COWARDICE? NOPE, IT'S STRATEGY

Several weeks ago, it was made public (by Drudge, since the MSM decided it wasn’t newsworthy) that the McCain campaign had invited Senator Obama to participate in 10 townhall meetings throughout the summer.

These were to be very unstructured, very unscripted debates where the two men could stand up and talk about the issues that face America. They were to be a departure from the horrible, predictable, sound-bite boredom of the “debates” that we now see. Instead of rattling off talking points, they would discuss, challenge and most importantly, introduce themselves to America as they are, not as talking heads.

So why is it that McCain and his camp would want to enter in to so many face-to-face discussions with a man that is considered such a verbal force to be reckoned with?

Maybe a better question is, why would a man like Senator Obama, lauded for his oratory expertise, his charisma and his ability to make women faint when they hear him utter the slightest of words back down from this?

Perhaps they are paying attention.

Perhaps they’ve noticed something that people are starting to catch on to…Senator Barack is quite good when there’s someone telling him what to say and quite inept when it comes to speaking off the cuff. When reading a speech, and reciting memorized talking points, he’s smoother than baby’s behind, but when he’s just speaking he’s more like Paula Abdul after a couple of Xanax and a bottle of wine.

58 States? Really Senator? Hey Harvard, let me help you out with this one for the next time you get confused: Remember that thing you’ve been a part of now for almost 4 years? That day job? Yeah, including you, there are 100 of you guys. There are two Senators from every state. I’ll let you take it from here.

During a Memorial day speech, he dropped this doozy:
“On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes – and I see many of them in the audience here today – our sense of patriotism is particularly strong.”
Obviously, he threw an ad-libbed line into a prepared speech. No-no Senator…you’re not so good at that. Keep to the script.

Perhaps we’ll give him a pass for telling people that his uncle liberated the wrong Nazi concentration camp, because – well hey, those German names can be confusing.

Of course, none of this is new to you, there are plenty of well-covered examples of this phenomenon, simply type “Obama Gaffes” in to google and enjoy. I think the point has been made.

But what's interesting is that the McCain campaign knows that they face a formidable foe, one that has a succinct advantage when it comes to age, looks and “cool.” Getting up and standing side by side only exacerbates this difference. When McCain messes up, it’s due to his age. When Obama messes up…well…it doesn’t exist because it’s not reported by the MSM. You have to go find it. These are major tactical disadvantages, yet McCain is calling for more debates. McCain wants to stand face to face with his opponent. McCain wants to speak off the cuff. McCain’s people know that McCain is old. McCain’s people know that McCain is not “cool.” McCain’s people know that the people know these things. They are not going to run from it. They will embrace it. With McCain, what you see is what you get.

Obama wants to hide behind teleprompters. Obama wants protect himself behind his legions of speechwriters and image makers. Obama and his people want to make sure that the man he is is not the man you hear and see.

An opportunity like these meetings should be a friggen gold mine for a guy like Obama. 10 opportunities to show the image of “Change” in front of the nation. 10 opportunities to show America that this campaign is not going to be like the rest, that this candidate is not like the rest, that “Change” is on the horizon.

But instead his handlers say “no.” Instead, the people who know him best, the people who are hired to create his image, they run him away and they hide him.

Fortunately for us, for America and for the entire free world, Mr. Obama can’t hide forever.

No matter how hard they try to hide him behind an image, to groom him in to their idyllic vision of a model “President”, once the heat is on, the true man will come out. The beauty will fade and the people will begin to see what he really is and hear what he’s really saying and then the true Democrat nightmare will occur: Liberalism will have to stand on it’s own, without the pretty face. And when that happens it will do as it always does: It will fail.