The national news media prior to last Monday was rife with the following daily reports: (1) All media outlets were reporting that momentum was solidly with the Obama campaign. (2) The Clinton campaign was constantly portrayed as having their backs to the wall in dire need of winning Ohio and Texas in order to survive. Bill Clinton’s original comment in this regard was also widely replayed. (3) The media headlined the burning question, “will Hillary drop out if she loses Ohio and Texas?
However, prior to last tuesday a subtle shift had already started to occur in the news media, the direction of which switched from TALKING ABOUT OBAMA to SHOWING HILLARY in various attractive cameo appearances. This shift started with Hillary’s opening appearance on the Saturday Nite Live TV show and escalated from there. The media fan fare reached its zenith today (Wednesday) with numerous video reports showing Hillary giving celebratory speeches to cheering supporters in Ohio, thanking them for her “victory”! TV panel shows featured big name Hillary supporters who boasted of the huge momentum shift to Hillary based on ner recent “Big State Victories”. These same people ridicule the current delegate count showing her deficit, as being somewhat irrelevant considering the size of her dramatically NEW MOMENTUM.
The Obama campaign must take note. The current Clinton – Media honeymoon is being played out for YOUR ATTENTION! The media is mesmerized by Barack’s ability to draw huge overflow crowds to hear him speak and they have been unable to dissect the power of the movement. This was the reason the media found the Obama campaign appearances so attractive in the first place. However, recent bitter complaints from the Clinton campaign about Obama getting all of the media coverage, shook the media out of its obsessive trance and they quickly reacted with overkill video coverage of a smiling confident Hillary Clinton appearing everywhere.
The Clinton campaign is hoping that the redirected media spotlight will prove a strong distraction to the Obama campaign causing them to (a) at least, move away from the original style, substance and message of the campaign, or (b) at best, panic and commit some gigantic blunder which will greviously damage the campaign. It is important for the Obama campaign to soldier on and NOT BE DISTRACTED by the recent Clinton – Media blitz. The old axiom is still true, “Slow and Steady wins the race”!
Barack can take the “Gloves off” in the upcoming campaigns and still maintain his original style when speaking to his audiences. He can spell out his message of change and contrast it with the many Clinton failures, starting with her voting record as a Senator in Congress. Further, her involvement as the principle in the “Travelgate” scandal during her Whitehouse years is certainly fair game. Hillary comes into the spotlight with a lot of political baggage, which can be exploited in a cool unemotional manner. She claims that she has been throughly vetted, but this is not true. She has been the target of several investigations, most of which have never been properly resolved. Closed does not necessarily mean full and complete exhonoration!
Barack should not buy into the propaganda line from the Democratic Party big wigs supporting Hillary; that exposing landmines in the Clinton’s political past will be giving material to the Republicans to use in the general election, IF Hillary is the candidate. Barack must “Keep on keeping on” and not be distracted by the TEMPORARY hoopla of the current Clinton – Media circus. It’s simply a Red Herring, given time it will fade and along with her candidacy.