Obama''s 14 Bear Hugs Suggest Play-Safe Strategy

If you tuned in the USC-Oregon St. shocker last week and then watched the first Presidential debate in Oxford, Miss., you might have had a sense of deja vu. The underdog won.

The left-leaning U Street D.C. crowd at Nellie''s Sports Bar should be humbled. 20 empanada-eating patrons had predicted a swift Obama victory. And only a guy named Jack thought otherwise.

Sen. John McCain was the aggressor, running Labels on Barack Obama -- that his rival is "naive," "inexperienced," and that he "doesn''t get it." The younger Senator countered, but more with monotone Fiats , reminiscent of Hillary Clinton''s dull patter. Obama was the superior intellectual, yes, but by all appearances the inferior executive. To make matters worse, he ran (off-strategy?) Bear Hugs on McCain, stating 14 times that he agreed with the Republican nominee''s positions.

Finally, thirty minutes into the debate, Obama dropped his "cost-of-the-war" message bomb on McCain. But the reference was soft and not hard-hitting. Like the favored USC, the Illinois Senator was down a quick three touchdowns to none.

If the Obama camp''s strategy is to play it safe, the junior Senator prevailed. If not, he got rolled. There were no references to McCain''s circus-class stunts to revive bailout-weary Washington. Quickly-played Call Outs on McCain''s sudden campaign suspension would have redrawn the battle lines, putting McCain on the defensive and counter-labeling him as "erratic."

That Obama left so much unsaid is sure evidence that it''s not his goal to dominate the debates. By extension, we''d expect VP running mate Joe Biden to be as careful, but that''s a tougher play for the Scranton fighter than the Chicago professor.

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Posted by Alan Kelly

Photo Credit: Christian Science Monitor