Obama developing a McCain strategy before winning nomination
By TOM RAUM
Associated Press
May 19, 2008
Page 2 of 3
Obama's team began a transition to general-election mode weeks ago.
He is reaching out to Hispanics, the nation's fastest-growing minority, and to Jewish voters. Both groups, while traditionally Democratic, eye him with some suspicion. And he's started to wear an American flag lapel pin.
Obama's team is trying to find ways to counter what former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson calls ''the Obama narrative,'' an effort by Republicans to portray Obama as a man of the academic left, out of touch with everyday American concerns.
Despite his roots as a child of a single mother who sometimes used food stamps, Republicans will remind voters of Obama's schooling at Columbia and Harvard Law, and his comments at a San Francisco fundraiser that those in small towns grow ''bitter'' and cling to religion and guns.
Obama also was hurt by the comments of his controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The candidate first said he couldn't disown the pastor, but when Wright kept up his remarks and the political heat increased, Obama dismissed him as a ''relic of an angry generation.''
Obama has won much of his support from upscale voters, young people and blacks. But he's been having trouble connecting with white blue-collar workers.
A step in his outreach was the campaign's decision last month to hold more events portraying Obama among ordinary Americans -- downing domestic beer in crowded taverns, eating breakfast at lunch counters, greeting factory workers, touring auto plants and visiting construction sites.
The tactic has proved more effective than the earlier focus on big rallies, said David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist. ''We're slow learners,'' he joked.
Primary election results from across the country have shown Obama has trouble winning support among Hispanics, too. While Hispanics traditionally vote Democratic, Republicans have been making inroads. Bush drew 44 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004 -- the highest of any Republican presidential candidate -- and McCain is polling as high as 41 percent.
As for McCain, Obama's aides are developing ads intended to link the Arizona senator to Bush and chip away at his image as a maverick.
McCain's age may also work to Obama's benefit. McCain turns 72 in August and would be the oldest man to be elected to a first term as president. Some voters, Republicans and Democrats alike, express reluctance to vote for candidates over 70 years old, some surveys show. But advisers suggest Obama should be wary of approaching the topic directly, for fear of it backfiring.
Obama continues to face questions about his commitment to the Jewish community, another usually solid Democratic bloc. Some voters may be upset by his stated willingness to enter presidential-level talks with leaders of countries such as Iran and Syria.
''If you look at my writings and my history, my commitment to Israel and the Jewish people is more than skin-deep and it's more than political expediency,'' Obama told The Atlantic magazine.
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