4. Hit McCain's policy reversals. This week, McCain didn't show up to vote for a climate change bill that he helped shape, and which he holds up as one of the great points of contrast with the Bush administration. (He said he probably wouldn't have voted for it even if he had shown up.) McCain has also refused to endorse his own immigration bill. He has also changed his mind on the Bush tax-cuts, torture and the Geneva conventions, and the rape-and-incest exception to the GOP's abortion amendment. These are matters of high principle, and not nearly enough attention has been paid to the lengths McCain went to in order to make himself acceptable to the GOP right. Obama frequently hits McCain on his support for tax cuts he once called unconscionable, and that's great, but he needs to expand the list. Moderates should realize that the McCain they once admired--I was one of them--is not the same man.Perhaps the best advice was from commenter 'Dan':
I would like to see Obama announce one cabinet appointment every week or two in the weeks or month preceding the convention. This would accomplish several things. First, it would give us a chance to see what his administration would look like. Second, it would reassure those who don't know Obama or have concerns about him what kind of people are advising him and which direction his administration will likely move. Third, announcing a high level appointment each week would create a drumbeat of news at a time in which there isn't much and would get Obama some positive attention in the press. Fourth, it would provide Obama with several heavyweight surrogates who can help defend him against unfair attacks during the general election. Imagine Obama selecting John Edwards as Attorney General, Bob Graham to head Homeland Security, Richard Gephardt as Secretary of Labor, Sam Nunn as Secretary of Defense, Joe Biden or Bill Richardson as Secretary of State. Most have already been vetted in national campaigns. Most are southerners and would appeal to whites who may have concerns about voting for a black president. This would also reduce the importance of the vice presidential pick. Instead of counting on one announcement to act as a magic bullet to appeal to all groups Obama needs to court, he can select a few people who can help him in different ways -- Biden on foreign policy, Richardson with Hispanics, Graham with Florida and so forth. Just a thought.Nice plan Dan, I like that thinking!
I think this guy would make a good pick for VP:
