I would suggest that he needs to run on the issues, but he clearly does not do that well. His flip-flopping on Jerusalem, Iran and public financing are just three examples.

No, better to play to his strengths, which have gotten him this far.*

She married her Indonesian husband when Obama was how old? 5? and they moved to Indonesia when he was still 5 or when he was 6?

My mother was widowed when I was 12, so I guess I could say I was raised by a single mother--but I've never even thought of it that way for whatever reason. In fact, It just occurred to me as I was asking this question about Obama.  Altho, of course, my mother was indeed single after my father's untimely heart attack.  

In all reality, it's not a big deal.  But any opening he gives the GOP to make him look like a liar they're going to take.  And the last thing Barack needs it to be on the defense saying "well, yes, my grandmother was a VP for a bank and I did go to private school, but, trust me, we really struggled financially"

It's almost as if there is a set ad, approved by the geniuses at some think tank or other, and they leave blanks for the candidate's name and a few for personal information.

And why does the music always have to be that same hokey semi-country-Western-Woodstock sentimental slop?  It's the same no matter who the candidate is.  

Why do they need music?
In a way, it's the ad makers' way of telling how we are supposed to feel about the crap that is being spoken.

Give or take a year or two since the numberous accounts in the media vary by a year or so, his parents split when he was 2, she remarried when he was 4 and the new family, mom, stepdad and son, moved to Indonesia where they lived as a family until he was 10. He then returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. His grandmother became one of the first two female vice presidents of a bank in Hawaii in 1970 -- when he was 9. His grandfather was employed. His stepfather worked for the oil industry in Indonesia.

So the single mother, food stamp story could only have been from when he was 2 to 4. That's not being raised by a single mother. That's being raised by a mother who was single for a short time.

And yes, it matters to single mothers like me.

That's why I passed laws moving people from welfare to work

Yes because without my passing laws forcing them to work, those lazy welfare queens would keep on sucking down tax dollars.  

cut taxes for working families

Because the best government program is a tax cut and only "working families" are deserving of help.

extended health care for wounded troops who'd been neglected.

You want healthcare, go get wounded in a war. I'm not against giving wounded troops healthcare, obviously, but their failure to get it is part of a larger failure of the American healthcare generally. They aren't the only ones who deserve healthcare.

Sorry, I cannot get excited or call it good politics for Democrats to run an ad that makes them sound like a Republican.  First, because between a fake Republican and a real Republican, most people prefer a real one.  Second, because it legitimizes the framing Republicans have used for thirty years against Democrats - he's not changing it, he's claiming he fits it.

"I was raised by a single mom - well, she was single for 2 years and I was only 2, so I don't remember that - and my grandparents.

We didn't have much money - well, my grandma was a bank VP and my grandpa had a good job, but we weren't rich - but they taught me values straight from the Kansas heartland where they grew up.

Accountability - except when I don't want to be accountable - and self-reliance - unless I can get others to do it for me or take credit for what others have done - love doing that!.  

Love of country. Working hard without making excuses - well that's kind of a stretch.

Treating your neighbor as you'd like to be treated - unless her name's Hillary Clinton and she's so much better at what she does and you hate her.

It's what guided me as I worked my way up -- taking jobs and loans to make it through college.  It's how I got to be president of the law review, even though I never published a single article - gotta love politics!

"It's what led me to pass up Wall Street jobs and go to Chicago instead, helping neighborhoods devastated when steel plants closed - now, when they had no heat, I was kinda busy, so, whatever - hadda stay in good with my pal Tony, ya know..

That's why I passed laws moving people from welfare to work, cut taxes for working families and extended health care for wounded troops who'd been neglected.  Then I decided to run for president, so I just really haven't had time for my Senate job and committee assignments."

I approved this message because I'll never forget those values, and if I have the honor of taking the oath of office as president, it will be with a deep and abiding faith in the country I love.  And if you believe this, you are just the kind of supporter I'm looking for.  Say, got any spare change?"

I greatly appreciate the opinions and insight of the TalkLeft community because you are all sparing me the ordeal of actually having his voice grate on my nerves.

It's hard to convey -- speaking from a rigidly family-oriented background -- how deeply offensive that is. (My family's values, for life, is that we tend our babies and our old people FIRST, no matter what, and we never diminish or disrespect those who raised us, even if they were inept.)

I don't begrudge anyone's steps to work through personal issues and traumas, as I've learned they can be plentiful in all inherited circumstances.

But what Obama frequently has done is shuffle sacrifice and suffering into "his" column, degrading his mother's and grandmother's accomplishments when convenient, and even smearing their backgrounds, also when convenient.

I think that was my tipping point, the moment I said, "What a selfish arrogant ungrateful snot."

It's just low to treat his mom and grandmother that way, and it's plain mean to struggling parents.

I approved this message because I'll never forget those values, and if I have the honor of taking the oath of office as president, it will be with a deep and abiding faith in the country I love.

Single Mom?  Who married an Indonesian Oil exec, sent her kid to private school etc etc etc.