ALL I NEED...SUMMER TUNES

I'm in Eagle's Mere right now and with a rare moment to listen to some music in between helping out ETC I found Pitchfork's list of free singles. There are some great summer songs here.

Check out Spoon's Underdog, the New Pornographer's My Rights Versus Yours, Iron and Wine's Boy With a Coin, the cheap Beach Boys ripoff band The Explorers, The Go! Team's Grip Like a Vice, Okervill River's Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe and the Afghan Wigs' I'm a Soldier. There's over fifty songs here, so hit some of that!

AN OPENING FOR WARRIOR DEMOCRATS

A couple days ago the Times reported that in 2005 Rumsfeld, then the Secretary of Defense, aborted a strike in Pakistan on what could have been 'high value' Taliban and Al Qaeda targets. There were concerns that the operation would have been diplomatically risky considering Pakistan wouldn't have sanctioned the raid which would have inserted a small SEAL team into the tribal areas of Pakistan's remote northern regions. Should knowledge of such an incursion have reached the local populace, it could have further destabilized Musharraf's tenuous hold on the country and, additionally, should the soldiers have failed in their mission, or been captured, the US could have suffered a painful and humiliating lesson in the limitations of special forces warfare. Without knowledge of the specific operating environment (though many on the operational side were begging the administration to give them a chance to execute) it's hard to know whether the administration made the right decision. Nevertheless, there is a political opportunity here for the Democratic presidential candidates.

The principle objection many Americans have to the Democratic party is that, fairly or unfairly, Pelosi, Reid and their ilk have been branded 'soft' on the war on terror, on national defense, and, in general, on all matters of national security. Instead of ignoring and accepting this charge, Democrats should work to dismantle their perceived national security Achilles heel. Much like Bush did in '00 by running a successful campaign of 'compassionate conservatism', Democrats should rework their image by becoming more hawkish on terrorism. That doesn't mean advocating the status quo in Iraq, it means finding smarter and more effective ways to establish a more 'militant' facet to an otherwise socially conscious and progressive party. One such opportunity is the aborted mission in Pakistan.

The Democratic candidates should come out hard against Rumsfeld's conservative decision not to deploy special forces. Such a position would do much to excite independents and even some Republicans wavering on whether to vote for the GOP in '08 because of Bush's egregious and startling incompetence in Afghanistan and Iraq. The issue of whether or not such an operation would have been in the best interest of the US is irrelevant for now. The vociferous condemnation of Republican squeamishness in war could be the first step to undoing years worth of right wing propaganda and might give that would-be Democratic president a chance to harden up on defense in light of recent threats to London, JFK, and Fort Dix. For candidates looking to pick up those essential centrists who are justifiably uncomfortable with the Democrats lack of vision when it comes to combating terrorism, this could be an easy way to score points on defense and steal some thunder from terrorism hawks like McCain, Giuliani, and Thompson.

TIPS FOR OBAMA

Despite the impressive fundraising tally coming in, Obama's campaign is still worrisome to me. More important than the question of how much money he accrues, or from how many donors he collects, Barack must decide how to spend his new found campaign cash. As other commentators have noted, Howard Dean raised a good deal of money too but never found an effective way to spend it. Obama will have to find a way to improve his poll numbers because, as of now he doesn't lead in a single primary race and trails Hillary in Iowa and New Hampshire by ten points or more. To be a serious contender, he has to close the gap. So, keep the champagne bottles corked, there's work to be done.

Simply because Obama's campaign staff no doubt read this blog assiduously, I humbly offer some points of advice for my tentative choice to lead the Democratic Party in '08.

Embrace Your Differences

It's time to distinguish yourself from the rest of the primary pack my friend. The debate last Thursday was a frightful display of pandering and collective self-congratulation. The primary isn't that far away and on most of the issues, Edwards, Clinton and you all agree. Instead of relying simply on your biography, you must find a compelling reason for why voters should choose you over your competitors, especially as Clinton's ability to beat Giuliani has dramatically changed in just the last month.

