Friday, August 29, 2008

Obama's tactic

I played basketball in high school and there was one thing a coach of mine said that's stayed with me over the years. He pointed to a player on our team that was tall and, with his impressive leaping ability, could block a great number of shots. Our coach said to him: "look small, crouch, keep your arms low, anything to let the other team think they have free reign to shoot and drive to the hoop. And when they do, block every one of their shots." This was an important point. If you have something on your opponent, keep it hidden. Let them think they have the upper-hand. Let them think they've got you in their crosshairs. Let them think they are about to win. Then knock 'em down.

This is exactly what Obama did to McCain with his convention speech yesterday. From Andrew Sullivan's blog:

The McCain campaign set Obama up as a celebrity airhead, a Paris Hilton of wealth and elitism. And he let them portray him that way, and let them over-reach, and let them punch him again and again ... and then he turned around and destroyed them. If the Rove Republicans thought they were playing with a patsy, they just got a reality check.

This is not a tactic of humiliation. It's about letting your opponent reveal, or betray, their smallness of vision, of ability, and of foresight. It is a supremely smart move by a man that is not only great, but immensely practical.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Read this interesting reappraisal of George W. Bush's administration. Could his foreign policy have been smart and apt after all?