The OODA loop or something else?
We wrote about John Boyd’s OODA loop — observation, orientation, decision, action — back in 2004. The idea of getting inside an opponent’s OODA loop is to mount an attack or series of attacks so that the attack is shorter than the opponent’s ability to make a decision and respond effectively. Michael Barone has a piece on it today in an attempt to understand what has gone wrong in the Obama campaign of late:
John McCain was trained as a fighter pilot. In his selection of Sarah Palin, and in his convention and campaigning since, he has shown that he learned an important lesson from his fighter pilot days: He has gotten inside Barack Obama’s OODA loop…Observe, Orient, Decide, Act….
Obama chief strategist David Axelrod admitted of the Palin pick: “I can honestly say we weren’t prepared for that. I mean, her name wasn’t on anybody’s list.” But it was known that McCain’s VP adviser had traveled to Alaska, and anyone clicking on youtube.com could see Palin’s impressive performance in political debates. The McCain campaign shrewdly kept the information that she was on the short list and that she was the choice to a half-dozen people, who didn’t tell even their spouses. The Obama team failed to Observe.
Then they failed to Orient. Palin, as her convention and subsequent appearances have shown, powerfully reinforces two McCain themes: She is a maverick who has taken on the leaders of her own party (as Obama never has in Chicago), and she has a record on energy of favoring drilling and exploiting American resources. Instead of undermining these themes, they dismissed the choice as an attempt to appeal to female Hillary Clinton supporters or to religious conservatives.
Then team Obama and its many backers in the media failed to Decide correctly, so when they Acted they got it wrong. Their attacks on Palin tended to ricochet and hit Obama. Is she inexperienced? Well, what has Obama ever run (besides his now floundering campaign)? Being a small-town mayor, as Palin said, is like being a community organizer, “except that you have actual responsibilities.”…
Perhaps the Obama campaign strategists expected their many friends in the mainstream media to do their work for them. Certainly they tried. But their efforts have misfired, and the grenades they lobbed at Palin have ricocheted back and blown up in their faces. Voters are on to their game.
The smart move for Senator Obama would have been to ignore Governor Palin and let her celebrity die down. Continue slogging and after a while, the magic would fade. This is a Vice Presidential candidate after all. But Senator Obama couldn’t do so. Instead, he overreacted. He went directly after Palin himself. Worse still, he made the lipstick comment, and didn’t apologize and move on quickly — which made some people connect dots that went back to calling the reporter “sweetie,” flipping Senator Clinton the bird, and, indeed, to Obama’s own peculiar upbringing and relationship with his mother.
Whether Senator Obama’s campaign’s current poor performance is explicable by tactical misjudgments or whether something deeper is the problem is unknown at this point. But we are reminded about how little we actually know about this man who wants to be President.
September 14th, 2008 at 2:05 am
When the west thought that McCain was sleepwalking he was thinking, observing and decieving. Sign of a leader the US needs in a dangerous world getting more dangerous by the minute ( putin, iran, chavez, FARC, hamas, hezballa, fatah, etc.).
Leftist females and males hate Gov. Palin because she epitomizes who our ancestors were that built north america when their were no doctors and piggly wigglys and 7/11s. She is the hero that they do not have the guts to be.
Obama was the one asleep spending time writing speeches and practicing his enunciation. He put his selfish interests ahead of his country and at least his party by not choosing Hillary.
By choosing Biden - a symbol of the Dems pre Carter ( ie, Humphrey, Moynihan, RFK ), who serves as a cover for the Dems, Americans really want nothing to do with: Schumer, Boxer, reid, Pelosi, Finestein, Franks and soon ( uggh!) Al Franken !
For this myopic choice and tacitly agreeing with the critics Obama deserves to lose ( and of course for neglecting George Obama, living on a $/day).
How will we deal with a shrewd Putin, an agressive Chavez and a deceitful Ahmadjinadad?
September 14th, 2008 at 6:24 am
When you are aligned against the United States, the best way to defeat them is to use their electoral process. You can lobby for the hearts and minds of the American voter and get your issues heard, or you can buy their presidential nominee.
Obama positioned himself (in his bid for the Presidency) to be sold to the many deep pocketed special interests that are aligned against the individualist bent of the United States of America. He is not one to go it alone.
All you are seeing here is the big money behind his campaign stepping in and running his campaign like a European EU campaign. Their skill set doesn’t translate well to Americans.
Expect more of the same…
September 15th, 2008 at 2:42 am
OODA Loop. More like an A spot. Have the pony do its trick, the MSM links it to the meta-narrative, and the miseducated in Manhattan, San Fran, Hollywood and Beacon Hill lap it up.
Just like in ‘72 when they didn’t know anyone who voted for Nixon, they’ll be shocked when McCain racks up 300 EV’s.