In Sioux City In 2008, Obama Promised No “Negative” Campaigning But Now Prepares “Kill” Strategy Since He Has No Record To Run On

OBAMA IN 2012 IS NOT THE OBAMA WHO DECRIED NEGATIVE CAMPAIGNING IN 2008

THEN: Obama: We “Rejected The Politics Of Smear And Slash And Burn” And Ran A Positive Campaign. “Then they said ‘well you know what? He can’t run a positive campaign the entire time, he’s going to have to go negative.’ And when we were down 20 points in the middle of the summer, all the pundits were saying ‘oh, he’s going to lose unless he really goes negative, he’s got to kneecap the frontrunner, he’s gotta do a Tanya Harding on her.’ But you know what? We said no. Kept running a positive campaign. Pointed out policy differences but rejected the politics of smear and slash and burn. And so now in the last few days, we’re seeing what my cousin Dick Cheney calls the last throes of Washington trying to resist change.  Some of you are getting phone calls saying all untrue things about me.” (Barack Obama, Remarks In Sioux City, IA, 1/1/08)

NOW: Obama’s “Reelection Effort Will Be More Sharply Partisan In Tone Than The Idealistic-Sounding Campaign That Brought Him To Power.” “President Obama’s latest attacks on Republicans are another sign that his reelection effort will be more sharply partisan in tone than the idealistic-sounding campaign that brought him to power.” (Paul West, “Obama Campaign Gears Up To Pull In New Voters,” Los Angeles Times, 9/30/11)

Obama Will “Run A Much More Negative Campaign” To Combat A Jobless Rate That Has Not Allowed For A President’s Reelect “Since The Great Depression.” “The jobless rate will stand at levels that have not led to a president’s re-election since the Great Depression. Largely because of that, Obama will run a much more negative campaign, his aides acknowledge, even if it threatens to demoralize some supporters who were inspired by his 2008 message of hope.” (Charles Babington, “2012 Race Likely To Be Close, Tough, Maybe Brutal,” The Associated Press, 11/5/11) 

“Forget Hope And Change,” Obama’s Campaign Is Based On “Fear And Loathing.” “Forget hope and change. President Obama’s reelection campaign is going to be based on fear and loathing: fear of what a Republican takeover would mean, and loathing of whomever the Republican nominee turns out to be. Of course the Obama campaign will attempt to present the affirmative case for his reelection, citing legislative achievements, foreign policy successes and the current flurry of executive actions. But his strategists have clearly concluded that selling the president will not be enough, and the contours of the ugly months ahead are becoming increasingly apparent.” (Ruth Marcus, “Campaign 2012: Welcome To The Slugfest,” The Washington Post, 11/2/11)

• “And As Much As Obama Presented Himself As Above The Regular Partisan Fray During The 2008 Campaign, He Was Not Averse To Taking The Lower Road When It Appeared The Advisable Route.” (Ruth Marcus, “Campaign 2012: Welcome To The Slugfest,” The Washington Post, 11/2/11)

Time’s Mark Halperin: “Barack Obama’s Campaign And Allies Will Run More Negative Ads Against This Republican Nominee In 2012 Than Have Ever Been Run In The History Of The World.” “Look we have a recent example of somebody who talked like this, Barack Obama, he got elected, but he also ran more negative tv ads than anyone has run in the history of the world against john McCain. Barack Obama’s campaign and allies will run more negative ads against this Republican nominee in 2012 than have ever been run in the history of the world.”  (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 6/22/11)

• Halperin: The Republican Nominee Will Have To Deal With “Over $500 Million In Negative Ads.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 6/22/11)

AND NOT THE OBAMA THE SIOUX CITY JOURNAL THOUGHT HE WAS

THEN: Sioux City Journal: Obama Is “The Great Hope” Who “Has Little Patience For The ‘That’s-Just-The-Way-It-Is’ Mentality Of Washington.” “The great hope embodied by a candidate like Obama is the promise of a new path. He has little patience for the ‘that’s-just-the-way-it-is’ mentality of Washington, D.C. It’s a culture that increasingly relies on polling and special interests to guide policy and measures success by political points scored. Instead, Obama speaks of a change harkening back to moments in our nation’s history when we shared ‘a common good and a higher interest. That’s the change I’m looking for.’ It’s the kind of change America appears eager for.”  (Editorial, “Obama: ‘A Common Good And A Higher Interest,’” Sioux City Journal, 12/23/07)

NOW: “Candidate Obama Had Offered A Vision Of A President Who Could Persuade Lawmakers To Put Aside Partisanship And Deliver Solutions To The Country’s Biggest Problems. It Didn’t Turn Out That Way.” (Julianna Goldman, “Obama’s Anthem Of Change Pivots To Call For Patience On Economy,”Bloomberg, 11/1/11)

• “Obama Is Still Saying, ‘Yes, We Can.’ But He Never Explains Why We Haven’t.” (Andrew Malcolm, “Obama’s Penchant For Speeches Now Sounding Hollower By The Word,” Los Angeles Times’ “Top Of The Ticket,” 9/8/11)