How Obama stole the GOP’s issue

[DonViejo]

How Obama stole the GOP’s issue
Once a GOP strength, it shouldn't be surprising that it's suddenly become a potent political weapon for Democrats

BY STEVE KORNACKI

The glee from Democrats, frustration from Republicans, and amazement from commentators has been easy to detect as the extent of President Obama’s advantage on foreign policy and national security has become clear.

There is obvious volatility to the unfolding events in the Middle East, and the possibility exists that developments in the coming days might somehow prompt voters to reconsider Obama’s leadership. But for now, Mitt Romney is gaining no traction from his effort to portray the unrest as an indictment of American policy under Obama –and may actually be hurting himself. A CBS News/New York Times poll released on Friday was the latest to give Obama a double-digit edge on the question of which candidate would better handle foreign policy.

The spectacle of a Republican White House nominee straining – and failing – to score political points on national security is understandably jarring to anyone who’s watched U.S. politics for the last decade. George W. Bush’s 9/11 exploitation and success at neutralizing John Kerry’s war hero credentials will be remarked on for years to come. And even in 2008, when he racked up the biggest share of the popular vote for any Democrat since LBJ, Obama succeeded in spite of most voters’ belief that John McCain would handle terrorism better.

There are several good explanations for why Obama has turned the tables on the GOP. The killing of Osama bin Laden is the obvious one, along with the end of the Iraq war and the lack of any major domestic terrorist attacks. At their convention in Charlotte, Democrats rubbed these successes in the face of their Republican foes while giddily deriding Romney for his international inexperience and the disastrous world tour he took over the summer; surely, this helped reinforce Obama’s advantage. But there’s probably a simpler reason why Democrats have suddenly become the national security party: They control the White House and voters tend to feel safer with the status quo.

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http://www.salon.com/2012/09/17/how_obama_stole_the_gop%E2%80%99s_issue/

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. Romney is out of his depth

Romney behaves like a high school rookie

[Kber]

2. Simple lesson Democrats learned and Republicans haven't (yet)

A sizable number of Americans actually care about an issue (in this case security). If you are going to be able to win elections, you have to be able to govern competently in regards to this issue and simply trying to convince us that what we care about isn't really all that important doesn't actually work. Democrats realized this and adapted.

Now substitute security for womens' rights (after all, we are approximately 50% of the population). Republicans can realize that these "lady issues" are actually important to us and learn to govern in such a way as to actually advance our interests, or they can continue to to simply try to convince us that we don't really care that much.

How do you think it will turn out?

Kber