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The presidential campaign of Barack Obama has today unveiled a new robocall to counter the calls sponsored by John McCain and the RNC that link the Democrat to terrorists and terrorism. The calls slams McCain for using hateful and sleazy phone calls and mail.

According to Talking Points Memo the call uses a former McCain supporter to denounce the GOP tactics, “Hi, this is Jeri Watermolen, calling for the Campaign for Change. I live in Green Bay and, like you, I’ve been getting sleazy phone calls and mail from John McCain and his supporters viciously — and falsely — attacking Barack Obama. I used to support John McCain because he honorably served our country — but this year he’s running a dishonorable campaign. We know McCain will continue many of Bush’s policies, and now he’s using George Bush’s divisive tactics. In fact, he hired the Bush strategists whose attacks even McCain once called hateful.”

The call ends by delivering Obama’s change message, “Barack Obama will turn the page on these negative politics and stand up for the middle class. That’s the change we need, and it’s why I have changed my mind about John McCain.” This is a typical response from the Obama campaign. For almost two years now, they have been in touch with the mood of the electorate. Polling shows that the American people have rejected McCain’s negative campaign, so it is a no brainer for the Obama campaign to do this sort of call.

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Jeri from Green Bay is also direct answer to Joe the Plumber. The campaign is looking to thwart any idea that Obama is anti-small business. Besides voter backlash, the real down side to McCain’s negative campaign is that it plays right into Obama’s theme of changing politics as usual. It is hard for voters to believe that McCain is a maverick when he running the exact same type of campaign that George W. Bush ran in 2000 and 2004.

McCain is trailing so he had to go negative, but there is a fine line separating negative campaigning on the issues, and personally attacking an opponent. Anybody who has watched Obama in action could have told the McCain camp that personally attacking the likable Obama would backfire. The backlash would not have been as severe against McCain if he would have attacked Obama’s policies sooner. Personal attacks work best when they are delivered with a smile, not a snarl, as the McCain camp has. Obama has answered McCain’s charges perfectly, which is why he is in control of this election.