Last night on Hardball, the host Chris Matthews made a very interesting point.
In the presidential campaign of 1980 between Democratic incumbent President Jimmy Carter and the Republican candidate Ronald Reagan, then California Governor Ronald Reagan asked a profound question to the American people.
The question was simple: "Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?"
Ask your parents or grandparents. The economy was in shambles. Gas lines plagued the nation. Unemployment was out of control. These were "kitchen table" issues. Issues that almost every American could understand on a personal level...especially in swing states.
Here are the facts:
On the day of the inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001:
Unemployment Rate 4.2%
National Debt 5.7 Trillion
Gas per Gallon $1.46
National Budget 281 Billion Surplus
Today
Unemployment Rate 6.1%
National Debt 9.7 Trillion
Gas per Gallon $4.00
National Budget 357 Billion Debt
If you are running John McCain's campaign, how do you respond to these facts? As a member of the Senate for over 20 years, how do you convince people you are the candidate for change from the party that you are the leader of?
If you are running Barack Obama's campaign, how do you use these facts to your advantage?
9 comments:
If the economy really is the #1 issue for most Americans, then what happens in the next few months should be intriguing. I hope that after all the personal attacks on both candidates and their running mates subside, the economy's state launch to the forefront of this election. The economy will define the present as well as the future financial state of America, so why isn't it what we're hearing about through the media (which is another argument)? If I were Obama's campaign manager I would perpetually remind American's of John McCain's absurdly pro-Bush voting record. It seems McCain's rebuttal has been to profess an extremely vague way to change the economy, but I have a feeling this will not hold up against a campaign ran on the aspect of change. Another issue I would advise Barack Obama to address would be to spell out his plans by which to reroute the American economy a little better.
If I was running in Obama's campaign this would be easy to use to our advantage. With John McCain being a Republican and our last president being a Republican and having made our economy even worse than it was already. By showing the facts that our unemployment rate going up by 2 percent and our debt and gas prices almost doubling in size and then we don't even have a budget anymore because we are so far in debt we can use that to have a great advantage. Its an easy way to use your opponents weaknesses against him. Especially since our slogan is "Change"which is whta our country needs we need somebody to come and change the economy problems by making them better not making them worse.
i remember four years ago, i was in the fifth grade, back when gas prices were cheap and the economy was in ok shape
now,four years later, the economy is worse than its was before, the Unemployment rate has incresed about 2 perecenet, and gas prices are about (if not) the most expensive necessity, and the debt of this country has risen 4 TRILLION DOLLORS!
If i were to be running in McCain's campain i would be kinda nervous because begin a Republican after bush, people would think that McCain would only dig a depper hole into our economy.
If i were running in Obama's campaign, I think that everybody would expect him to pick up all the pieces. i think that obama will probly bring some "change" into our country,
but on the road that this country is heading on, the change would probly not be good.
Its obvious the economy is the number one issue to the american people, so Obama would be a fool to not use it to his advantage. The facts are there and they are pretty shameful to the republican party. Obama promises change to the country and the weak economy,so he should propose an economic plan that would save our dollar value from recession and pull our gas prices down to a reasonable price. He has no need to criticize McCain for his pro-bush votes because we all know what is going on. In the end, the deciding factor will be the economic issue. So who ever takes the offensive on this issue will indeed become our next president.
If i were running John McCain's campaign and i was having to respond to this i would start by saying that I am not George
bush, and being in the senate I have seen what has hurt the economy and what has helped the economy.I may support Bush on a lot of situations but not all of them i think that we do need look at all the reasons the economy is like it is.....
Obama's campaign could defiantly use this as an advantage it to put McCain down in all his I support the president. This would give him a could point to give.it would be a you support the President after all the evidence of a economy in debt?
ok, so i was plaining on going for McCain. i cant vote yet but i told myself thats who i would vote for, but after seeing these facts i will never look at the election the same way. I believe Obama has the change that we need, are economy is worse and by voting for McCain, who has the same veiws as Bush, will only make the economy worse or the economy just wont change at all!
so i think Obama has a great advantage with these facts!
These statistics are soooo depressing. Obama actually promises to help the economy and make people's life easier. He wants to give women equal pay to men, which McCain simply ignores! I do not understand how women let alone men can support McCain when he still denies women equal rights!
Thats like someone in the 70s saying slavery isn't that big of a deal! (Maybe McCain's pushing through a secret KKK agenda!!!! just kidding)
Back to the subject-I think that Obama is using these facts to his advantage very well. He has repeatedly commented on McCain's 90% similar voting record to Bush over the past decade.
How can McCain say he is an agent of change if he has voted the same as Dubyah so often?!?!?
People are smart enough to realize that the economy is weak and John McCain is the only person who denies that!
If I may quote the totally amazingly awesome Joe Biden,
"Ladies and gentlemen, I could walk from here to Lansing, and I wouldn't run into a single person who thought our economy was doing well, unless I ran into John McCain."
If I was running John McCain's campaign I would start off by stating that John McCain is not George Bush. And I would also state that things will change once he's president.
But if I was running Obama's campaign I would totally bring all of this info up whenever i could, because people would seriously start so see that way, and it would be to my advantage.
sooo...well since most americans fall in the catagorie of middle-class, and those are the people hit hardest by the economy, then Obama can use this as a hugh advantage in his compaign. Its solid evidence that McCain just cant argue. Also, i dont see how McCain could say he was for change either beause if he were to be elected then everything would prob just stay the same, and especially so with Palin now at his side. Obama could use the gas and unemployment stats as a huge advantage in his campain, because the gas issue is huge right now. families are having to become more concious of their use of their cars because of the rising gas prices, and simple things as just getting to work are becoming more and more expensive.
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