Democrats still have lessons to learn

The Oh Really Factor

By Maurice O. Ndole

ONE LESSON DEMOCRATS should have learned from the last presidential election is nice guys finish last in politics.

In his quest to be seen as a gentleman, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry refused to retaliate when he was attacked by various groups aligned to the Republican Party, a blunder that saw his presidential ambitions commit a gradual seppuku.

Democrats should learn there is no such thing as negative campaigns. A political advertisement about a candidate is fair regardless of how badly he is portrayed as long as it’s based on truth. By running for office candidates indirectly open their lives for public scrutiny and almost anything goes. That is why it was laughable when the Kerry campaign declined to take up the Sinclair Broadcasting Company’s offer to challenge allegations made by the Swift Boat Veterans against his behavior during the Vietnam War on its network.

That mistake should not be repeated, we need a contest in the election, not a blowout. But it seems as if Democrats have not learned from their mistakes. Lately all Democrats have done is sit back and give Republicans the opportunity to set the pace and define them negatively.

Democrats have chronically failed to exploit numerous soft spots in the Republican administration.

The Jack Abramoff corruption scandal that bedeviled Republicans at the beginning of the year has largely dissipated without Republicans feeling any heat from Democrats. The president has practically gone unchallenged over the unwarranted wiretaps issue. And he still seems to be able to get his way on the Iraq war issue even while everything seems to be going wrong in Iraq.

Excuse me for this cliché, but the political ground cannot be any more fertile for Democrats to gain an upper hand over Republicans than it is now.

Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic presidential candidate, should start digging in. Well, she tried in her speech on Martin Luther King Day celebration where she said this administration is running the government like a plantation. But the Republicans did not wait to retaliate. They called her all kinds of names in every media they could summon, and lately they have labeled her as “angry.”

With both the incumbent and his vice president not in contention, the 2008 presidential election presents a great opportunity for Democrats. Candidates from both parties will be campaigning as outsiders, leveling the playing field.

Democrats should come prepared to play ball this time, they should attack when attacked and sometimes start the attacks. Research shows negative news tends to attract more views and the message sticks in the minds of viewers longer than a positive message.

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