Obama: The hubris factor
Posted: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 9:15 AM by Mark Murray
Obama has gone up with a response to McCain's gas prices ad, which blames Obama for the price of gas. Obama's response is called "Old Politics," and it directs viewers to Obama's energy plan and the plan's Web site. "The ad is less hard hitting than one Obama aired earlier this month that said McCain was 'part of the problem' of high gas prices," the AP writes. "That ad responded to a Republican National Committee ad that accuses Obama of offering no new solutions for high gas prices and global warming."
VIDEO: The Obama campaign released a comeback ad to the McCain one which blames the Democratic presidential nominee for rising gas prices. A Race for the White House panel discusses.
The ad is running in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, northern Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The hubris factor is front and center today. Here's the anecdote that got this issue started and a reminder that he should not use the word "I." It's a good rule for columnists (that a few annoyingly ignore) and one for candidates: "In his closed door meeting with House Democrats this evening, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama delivered a real zinger. According to a witness, he was waxing lyrical about last week's trip to Europe, when he concluded, ‘this is the moment, as Nancy [Pelosi] noted, that the world is waiting for.’”
“The 200,000 souls who thronged to his speech in Berlin came not just for him, he told the enthralled audience of congressional representatives. ‘I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions,’ he said."
The Washington Post's Milbank adds, "Some say the supremely confident Obama -- nearly 100 days from the election, he pronounces that ‘the odds of us winning are very good’ -- has become a president-in-waiting. But in truth, he doesn't need to wait: He has already amassed the trappings of the office, without those pesky decisions."
Chronicling his day yesterday, Milbank concludes: "It had been a long day of acting presidential, but Obama wasn't done. After a few hours huddling with advisers over his vice presidential choice, Obama made his way to the pep rally on the Hill. Moments after he entered the meeting with lawmakers, there was an extended cheer, followed by another, and another. ‘I think this can be an incredible election,’ Obama said later. ‘I look forward to collaborating with everybody here to win the election."
“Win the election? Didn't he do that already?"
And Maureen Dowd gets in on the act: "Obama met with House Democrats on Tuesday evening. Some said his reception was not as enthusiastic as the one Hillary got when she returned from her odyssey. The room warmed to him, mainly because he told the lawmakers how much he’d need them to get policies passed if he gets elected. Odysseus’s heroic trait is his cunning intelligence. Given his inability to get lift off, even flying close to the sun, Obama will need all he can muster."
The New York Times continues its on-again, off-again profile of Obama with a look at his years as a college law prof. There's an interesting anecdote about favor conservative judge -- and sometimes SCOTUS-rumored candidate -- Michael McConnell helping Obama get into the law school teaching game.
