Every story needs a Villain – an Antagonist that represents the obstacles the Hero must overcome. If you don’t have one, other story tellers will create one for you, and your story might get out of your control.
That is what has been happening with media coverage of the Dem convention. Because Obama has not clearly defined McCain as a living, breathing Antagonist - the personification of all that has gone wrong in the last eight years - pundits of all political stripes are free to choose Obama's antagonist for him. It might be the Pumas, it might be a petulant Bill, it might be disgruntled big spenders, but it is going to have to be somebody, because without an Antagonist there is no story, and story is the only way to fill hours and hours of airtime.
It is possible that the Obamistas have been cleverly laying back and Obama will come out swinging hard tonight. If that is the case Obama can’t waste time being bipartisan. He needs to get his knuckles dirty from the get go. We know he can float like a butterfly, now it is time for him to sting like a bee. He doesn’t need to attack McCain directly. What he needs to do is attack the Repub brand as a “failed extremist philosophy”. Bill Clinton and John Kerry laid the groundwork, but it is up to the nominee to start landing the hard body blows that will put McCain into the ropes.
You probably heard Bill’s speech. John Kerry’s was largely lost so that pundits could preen for the camera. It is definitely worth a listen. Check it out here.
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