Obama's calm and cool vs. McCain's anger -- we should see more Freudian slips

BE-ELECTED
by Chad Rubel

I don't follow women's fashion all that well, but I have noticed that women wear fewer slips than they did 20 years ago. But we still have "Freudian slips" and there were at least two good ones last night.

Or they were presented, at least, as Freudian slips. John Kerry and Joe Biden, in separate speeches, each started to say George Bush when they meant John McCain.

Hillary Clinton had a great line Tuesday night about the similarity between Bush and McCain: "With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart."

The figures that have been tossed around the convention have been John McCain has voted with George Bush 90% (or 95%) of the time.

It would have seemed that McCain (or Mitt Romney) could easily have run the 2008 presidential campaign drawing from the Bush regime but trying to add their own flavor to woo independent voters. And amazingly, McCain is running toward Bush like he was calling shotgun in Cindy's private plane.

It's fun to watch Democrats made that analogy, especially since it's true. If McCain's party next week is a tribute to W, the Democrats (who hopefully will be in St. Paul) need to keep that message going.

When Republicans cry to the teacher (i.e., the media) that someone wasn't genuflecting toward them, all Democrats need to say is "John McCain, if you love George W. Bush so much, why don't you marry him? Oh, that's right, you don't believe in gay marriage."

Seriously, Republicans are that bully in the playground. And bullies hate it when someone fights back. Republicans will think the Democrats (for once) are being mean. And the reply should be, "Sen. McCain, if you think Bush is so great, why are you ashamed at how much you want to be like him? If Bush is so great, then you have nothing to hide."

The other fun part about making Republicans angry is that McCain gets angry at the drop of a hat. He doesn't even wait until the hat hits the ground, his anger kicks in as soon as the hat leaves the hand.

The Democrats need to be Mr. Rogers, the calmer the voice, the better. This is where I disagree with the pundits (well, I usually disagree with the pundits): they have been begging for blood in this convention, and they have been pissed off about the lack of blood.

I like the level from this convention. When people are angry, the way to make them angrier is to be calm. Obama is calm and cool. Respect John McCain but say he's not the right person at the right time. This only makes McCain angrier. And the angrier he is, the worse he looks, especially toward independent and swing voters.

This isn't to say Democrats should be passive. They should point out the extensive differences between the two candidates; they just shouldn't be angry about it.

Obama promised a different type of campaign, and the MSM hates it since there isn't as much blood. And if Obama has the strength to pull off this strategy, then the Republicans angry machine will look really bad.

Next week will be an angry time - the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul will be filled with anger, and this from a party with dominance in the White House, the courts, and with enough of a stranglehold in the Senate to prevent progress. Their anger will show like a slip coming out of a dress. All the Democrats have to do is just say in a calm voice, "Hey Republicans, your slip is showing."