Comments on the "Obama ATM" Thread

I recognize that I have a pronounced proclivity to pen prolix posts. In this tendency, I find one more reason to consider Barack "short-form debates aren't my thing" Obama a kindred spirit.

And yes, if you're wondering, I kicked off with the gratuitous alliteration, because another hallmark of my rhetorical style is to get heavy quickly. I'm trying to start a conversation, and I know I'm not going to get far offering a steady diet of long-form, humorless prose.

I was moved to lay these truths about my writing style on the table when I saw the length of a comment that I left tonight on the thread that's grown out of the Obama ATM story. I have no reservations about the points I wanted to make, but I'm new to some of these venues. I don't really have a good sense of comment-length etiquette, and I'm not sure if I may have offended. I hope not.

It occurred to me, too, that comment threads don't always get the widest readership two or three days after a new feature appears. [Unlike a new post here? Cough, cough. Well, I'm working on it.]

So I'm going to recycle/reuse/repurpose. Below in orange is a comment left for me based on something I'd written earlier. My reply follows.

The general theme of the exchange is why Barack Obama's campaign should adapt its four-state strategy and establish a deeper presence in other locations (particularly NYC).

Observations on Barack
Submitted by TNDem (not verified) on Wed, 08/29/2007 - 4:24pm.

To Justin Neely,

I may not have stated my point as clearly as I intended, so allow me to address this again. It isn't personal. From what I have seen, there is a huge demand for Barack Obama even still at this point. Similar to Bill Clinton, he has a certain charisma that draws people in and even here in my southern state, people would line up to hear him speak. That said, there are about 4 months until the first vote will be cast in the IA caucus. Any day that a candidate spends outside of these early states better somehow move the campaign forward. My guess is if he could, he would be in places like NY, CA, TN etc. It's just not possible. You are not going to see any candidate, Hillary included, spending much time in Brooklyn, no matter how large, unless it is a fundraiser. I'm sure that if either Barack or Hillary are the primary candidate, they will visit but before that. It's not happening.

BTW, if you feel that he "jumped into this race because the time was right, regardless of his relative lack of preparation", why do you even want him to come to Brooklyn?


Nothing harder to handle than early success...
Submitted by Justin Neely (not verified) on Wed, 08/29/2007 - 10:07pm.

TNDem,

Thanks for elaborating on your earlier comment. I understand that your observation is not personal, but a particular (and reasonable) pragmatic/strategic view of Obama, and the CW's, four-state approach to the primary. The challenge that I make to the campaign's application of that strategy is their early failure to adapt to on-the-ground realities.

Since we're on Rock's thread, I'd like to single out three points he included in the original post that reflect what I mean:

1. "[...] Obama should be different. If he strives to be different (and he is), he has to be consistent. He also has to lead by example."

2. "Believe me when I say that these events will make both mainstream and national media [...]"

3. "The efforts of his passionate NY/NJ volunteers should be harnessed by some experienced staffers. he needs to hire such staffers real soon. He should open offices in the tri-state areas ASAP. He has the money; he can afford it."

On point 1, the campaign has set a high bar for itself. They have to be ready for wild and premature success. Managing volunteers is a challenge, and staffers may want to focus elsewhere, but they are dealing with more than a charismatic leader. They are managing a celebrity.

That word has been used against him, but it is a fact that -- unlike the uber-charismatic Bill Clinton at the time of his run -- Barack is a celebrity in a celebrity-obsessed culture. It was something he may not have asked for, but to keep this national visibility an advantage, not a liability, he must extend his campaign farther and faster than any other candidate.

Point 2, on a related note, since he is already running a national media campaign (what magazine hasn't put him on its cover?), the NYC area is a particularly useful place to be involved in events on the ground. The concentration of industries with voices that travel (media, entertainment, finance) is disproportionately high, so what happens here will be heard at a volume not true of some other places.

But this leads me directly to Point 3, which is that the idea is not to suggest that Barack needs to spend so very much more time here himself. He does, however, need to build a larger, more visible, and more responsive official campaign presence. That will enable him to make more of the time he does spend.

In terms of popular perception, you can't be the leader in funds raised, and then suggest that you don't have the money to man a well-staffed office in a city that is also one of the world's largest economies. In my last phone call with the campaign, they actually emphasized that they're "not a big company" and implied that they're short on resources to deal with something like the overbooking of the Brooklyn event.

I'm a supporter, inclined to accept their pride in their low campaign funds burn rate (a feature of Plouffe's last media dispatch), but even I cringed at this dose of "awww shucks." They raised the money here, they can hire a few more staffers.

Either it is a different kind of campaign, or it's a different kind of candidate running on some tired, old assumptions. The strategy should be flexible and adaptable -- it's not just old or new. Expand the pie with some of that $50m+ war chest, don't make it a zero-sum game.

In answer to your final question, when I wrote that he entered the race in spite of being relatively unprepared, I didn't mean that in any pejorative sense. I think it's great that he was not intimidated by his lack of preparation (and by that I don't mean inexperience on the national stage, I mean that he didn't have a Clintonesque fundraising or campaign machine primed to go).

There were some stumbles early on at the Obama store, and with his site roll-out, as well as logistics around his first Manhattan stop, and the first official campaign meeting, that I all let slide as part of the campaign getting up to speed. The Brooklyn event, though, struck me as time to start a reality check on how well his campaign is running, so changes can be made before it is too late.

Thanks again for your comment, and I hope this elucidates some of my concerns.