Plouffe On McCain's Squandared Opportunity

The most interesting moment of David Plouffe's 90 minute briefing and press conference was a casual assertion that he didn't think McCain "used the period from March 3rd [until the end of the Democratic primaries] very effectively, and for that, we're grateful." What he means is that the McCain campaign did nothing during those months to build the type of political organization that could match what Obama's primary campaign forced him to build.

Over and over in the briefing, Plouffe emphasized the volunteer capacity the campaign has; even in a state like Texas, where McCain is likely to beat Obama fairly soundly, there are thousands of Democrats and independents who want to help. And so the campaign will build an organization for them and send them out. In other red states, Plouffe said that Obama presidential volunteers would focus on helping Democrats win House and Senate races.