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reversed, it is a foregone conclusion that McCain would be attacking Obama. Apparently, Obama would prefer to lose an election than to hold an opponent accountable for his record in a presidential race. If he is too nice to attack his opponents now, how can voters expect him to stand up to foreign adversaries? Obama actually has a record of reaching across the aisle to Republicans in the Senate in pursuing ethics reform and collecting loose nuclear materials from the Soviet era, however his surrogates are slow to point that out.

If he really wants to win, Obama should turn up the heat on McCain, both directly and indirectly, as well as to make his own record of accomplishment ubiquitous. It is possible to remind voters at every opportunity what 4 more years of "McBush" would mean. Certainly, McCain has and will pursue every opening to reduce Obama's credibility. Obama must find ways to turn the tables on McCain, without sounding ugly or unfair. Obama is long winded as the former professor that he is and that makes him sound less than sincere. He should practice "cutting to the chase" more quickly and learn to work the crowds into a healthy frenzy. He has lived under the microscope for a couple of years, so now it is time for him to make it abundantly clear what he stands for. Obama should galvanize both high profile surrogates and his armies of supporters into people capable of discussing his platform with conviction.

Giving up absolute and total control of the detailed message would enable Obama to focus on the broad picture and to keep it accurate and consistent. He chose to reject federal matching funds, so he must raise much more than John McCain just to keep up, let alone to maintain his advantage. Obama should not rely on Joe Biden exclusively to hit their opponents hard, so he should unleash surrogates and also respond himself. The message can remain positive and still clarify the differences with himself and even raise doubts about McBush and Palin. By now, Obama has made various changes in position and their explanation has been a challenge for his campaign. He should show how the U.S. will afford his various monetary commitments, to bolster his credentials as a fiscal conservative and contrast that with McCain. Obama should plan out each week and every day until November 5 in terms of making his positions more clear and retake control of the race. Otherwise, it will take control of him.

Learn more about this author, Robert C. Sage.
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