”I don’t do cowering”

“Yeah, I don’t do cowering.” - Sen. Barack Obama

I am far from alone as an advocate of aggressive rapid response in politics. When someone gets in your face with a lie or an attack, don’t retreat. Get in his.

Do it fast. Do it now. Don’t be shy. Don’t let an attack go unanswered.

If you take a swipe at me or mine, you should expect to get the same or worse, in return.

That is not to say you behave badly or swing at every pitch in the dirt and therefore turn every attack into tomorrow’s headline. That’s dumb.

The art is figuring out which is which and what type of response is appropriate. Higher ground is often fertile ground.

John Kerry figured poorly for about two weeks worth of “swift-boat” lies and it cost him. A man who served his country honorably saw his image destroyed by surrogates for a guy who refused to show up for a physical and lost his flight status in the Texas Air National Guard; the extra-special refuge of those Dallas Cowboys whose Vietnam draft numbers were way up there.

The rest is history.

Sen. Barack Obama says he won’t be making that mistake. Given the fact that he’s won the most competitive presidential primary contest in decades, he won’t be playing the fool’s game either. He is smart and his campaign is one very smart operation. See “Fight the Smears” for a taste.

As he told Rolling Stone magazine recently in a cover story interview: “Yeah, I don’t do cowering.”

He has the look and feel of someone who means it and doesn’t apologize for it. That’s a leader.

What does that mean for Maryland?

For one thing, while the vast majority of Democrats are already there, a strong leader brings the Democratic Family closer together. Families fight like hell amongst themselves. The bruises may take some time to heal but nothing unites a family quicker than an ugly attack on one of your own.

The worse it gets for Republicans, the more tempting it will be to go nasty. Sen. John McCain says he’ll resist such tactics. I believe him. However, he’s chosen not to be in charge of that operation.

For example, Rush Limbaugh keeps his own counsel as Sen. McCain well knows.

Then, when every Maryland supporter sees Sen. Obama or his campaign square their shoulders and face the opponent’s worst, every family member will cheer, including the once bruised.

An attitude like that will spread and inspire. In the end, imitation becomes the sweetest form of flattery.

Ignoring the Republican/right-wing attack machine will no longer be SOP.

For decades conservatives have owned the emotion based attack media. Newt Gingrich himself gave talk radio the credit for handing him the Speaker’s job in 1994. Talk radio hosts accepted the compliment. Those guys were skillful and brutal, too.

Democrats ignored it. Big mistake.

We will learn more about that fine art of keeping our powder dry when it’s needed and fighting back when it’s required. Our respect for Sen. Obama’s skills, talent and intelligence will grow as we follow his lead.

Make no mistake; taking the high road is frequently the best path. Let the other guy pout, shout and whine. Sen. Obama never will.

Look around you. Opportunities to stand-up and speak out are everywhere. The internet, letters to the editor and talk radio are just a finger touch away.

There is nothing to be gained by ignoring it. There is nothing to be gained by cowering. We have a real leader running for president and he is showing you how it’s done.