Often, Thomas Friedman drives me crazy with his neo-lib economic theories and his support for the war before it started. But this column — essentially advice to Barack Obama — makes too much sense to dismiss. I hope the candidate reads it.
Author: hankkalet
Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie.
View all posts by hankkalet
Hank Kalet 
I don’t see it the same way. There is nothing in Obama’s bag of notions that gives a ‘gut’ feeling; in fact, I think that would be repetition of a mistake he made early, with all that ‘Yes, we can!’ nonsense. He’s got problems that are partly the consequence of ‘gut feeling’ leading to disillusionment, which had to happen sometime, and which did happen when Obama supported the FISA-gutting bill.I think what Obama ought to start doing is whatever irritates McCain, do more of it. If McCain doesn\’t like ‘lipstick on a pig’, use the phrase as often as possible. That way you show the American people that McCain and the Republicans can’t ‘bitch slap’ you (Josh Marshall’s terminology), which Americans will appreciate. Also you increase the moment-to-moment probability that McCain will explode in rage in front of a camera and scare the innards out of John Q. Public.