Campaign 2008From The Trail
NBC/National Journal embed reporters file regular dispatches on their experiences from the trail.

Previously in this series:
• Biden Aims To Seal The Deal In Pennsylvania (10/14/08)
• McCain Camp Plans A Rebound (10/08/08)

Read The Entire Series

TOLEDO, Ohio -- When considering its messaging, the presidential campaign of Barack Obama -- the self-labeled "hopemonger" -- has generally operated on the assumption that optimism is a better sell than pessimism.

But there's another "ism" at play this election: realism.

In the midst of global financial turmoil, balancing a positive vision of the country with the current state of the economy is one of the challenges both Obama and John McCain face in the home stretch of the campaign. But warnings about a long-term economic downturn seem particularly incongruent with Obama's brand of feel-good politicking.

The contrast is sometimes enough to produce a feeling of cognitive dissonance, as the Illinois senator emphasizes the bright side while also warning of a Great Depression-style crisis. Obama says the "country and the dream it represents are being tested in a way that we haven't seen in nearly a century," but in a speech in Indianapolis last week, he said, "Listen here, Indiana: I'm here today to tell you that there are better days ahead." At stops in Ohio and across Philadelphia he said America still had "the most talented, most productive workers" in the world as he called for a "rescue plan" for the middle class, including extended unemployment benefits and another economic stimulus package.

It's not that he isn't acknowledging the scope of the problem: In speeches just a few weeks ago, the senator talked about the problems still confronting the economy, citing the credit crunch, rising unemployment and what could be a deepening recession. But Obama's language on the stump is still filled with the idealism that has been a hallmark of his campaign.

Given the dire economic straits, however, it's what he's not saying that may prove most important, both for the undecideds and for the folks he has already won over who could be disappointed if the programs he promises get shoved to the back burner. Voters have yet to hear from Obama what parts of his ambitious agenda, from making health care more affordable to tax cuts for the middle class, may have to be delayed due to the current crisis.

When moderator Jim Lehrer asked both candidates in the first presidential debate what programs they'd have to forgo because of the bailout, neither offered a direct answer. Late last month at the Congressional Black Caucus gala in Washington, Obama told the crowd that he knew the economic crisis could affect his budget as president but said his measures to support middle-class families had to stay, because the middle class is "the cornerstone of a strong economy."

In Reno, Nev., he went further, allowing that the rescue plan might mean that "some useful programs or policies that I've proposed on the campaign trail may need to be delayed." But he has offered no details about just what he may have to scale back or postpone, promising instead to pore through the federal budget "line by line" and eliminate programs that are not working, pointing to the savings from an end to the Iraq War and promising to fund some programs by ending tax breaks for the richest Americans. More often, he has spoken of what cannot be delayed, from tax cuts for the middle class to lowering health care costs to infrastructure projects to renewable energy, often repeating the phrase "we can't wait."

The question with just three weeks to go is whether Obama's decision not to put programs and proposals on the public chopping block -- or to openly state that deficit-spending in a time of crisis may be a good idea -- is good politics or something that could provide fodder for McCain, who has consistently painted Obama as a big-spending liberal and who has called for a spending freeze on all but "the most important programs like defense, veterans care, Social Security and health care."