In the latest Iowa poll, Barack Obama is ahead of Hillary Clinton. A win in Iowa would give new life and credibility to Obama’s marathon run for President. Some people are wondering if Oprah’s continued support of Obama’s campaign is turning her book club members in his direction. If that’s true it would be the first time a celebrity endorsement made a real impact on a candidate’s campaign.

Another person looking to make a mark on Obama’s campaign is Karl Rove aka Bush’s Brain. Rove is no longer on the Bush team, with Bush’s term coming to an end he took an early vacation. With time on his hands Rove decided to hand Obama a few tips on how to slay the dragon - Memo to Obama: win Iowa or lose the race”

Why would he do that? I’m thinking the Republicans want Obama to win the Democratic nomination because they see it as a guarantee they’ll slide another elephant in the office in the general election. Whatever his ulterior motive, there was some genuinely good advice that Obama might want to consider.

Man up!

“Stop acting like a vitamin-deficient Adlai Stevenson. Striking a pose of being high-minded and too pure will not work. Americans want to see you scrapping and fighting for the job, not in a mean or ugly way but in a forceful and straightforward way. Hillary may come over as calculating and shifty but she looks in control. You, on the other hand, often come over as weak and ineffectual. In some debates, you do not even look at her when disagreeing with her, making it look as if you are afraid of her. She offers you openings time and again but you do not take advantage of them. Sharpen your attacks.”

Don’t bring up your weaknesses

“When you create controversies DO NOT pick issues where you are playing the weaker hand. For example, you attacked her for lacking foreign policy experience. It is true she was first lady, not secretary of state, and nobody will ever mistake her for James Baker III. But your qualifications are even thinner; you were a state senator and lived in Indonesia when you were six. Big deal. Americans think she has more foreign policy experience than you – and she does.”

Who you homie?

“You need to do a better job explaining what kind of change you represent.
The change theme is a good one and Democratic voters know you were against the war and represent the idea of something fresh. But they do not know who you really are, what you want to do and where you want to take the country.

Taking her down a few notches is step one; telling people who you are is the next. Both are necessary.”

Bitch slap when appropriate

“Find a way to gently belittle her whenever she tries to use disagreements among Democrats as an excuse to complain about being picked on. The toughest candidate in the field should not be able to complain when others disagree with her. This is not a coronation. Democrats do not like her sense of entitlement. She is not owed the nomination. It does not belong to her simply because her name is Clinton. So blow the whistle on her when she tries to become a victim.

Do it with humor and a smile and it will sting even more.”

It’s on you

“Hillary comes across as cold, distant and conspiracy-minded, more like Richard Nixon than her sunny, charming husband. During the Clinton presidency she oversaw a disaster (the effort to sell Hillarycare) and argued hard against welfare reform, one of the promises on which he had campaigned. She is a hard-nosed competitor with a tough and seasoned staff. But her record is weak, her personality off-putting and her support thin. If she wins the nomination it will be because her rivals – namely you – were weak when you confronted her and could not look her in the eye when you did.

She is beatable but you have to raise your game. Iowa is your great chance for a breakthrough. Win it convincingly and you can build on it in the contests that follow.”