Obama Has Lost Control of the Election

He must skip the Palin sniping, remind voters what's at stake

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 12, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

(Newser) – Talk about change: John McCain is hosting celebrity rallies of his own while all the excitement has fizzled out of the Barack Obama campaign, EJ Dionne observes in the Washington Post. "It's clear that Obama has lost control of this campaign." His task, then, is "to remind Americans that the stakes in this election are far higher than the matter of who said what and when about Palin,” Dionne writes. “He isn't doing that.”

Instead, McCain has been controlling the agenda, “absurdly” claiming the mantle of the change candidate. Dionne argues that Obama should forget broadening the political map and focus on must-win states such as North Carolina. The Dem can’t “expect voters to know he’ll fight for them when they are not yet sure that he’s willing to stand up for himself,” Dionne writes.

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (3)]

"Barack Obama has lost control of this campaign," E.J. Dionne Jr. argues, "and he will not seize back the initiative with sometimes halting, conversational and sadly reluctant sound bites." (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Barack Obama needs to remind voters of how much is at stake in this election, E.J. Dionne Jr. writes. (AP Photo)

"Absurdly, McCain is now contesting the terrain of change, and doing so at celebrity rallies of his own," E.J. Dionne writes. (AP Photo)

"McCain has shown he wants the presidency so badly that he's willing to say anything, true or false, to win power," E.J. Dionne says. (AP Photo)

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The campaign is a blur of flying pieces of junk, lipstick and gutter-style attacks. - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post

McCain is running a disgraceful, dishonorable campaign of distraction and diversion. - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post

Few Americans know what (or whom) Obama is fighting for, because he isn't really telling them. - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post

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Obama Has Lost Control of the Election