In N.H., it looks like Obama wants to outflank HRC on the Left. The WaPo’s Dan Balz doesn’t let that cat out of the bag, but he does give us this:
Asked what he believes is different about his politics than those of other candidates, he said, "I think what’s worked for me has been the capacity to stay true to a set of progressive values but to be eclectic in terms of the tools to achieve those progressive values. To not be orthodox. To be willing to get good ideas from all quarters."
If I were uncharitable (though it’s not yet the season for that), I’d say that everything is instrumentally subordinated to "progressive values."
The WaTi’s Donald Lambro finds people who think that left is the way for Obama to go, though Donna Brazile thinks this:
"Barack has something that is awfully missing today in American politics: the gift of charisma. Most people find him not just attractive, but politically viable. He has cross-over appeal and the ability to attract moderates and independents."
Can he outflank HRC on the left to do well in the primaries and then credibly move back to the center? Will a Republican nominee let him get away with that?
And how do you run for Vice President without saying so? Show that you bring something to the ticket that the Presidential candidate doesn’t have (such as bringing in the loony left when she is bringing in the mushy middle). The Obama playbook is pretty obvious, at least to me -- and the MSM are schmoozing him -- why? because they want him to deny Hill, their fave, the nomination? I don’t think so. They are working up the American audience for Act V, the united the Clinton-Obama ticket that will pull together the sharply split Dem factions. And if that ticket loses, his youth will end up positioning him for the first serious challenge in the post-Clinton era in 2012.