TOP TEN SIGNS OBAMA IS COASTING

I'm an early and avid supporter of Barack,
and am worried about the following:

10. He's losing momentum

9. He's losing focus

8. Has become boring, re-uses same stories

7. Complains about questions

6. Didn't prepare sufficiently for last debate

5. No meat & potatoes on his menu for the
working class.

4. has gotten careless (dumb remarks about
people being "bitter."

3. hasn't put Rev. Wright issues to rest once
and for all.

2. Uses same speech over and over

1. Hillary is gaining!

None of the above gives me any joy. His coasting
is understandable, but risky. He's been cam-
paigning tirelessly for over a year, and he's
ahead. You can't campaign tirelessy for a year.
Eventually you tire. Then you coast.

You get boring when you have a dynamite
speech and keep giving it over and over. The
"we're winning, don't change anything" rule
kicks in and the tortoise starts gaining on the
hare. That gets scary because momentum is
particularly critical in the final stages of a race.
If you lose it running uphill you are in danger
of stalling. When you lose momentum, who-
ever is trailing you picks it up. They get fresh
wind in their sails (read money), new excite-
ment, and energy.

Barack definitely needs new speeches with
more meat and potatoes for the underclass
who are rightly discouraged (but not bitter).
He has to really care more than Hil pretends
to. Her phoniness must be exposed, not by
him, by surrogates with meticulous attention
to her and Bill's pro-corporate record that she
is so (selectively) proud of.

Obama needs a conspicuous panel of promi-
inent economists like Robert Reich to openly
advise him on boosting employment, and a
similar prominent panel of military experts
like Generals Odom and Zinni, to lay out a
detailed plan for Iraq, Iran, and Afghan-
Pakistan. Both the economic and military
plans should be openly discussed and argued
for the remainder of the campaign.

jgoodwin004@centurytel.net