From Hope and Change to Cynicism and Attack

Phillip Klein in the Examiner looks at how the campaign strategy for Obama will change from 2008's rainbows and unicorns approach:

Three years ago this month, when then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama accepted his party's nomination before 80,000 adoring fans at Denver's Invesco Field, he observed: "If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from."

Obama meant it as a criticism of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for allegedly launching a cynical campaign instead of one built around hope. But now, it serves as a prescient description of Obama's own 2012 re-election strategy.

On Tuesday, Politico reported on the Obama campaign's emerging plan to take down Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney with sharp personal attacks, including portraying the former Massachusetts governor as "weird."

The article quoted a Democratic strategist linked to the White House saying, "Unless things change and Obama can run on accomplishments, he will have to kill Romney."

While the piece focused on Romney, the strategy could just as easily be applied to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., or whoever wins the GOP nomination.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

Read the rest of it as Klein describes how Obama's goal was to be the anti-Reagan, a transformational-type leader, but instead of leading people toward less government, lower taxes and more freedom, he wanted to make America love ever larger government and intrusion into their lives.