1) Primary--Talk up your viability/electability. The fact is, Hillary's negatives are high, but she's managed recently to change her image and improve the country's opinion of her. How will you respond? You have to emphasize your ability to win over moderate Republicans and Independents who won't, under any circumstances, vote for another Clinton. The danger here of course is that Clinton will be able to permanently erase those negatives and leave your electability claim in the dust. So what. You're losing by double digits in all the important primary states. Put an emphasis on those negatives (scroll to bottom of link) and talk about how neither Kerry nor Gore had the negatives Clinton does. Don't forget to add what happened to them.

2) Primary--Court Edwards supporters. John's campaign is collapsing, you should find a way to hasten that collapse while at the same time assuring Edwards supporters that they belong in your camp and not Hillary's. One way to do this would be to (not seriously of course) float the idea of an Obama/Edwards ticket in the general election. Treat Edwards with respect and adulation, and allow his supporters to see that you are a more viable version of the former senator. I think it's okay to openly and actively solicit the anti-Hillary crowd. Something along the lines of, 'we have to stop her, John Edwards doesn't have a chance of stopping her, I do, let's work together'. For this to occur, Edwards needs some kind of catastrophic event to hasten his electoral demise. Low fund-raising numbers aren't enough. Since Edwards has put all his strategic eggs in Iowa's wicker basket, perhaps a slightly more concerted effort by you in Iowa to ensure a Hillary win (she's only a point behind) would be enough to fatally cripple Edwards and get his people on board.

3) Primary/General--You must improve your onstage presence in the admittedly difficult short-form debates. It's embarrassing that in an almost exclusively African-American forum, Hillary Clinton got the largest applause line of the night. The best way to accomplish this isn't by demonstrating your command of facts and figures (John Edwards will beat everyone in this regard, that's fine, let him be the Bill Bradley/Al Gore/Michael Dukakis of the past). It's time to discover your inner Bill Clinton. You showed flashes of it at the most recent debate when you defused Joe Biden's comment that you'd gotten an AIDS test by reassuring everyone that you were committed to Michelle your wife and that you didn't want her to get the wrong idea. Voters don't care about numbers and statistics, they care about what kind of visceral and emotional connection you can forge with them. In long form speeches you connect brilliantly, which accounts for the durability and near fanaticism of your netroots. But you must find a way to access this charm and vivacity in shorter sound bites. You need to become less of a technocrat and more of a Fred Thompson. Study up.

4) Primary/General--Your ads are not very effective. As Bill Clinton did in '92 (the man from Hope Arkansas), you need to connect your biography to the American Dream. You've done this frequently in your speeches to great effect, but I haven't seen a powerful version translated into a TV spot. One of your most attractive qualities is that you represent an important 're-branding' of the American presidency. In this time when the globe is alienated from America over Iraq and Afghanistan, what better message to send to the world, especially the Muslim world, then for the country to elect a black man who's lived in a Muslim country? What better palliative could you offer to counter Al-Qaeda's virulent and noxious propaganda--and the organization's ability to attract future recruits--than your election? Tell us this!

You should emphasize the chances America has given you, and how you want to ensure those chances are extended to everyone in the country, including poor rural whites (whom I suggest you specifically address in the ad). Show the nation, using your biography, how voting for you is voting for a new kind of unified America. Emphasizing your community activism is a start, but you need to show the country how a vote for you is a vote for the American Dream. Who else can lay claim to this meme? Certainly not Hillary, or Giuliani, or Hollywood actor Fred Thompson. Make yourself a symbol the country can rally behind; show us on television.

5) General Election (should you make it there)--Renounce affirmative action and favor a class-based redistribution of university and job opportunity. It's just the kind of unexpected tack to the right that would convince moderates you weren't just another 80s liberal in sheep's clothing, and it would steal some Third Way wind from Hillary's sails.

6) General Election--Talk up your Christianity. While this is especially important in the general election, it's critical to establish some credibility on the issue now (don't be like John Kerry and start talking about God the summer before the election!) so that you're taken more seriously in the future. Study some of Bill Clinton's speeches at Harlem churches. They're brilliant, especially his "We see but through a glass darkly" moment from a few years ago.