Fun with AttackWatch and Obama for America

Within hours of the Obama for America campaign launching its AttackWatch website last week, thousands of Americans who have no intention of voting for Obama had signed on for the purposes of mischief and mockery – a wholly predictable development which nonetheless convinced OFA that the project was a spectacular success. If you haven’t done so already I urge you to sign up and join in the fun – I’ve just dutifully reported David Brooks’ orgy of self-pitying buyer’s remorse.

Another benefit of signing up is that you get base-rousing emails from the Obama campaign; aside from being useful in terms of knowing one’s enemy these can be unintentionally entertaining, as well as offering further opportunities for devilry.

Just now I received an email headed ‘It’s officially over’. For a few dizzying seconds I thought Obama had taken the advice of a growing number of liberal pundits and announced he wouldn’t be seeking re-election, but turns out it was just some puffery about the end of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Earlier I received a missive entitled ‘Class Warfare’ which seemed a rather odd title for a mailshot which insisted Obama’s millionaires tax wasn’t about class warfare – I’d have gone for something like ‘It’s Not About Class Warfare’, but what do I know?

And a couple of days ago I was invited to donate $5 to the 2012 campaign, in return for which I’d be entered into a draw to have dinner with Obama himself. I haven’t taken them up on the offer – as a Brit I don’t think I’m allowed to contribute, and even if I was I don’t think the campaign would stump up the air fare (I’d want Premium Economy at the very least) for someone who can’t actually vote for Obama.

I’d suggest though, that as many eligible conservatives as possible should throw in five bucks on the off-chance that they can hoodwink their way into the White House.  I know, I know – it goes against the grain to send money to Obama, but if he’s going to raise a billion next year anyway, I think it’s worth conservatives chipping in a few thousand on the off-chance that one of them will get to wreak some James O’Keefe-style havoc at the presidential dining table.

Interestingly, I’ve noticed that the author of most of these emails, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina, signs himself off as ‘Messina’ rather than Jim or Jim Messina. I think this is an affectation designed to make him sound like a no-nonsense political brawler in the mold of Rahm Emmanuel, when he in fact resembles a slightly overweight preppy who’s just asking to have his lunch money taken.

I think it’s also designed to fire up Obama’s volunteer army of wind chime designers, urinal sculptors, trick skateboarders, ethnomusicologists, barristas, performance artists, humanities majors temporarily working as bike messengers, and unemployed basement dwellers, and make them believe that they’re actually a bunch of hardened street fighters.

Republicans be warned!