Obama going to the mats with McCain

I'm very happy to finally see that a Democratic presidential campaign has learned to be proactive, rather than reactive, when it comes to countering attacks from the other side.

This coming week Barack Obama's campaign will release ads that point out how John McCain is "erratic in a crisis". This is a brilliant strategy to combat the anticipated slander crusade by McCain, which has already started if Sarah Palin's recent remarks are to be any indication.

We'll see them dredge up statements by Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers and try to make them appear as if Obama supports them and indeed, agrees with them 100%. McCain will try anything to distract the voters from the awful mess eight years of Bush and GOP leadership has given us.

The "political jujitsu" strategy of the Obama campaign is described in this article by Mysticlaker on DailyKos:

From the Obama campaign....The fight is on. Use the weakness of your enemy as your energy. It goes to the core of the Obama campaign.

These techniques were developed around the principle of using an attacker's energy against him, rather than directly opposing it, and came to be known as jujutsu

Branding his opponent as "erratic in a crisis," Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is preempting plans by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to portray him as having sinister connections to controversial Chicagoans.

Obama officials call it political jujitsu – turning the attacks back on the attacker.

I think it will have a tremendous effect of the electorate to consider how McCain's actions, including his panicked suspension of his campaign to rush to DC and do absolutely NOTHING HELPFUL in regard to the recent economic crisis, are often ill-conceived and reactionary. This is a key point to make clear to the voters, and Obama's people are getting it right.