George Bush I, and John Kennedy.
Admittedly, the policies of those three presidents, as well as every president we’ve elected since 1789, were more effective than the policies of the current incumbent of the Oval Office.
But the resurrection of those old presidents sends a negative signal to the mass of Barack’s supporters, the young people of the 21st Century, the Facebook generation.
These individuals were drawn to Barack because he is clearly an individual of the future rather than the past. In Barack, these young people see the promise of hope and optimism.
To retain young voters, Barack needs to layout his own foreign policy. If he wishes to craft a policy that consists of elements of the policies of others, fine. That’s what realism means, using the best approach possible to protect the vital national interests of the United States without regard to the sources of the approaches.
But rather than evoking old names as testimonials in the manner of a slick salesman selling insurance, Barack must present his policies as his own. Riding the coattails of old names sends a message that he really isn’t as original as he has presented himself.
Unfortunately, recent events may render Barack’s foreign policy irrelevant. The institutional media and the talking heads are in a state of high anxiety over the connection between Obama and the Reverend Wright.
Unless Obama can get beyond Wright, his chances of becoming the Democratic presidential nominee are slim to none. But even if he rises above Wright, his chances against McCain aren’t much better.
What can Obama do to reverse his downward slide? Well, he might want to consider paying attention to Karl Rove.
In a recent Newsweek Magazine essay, Karl Rove decided to play the kindly old political mentor and strategist, offering advice to help Barack rise above the earthly static.
Karl would make a fantastic advisor-mentor, provided that he has a sincere bone in his body when it comes to advising any Democrat, much less Obama.
But, he had a couple of good thoughts. The one I honed in on immediately was his suggestion that Obama develop a story and stick to it. Using the Wright case as an example, Rove lays out the shifting sands of Obama’s explanations.
Rove is right on target. The strongest element in Republican strategy and a primary cause of Republican political successes is to stick to the script: never change a story, never admit a mistake.
If Obama follows that simple rule, he’ll be inside the ten yard line, first down, goal to go.
