Conversations We Should Be Having

Instead of worrying that Obama called John McCain a pig with lipstick, this is the conversation we should be having: what is John McCain's plan to get out us out of Iraq? What is his plan to win the war in Afghanistan and what to do with insurgents in Pakistan? What are we going to do about our abysmal economy?

Cue Tom Friedman:

If you as a politician connect with voters on a gut level, they will follow you anywhere and not fret about the details. If you don’t connect with them on a gut level, you can’t show them enough details. Obama early on, and particularly with young people, connected on a gut level like no other politician since Ronald Reagan.

But in recent weeks, I feel as though he has lost that gut connection. I thought his convention speech contained no memorable lines or uplifting visions. It never got me out of my seat. Forget trashing McCain’s ideas. If Obama wants to rally his base, he has to be more passionate about his own ideas. I have long felt that what propelled Obama early was the fact that many Americans understand in their guts that we need a change, but the change we need is to focus on nation-building at home. We’re in decline. We need to get back to work on our country. And that is going to require strong, smart government.

Friedman's right in this sense: if Obama keeps up with longer hypotheticals in the debates, he will lose indies who aren't certain about him, despite the lies to nowhere that the Rovians spewing daily. Moreover, those lies are putting the Dems on defense when the offense needs to be making a few more touchdowns. Just ask Chris Bowers.

Leah McElrath Renna offers some salient advice for Obama at HuffPo.