      
 Another Clink in Obama’s Armor with Campaign Funding Tactics & Political Experience in QuestionCategory: Recent Articles Published: Thursday, February 21, 2008 Obama's on the spot. Quite becoming of the sociological urge to take a potshot at the number one man, the Illinois senator is bracing serious heat over character-incriminating allegations, which are at the outset, is really just a political attack on a political ploy with political practicalities. The recent fusillade of accusations stemmed from Obama's backtracking on his stand on election financing, and this time it's McCain who's on the war chariot. The attack is far from subtle or insidious, but rather blunt, and in future retrospect, very much harmless. McCain is holding Obama responsible for engaging in Orwellian doubletalk, and the accusation is based on the latter's statement that he will approve of and accept public financing in the coming election, as long as the other party's candidate was on the same page as his. But the situation has changed since then, and the Illinois senator's fundraising efforts raked in a substantial amount of primary money, affording him the convenience of skirting his previous stand, as he has hinted on in the last week. This gives his rivals an opportunity to spot a chink in his as yet invulnerable armor, and hit him where it is supposed to hurt. The attack is far from subtle. No Trojan horse at the gates. No underhanded tactic involved. McCain echoes Clinton's allegations, which are strikingly similar in essence: add insult to injury, in a Machiavellian sort of way, of course. McCain can't be faulted for trying, and Obama still has to establish his reasons for the switch. But there's a proper venue to do that: the upcoming debates. What the rivals are doing is setting him up for uppercut, when all that they're probably doing is telegraphing their next move. Previous to this recent allegation, Obama has been severely questioned about his political experience and his apparent incompetence in dealing with foreign policy, these charges particularly came from the Republican camp. Obama retaliates defensively by having his foreign policy adviser state that the accusations were 'misrepresented and distorting' his stance on the issue of Pakistan. Now that the issue on election spending has been raised, there's not much to do but see which one of them gives out. McCain is a staunch critic of fundraising, a technique in which Obama has shown a great deal of efficiency. Relying on public funds for the election means putting a cap on the spending limit, as both of the candidates would strictly depend on external organizations and on their national parties to augment their spending. It seems a tough call to make, deciding which one is within reason. In the gray areas, McCain seems to have a point in making Obama answer to his sudden change in conviction, but the intents of the former are obviously not innocent. This raises another issue to be tackled on the coming debate, and if America is keeping tabs on both candidates as they are supposed to, the decision as to who should take the Presidency is proving to be difficult, and won't get any easier come Election Day.  February 2008
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