September 17, 2008
"The old boys' network? In the McCain campaign, that's called a staff meeting."
—Barack Obama, about John McCain, in Elko, Nevada
Change vs. more of the same: Obama's general election strategy never wavered, branding himself the only authentic agent of change and dismissing, if not ridiculing, McCain's promise to shake things up in Washington. When the four-term Republican Senator vowed to take on "the old boys' network," Obama pounced. Not ordinarily a comedian on the stump, Obama repeated the line often to draw a reliable laugh — and drive home the central, winning point of his campaign.