This morning, I sat in on a presentation by leaders of Democratic-oriented Section 527 groups. These are the independent-expenditure groups, such as American Votes, that can raise and spend unlimited money to support or oppose a candidate, as long as they have no direct connection with a presidential campaign. I was there on a background basis, but it is no secret that meetings like this are unfolding this week in cities all over America.
These activists are sickened by the Obama campaign’s slipping standing, and its reluctance to be more forceful in defining John McCain. Using data from the latest Democracy Corps polls, these activists are hearing that Obama is running behind John Kerry’s lackluster performance among key demographic groups in key states: women generally, especially white women over age 55, blue collar workers, and even college educated voters in surprising places like Colorado and Wisconsin.
The Obama campaign had signaled that it didn't need the 527 groups, so they cut way back. But now the groups have decided that the election and its messaging are too important to leave in the hands of the little group of senior strategists around Obama who seem to reinforce the candidate's own instincts to be post-partisan and non-ideological (at other times, the further away he gets from these handlers, Obama is terrific). So, belatedly, with Republican independent-expenditure committees now having a huge head start, groups like America Votes are gearing back. The ads of theirs that I've seen so far are much more effective than the Obama campaign's own ads.
With the Wall Street financial disaster having given the campaign a well-timed gift, the latest Obama ads and talking points are getting tougher. Perhaps there will even be a rendezvous between the candidate and the activists who hope to save him from his tamer self.
--Robert Kuttner
