GOP Playbook: Find Foe's Strength and Attack It

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 23, 2008 8:06 PM CDT

(Newser) – Republican strategists are as adept as judo masters at turning opponents' strengths against them, Michael Kinsley writes in the Washington Post. With "genius, courage, creativity and utter ruthlessness," they managed to turn John Kerry's Vietnam service into a liability and Michael Dukakis' humble roots into elitism. Now, even more brazenly, they are striving to turn Barack Obama's eloquence and ability to stir a crowd into a negative.

"They are attacking Obama's charisma, as if popularity itself were a disqualifying factor and whoever draws the larger crowds is by definition the lesser candidate," Kinsley writes. "This is truly perverse. It comes close to being an attack on democracy itself. Can the Republicans possibly score with such a preposterous argument? Oh, probably."

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

Republican strategists, despite plenty of questions about George W. Bush's service, made John Kerry's Vietnam record a central plank of attack in 2004. (KRT Photos)

Barack Obama waves to the crowd as he delivers a speech at the victory column in Berlin in July. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

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Most amazing among the principles of the Republican Way of War is: Don't waste much time and energy probing the enemy's weaknesses. Go directly to his biggest strength. - Michael Kinsley

Four years ago, it was easy to imagine any number of ways the GOP might go after John Kerry. You would not have guessed—or at least I would not have guessed—that they could successfully attack his service in Vietnam - Michael Kinsley

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