Yesterday, I received the following two-sided flyer in my USPS mailbox:

If you happened to listen to Trump or any of the other speakers this past week at the Republican National Convention, you know that the common theme of the four nights was precisely what you see on this flyer. The theme and message - that if Biden is elected police will be defunded, lawlessness and violence will continue, and there will be anarchy in major cites across the United States - is a strong one, and it appeals to the human emotion of fear.

And even though this highly-distorted RNC message bears little resemblance to reality, it was heard by millions of Americans who listened to the speeches - some of whom are in that small group of undecided voters in a handful of battleground states - the ones who are going to determine the outcome of this election.

I have to say, from a political perspective it's a great strategy - hammer away at Biden all week in speech after speech, and then follow it up with a mailing that reinforces the same message. Now, it feels like Trump has momentum, and the looming question is, what are Joe Biden and Kamala Harris going to do about it?

It's very unfortunate for all Americans that since the killing of George Floyd we've seen so many protests turn violent. And just recently, the shooting of Jacob Blake has added fuel to the fire.

It's also very unfortunate for the Biden/Harris campaign, because the violence, and the timing of the violence, has breathed new life into the Trump campaign, whose strategy is now crystal clear.

Last Monday, August 24 (the first day of the RNC) Biden posted a statement about the shooting of Jacob Blake on his website, and Harris issued a statement on Twitter.

On Wednesday, August 26, Biden posted a video on Twitter talking about the shooting of Jacob Blake, saying he spoke with Jacob's family.

On Thursday, August 27, Harris spoke about the shooting of Jacob Blake .

I commend Biden and Harris for speaking out about the Blake shooting, but how many people actually read the statements, heard the speeches, and watched the video? Frankly, they needed to do much more to effectively counter the four-night attacks of the RNC.

George Packer, a journalist for The Atlantic wrote an article about this which was published two days ago on Friday, August 28. Here's some of what George had to say:

It's no use dismissing their words as partisan talking points. They are effective ones, backed up by certain facts. Trump will bang this loud, ugly drum until Election Day.

How many Americans have heard him? In the crude terms of a presidential campaign, voters know that the Democrat means it when he denounces police brutality, but less so when he denounces riots. To reach the public and convince it otherwise, Biden has to go beyond boilerplate and make it personal, memorable.

Nothing will harm a campaign like the wishful thinking, fearful hesitation, or sheer complacency that fails to address what voters can plainly see. Kenosha gives Biden a chance to help himself and the country. Ordinarily it’s the incumbent president's job to show up at the scene of a national tragedy and give a unifying speech. But Trump is temperamentally incapable of doing so and, in fact, has a political interest in America’s open wounds and burning cities.

Biden, then, should go immediately to Wisconsin, the crucial state that Hillary Clinton infamously ignored. He should meet the Blake family and give them his support and comfort. He should also meet Kenoshans like the small-business owners quoted in the Times piece, who doubt that Democrats care about the wreckage of their dreams. Then, on the burned-out streets, without a script, from the heart, Biden should speak to the city and the country. He should speak for justice and for safety, for reform and against riots, for the crying need to bring the country together. If he says these things half as well as Julia Jackson [the mother of Jacob Blake] did, we might not have to live with four more years of Trump.

Source:

Packer, George. (August 28, 2020). "This Is How Biden Loses". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-08-29.

Packer makes some very insightful observations.

He says that "Biden has to go beyond boilerplate [ordinary, lacking imagination] and make it personal, memorable." And to do that he suggests that Biden travel to Kenosha and create a media-worthy event - something that will be covered by all the mainstream media, including television.

Packer is suggesting this is something that Biden should do "immediately." What I'm saying is that both Biden and Harris SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN KENOSHA THIS PAST WEEK during the RNC to counter the propaganda being spewed out by Trump and his supporters. And perhaps, Biden and Harris could have gone to Portland, Oregon as well to "cook up" another media event. Think about this for a moment, and how it might have changed the media narrative of this past week, which was mostly about the RNC.

I really think Packer "nailed it" when he spoke about "fearful hesitation" and "sheer complacency" of a campaign. This is TRUMP Biden is up against, and he is a force to be dealt with. You can't be fearful, you can't hesitate, and you certainly can't afford to be complacent with him or he will bulldoze you out of contention, in a hurry.

Now, to make this even more interesting here's what Trump tweeted today:

Now that Biden's Polls are dropping fast, he has agreed to get out of his basement and start campaignin,"in ten days." Sadly, that is a very slow reaction time for a President. Our beloved USA needs a much faster, smarter, and tougher response than that. Get out there today, Joe!

Source:

Johnson, Marty. (August 29, 2020). "Trump urges Biden to hit campaign trail: 'Get out there today, Joe!'". The Hill. Retrieved 2020-08-30.

Yes, you can interpret Trump's tweet as just antagonizing Biden, but I think this is Trump saying he wants a fight. I don't think he wants a "cakewalk" into a second term, even though he's been "stacking the deck" with his talk of mail-in voting fraud to ensure he gets it.

I have to agree with Trump by calling Biden out on having a "slow reaction time", because this time he's right. Biden's campaign should had been on top of this last week as I've suggested.

And, also today, Trump said he will be visiting Kenosha on Tuesday of next week. Now, any trips to Kenosha by Biden and/or Harris won't have the same impact, because Trump is "beating them to the punch." This is politics on full display, and whether you like it or not, Trump is winning this battle.

To summarize, in my opinion, not being proactive was a serious error by the Biden campaign. Jennifer O'Malley Dillon (Biden's current campaign manager) and her team lost a golden opportunity to counter the RNC message and maintain some momentum. Now, it feels like alarm bells are going off, and something must be done - quickly.

Finally, two days ago on Friday (August 28) Michael Moore posted the following warning on his Facebook page:

Sorry to have to provide the reality check again, but when CNN polled registered voters in August in just the swing states, Biden and Trump were in a virtual tie. In Minnesota, it’s 47-47. In Michigan, where Biden had a big lead, Trump has closed the gap to 4 points. Are you ready for a Trump victory? Are you mentally prepared to be outsmarted by Trump again? Do you find comfort in your certainty that there is no way Trump can win? Are you content with the trust you’ve placed in the DNC to pull this off? The Biden campaign just announced he'll be visiting a number of states— but not Michigan. Sound familiar? I’m warning you almost 10 weeks in advance. The enthusiasm level for the 60 million in Trump's base is OFF THE CHARTS! For Joe, not so much. Don’t leave it to the Democrats to get rid of Trump. YOU have to get rid of Trump. WE have to wake up every day for the next 67 days and make sure each of us are going to get a hundred people out to vote. ACT NOW!

Source:

Moore, Michael. (August 28, 2020). "Reality Check". Facebook. Retrieved 2020-08-29.

More:

• Biden faces calls to be more active with media | The Hill