By focusing his attention on the "middle class," the election of Barack Obama will end the Republican "trickle down" philosophy and replace it with a "gusher up" economy. Barack has clearly proven he understands the importance of this focus on America's backbone: stabilizing the housing market; a middle class tax cut; producing good paying jobs through a "green" economy and infrastructure rebuilding; supporting unions in the private sector; reconsidering the trade programs that have kept down wages; affordable health care for everyone; and educational programs that restore American class mobility.
This focus leaves no time for divisive special interest fights or (highly satisfying) retribution against Republicans for the last eight years of H**L. We must never forget that the Clinton presidency had to settle for small victories because overreaching in its first two years produced the first Republican House in 40 years(and Newt Gingrich!
Barack can avoid this fate by achieving the first electoral landslide for a Democrat in 40+ years. That is why his supporters must ignore the polls and continue their efforts as if he trailed.
A landslide victory will not only give him political capital to spend on his middle class booster plans; his coattails will bring a substantial number of newly elected Democrats from Red States who are likely to support his programs. It is necessary for Barack to show immediate success from a gusher up economic approach to prevent a resurgence of Republicans in 2010. Worse, he will need to have that impact in the worst economic climate in almost a century.
Any legislation in Barack's first 100 days not devoted to empowering and enriching the middle class, at best, will be seen as evidence that Barack is just another politician, and, at worst, evidence of that he has a secret agenda.
Even Barack's fulfillment of his promise to begin bringing troops home from Iraq needs to be cast as necessary to protect not only the troops but the American economy.
If Barack follows this economic agenda as I believe he will, the biggest obstacle to his success in the first term will be his fellow Democrats. If they have a different focus, they could sidetrack the effort to wipe out trickle down economics. Moreover, with the election of the first Senator as President since Kennedy, Senators may be more interested in following their own interests and agendas, particularly if they might challenge Barack in 2012.
Let's deliver the red states to Barack and the red to blue candidates.