By Stephen Marks

Special To The Stiletto Blog

Back in March, Barack Obama blew his one shot to put the election away with a ground-breaking speech on race relations. But instead of unequivocally stating that black racism is just as evil and repugnant as white racism and forcefully repudiating Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama made lame excuses for the divisive tenets of black liberation theology. That speech could have been his Sister Souljah moment, and he could have won the hearts and minds of white swing voters as Bill Clinton won back “Reagan Democrats” in 1992 when he took on and Jesse Jackson at the NAACP convention.

On Thursday night when he delivers his speech accepting the Republican Party nomination for president, John McCain has the same opportunity Obama had to win over the white swing voters who will decide this election. McCain must not make the mistake Obama did by shying away from taking on the dirty laundry in his own party. McCain must clearly and forthrightly take on the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld Troika that underlies much of the public’s misgivings about electing him. For months, polls have indicated that swing voters have been leaning towards Obama because they view McCain’s support for Iraq war as a sign that his presidency will be nothing more than a third Bush term.      

McCain’s speech needs to include these four declarative sentences:

† “My presidency will not be a third George W. Bush term.” 

† There is zero excuse for not capturing Osama Bin Laden in eight years, and I will capture him, or resign after serving one term.  

† The War in Iraq was justified and a noble cause, but the Bush administration failed in its execution.  I will not fail. I will defeat the insurgents.  

† The spigot of taxpayer dollars to politically-well-connected and corrupt government contractors will be shut off on my first day as president.  

Bush loyalists may boo him, but he would clinch the independent swing vote by  demonstrating his commitment to shake up the Washington establishment. The Bushies will still show up at the polls to vote for McCain - their fear and loathing of Obama is boundless. 

Editorial Note:  Former Republican “oppo researcher” Stephen Marks is the author of the eye-opening “Confessions of a Political Hit Man" (available at bookstores and via Amazon.com), which predicted the Trinity United Church of Christ, “headed by a race-baiting radical,” would become a campaign issue at least a year before the rest of us ever heard of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. 
 

Marks has been interviewed about how and why negative campaigning works on CNN, FOX News, NPR, and more than 50 other TV and radio programs. Between now and Election Day, he will be periodically contributing his unique insight and analysis on the 2008 presidential campaign. An opposition researcher for 14 years, he is in a singular position to spotlight the controversies that can stick to – and distract – Barack Obama.

Thompson, Lieberman Make The Case For McCain

Writing about the DNC, syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer noted that “[e]erily missing … this year were people of stature who were seriously involved at some point in Obama's life standing up to say: I know Barack Obama. I've been with Barack Obama. We've toiled/endured together. You can trust him. I do.”

Well, John McCain certainly didn’t have that problem on Tuesday night, when the GOP resumed its convention program and speeches.

The speeches by former McCain rival Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) were polar opposites – red meat to rev up the base vs. a non-partisan appeal made directly to anyone in the viewing audience who is “an independent, a Reagan Democrat, a Clinton Democrat, or just a plain-old Democrat.”

And both men got Standing Os – in Thompson’s case, the crowd didn’t even bother to sit back down after a while and just kept on standing (video). Lieberman even got an enthusiastic response (video) when he praised the accomplishments of Bill Clinton’s administration!

Here are highlights from Thompson’s speech:

[B]eing a POW doesn't qualify anyone to be president, but it does reveal character. My friends...

... this is the kind of character that civilizations from the beginning of our history have sought in their leaders.

Strength, courage, humility, wisdom, duty, honor. It's pretty clear there are two questions that we'll never have to ask ourselves: Who is this man? And can we trust this man with the presidency? …

Now, the United States Senate has always had more than its share of smooth-talkers and big-talkers. And, obviously, it still has.

But while others were talking reform, John McCain led efforts to make reform happen, always pressing, always moving for what he believed was right and necessary to restore the people's faith in their government. Confronting when necessary, reaching across the aisle when possible, John personified why we all came to Washington in the first place. It didn't always set too well with some of his colleagues. Some of those fights were losing efforts; some were not. But a man who never quits is never defeated.

Because John McCain stood up, his country is better off. The respect he's given around the world is not because of a TelePrompTer speech designed to appeal to America's critics abroad...

Terrorists, rogue nations developing nuclear weapons, an increasingly belligerent Russia, intensifying competition from China, spending at home that threatens to bankrupt future generations, for decades, an expanding government, increasingly wasteful and too often incompetent, to deal with these challenges, the Democrats present a history-making nominee for president, history-making in that he's the most liberal, most inexperienced nominee to ever run for president.

Apparently … they believe that he would match up well with the history-making Democrat-controlled Congress, history-making because it's the least accomplished and most unpopular Congress in our nation's history. …

America needs a president who understands the nature of the world we live in, a president who feels no need to apologize for the United States of America. …

Tonight, as we begin this convention, we stand with him, and we salute him. We salute his character and his courage, his spirit of independence and his drive for reform, his vision to bring security and peace in our time, and continued prosperity for America and all of our citizens.

Here are highlights from Lieberman’s speech:

What, after all, is a Democrat like me doing at a Republican convention like this?

Well, I'll tell you what: I'm here to support John McCain because country matters more than party.

I am here tonight for a simple reason. John McCain is the best choice to bring our country together and lead America forward.

And, dear friends, I am here tonight because John McCain's whole life testifies to a great truth: Being a Democrat or a Republican is important, but it is nowhere near as important as being an American. …

I think you know that both of the presidential candidates this year have talked about changing the culture of Washington, about breaking through the partisan gridlock and the special interests that are poisoning our politics, but, my friends, only one of them has actually done it.

Only one of them has shown the courage and the capability to rise above the smallness of our politics to get big things done for our country and our people. And that one is John S. McCain. …

Senator Barack Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who I think can do great things for our country in the years ahead, but, my friends, eloquence is no substitute for a record, not in these tough times for America.

In the Senate, during the three-and-a-half years that Senator Obama has been a member, he has not reached across party lines to get accomplish anything significant, nor has he been willing to take on powerful interest groups in the Democratic Party to get something done. …

I can tell you from [our] travels how much he's respected, and admired, and liked by leaders across the globe. John McCain will be a president our allies will trust and our enemies will fear. And that's the kind of president we need in today's world. …

So, tonight, I want to ask you, whether you are an independent, a Reagan Democrat, a Clinton Democrat, or just a plain-old Democrat, this year, when you vote for president, vote for the person you believe is best for our country, not for the party you happen to belong to.