The Republican National Committee has developed a 500-page opposition research handbook that will be used to unseat President Obama in 2012, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.
The book, compiled by RNC staffers and interns who spent time patrolling the Internet and television in a windowless room at the RNC headquarters, is entirely online and already in use today. It documents hundreds of specific promises Obama made during his campaign and presidency, juxtaposed with news clips and statistical evidence that prove he has not delivered.
According to RNC chair Reince Priebus, Republican attacks on Obama will prominently feature a clip from the Today show in 2009 in which Obama said that if he hasn’t improved the economy during his presidency, “then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.”
The GOP strategy is to refrain from attacking Obama personally, as polls show he is still well-liked by many voters, even if his policies aren’t. Instead, they aim to undermine him with his own words, by showing clips reflecting empty promises and lackluster economic improvement. The RNC has compiled location-specific promises Obama has made and plans to roll them out via op-eds in newspapers and localized ads when Obama hits the campaign trail. Voters in Iowa can expect to see new attack ads featuring clips from Obama's victory speech there in 2008 on Tuesday, and the RNC plans to buy ad time in other primary states over the coming months.
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