On To Mississippi

Ole Miss:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/

ABC News' Tahman Bradley Reports: A senior University of Mississippi official reacted Wednesday to the news that Sen. John McCain R-Ariz., wants to postpone Friday's presidential debate, saying that such a move would be "devastating" for the university which has already invested millions in preparation for the debate.

This was an epic desperation move on McCain's part, followed by an equally epic fail. They created a lose/lose/lose situation.

Lose because he didn't get the debates postponed.

Lose because he looks chicken for even having tried.

And lose because now the economy is going to come up even more at the debate and deflate what would have been his big POW/Surge moment in the sun.

This is looking increasingly like a breakaway moment for the Obama campaign.

Crawl up in a corner in the fetal position and cry "Mommy"!!!

I'm glad it's proving to be an epic fail, but I have a question for you Al - any chance McCain could try and rescue this situation for himself by portraying Obama as heartless or something similar for NOT stopping the campaign etc??

And this is just me being curious, as I said on the previous post I agree with Obama that President's need to be able to do more than one thing at a time and this was no cause to go off the deep end

I would love to see that! McCain is completely off his rocker. The thought of him being president and dealing with crises scares me to death.

I couldn't hold a debate and think about something else at the same time.

 

waterprise2 AKA Pam

Liberal with a Capital L!

 

He boxed himself in terribly.  He looks like an idiot whether he shows or not.  I guess another option is for the republicans on the hill to try to incite big problems into the deliberations.  That would be suicide for all though.

My first reaction as this was unfolding was, "Wow, McCain is a trainwreck! This can't be good for the old man's health. Plus, he gives Drama a bad name!" (My undergrad degree is in Drama, so I take it "personal like.") I am gratified to see thatso many others are going, "Oh, Puhleeeze" as well. McCain has earned that meme. It deserves to stick. Crazy, Desperate Drama Queen.

 

 

I don't see how McCain saves face on this one.  This is what happens when you have a craps player's mentality.  He just crapped out.

I was a little nervous that this latest stunt by McCain would be a "Sarah Palin" moment, meaning we would see a week of fawning press coverage and shift in the tracking polls, and hysteria from the CL section.

Obama handled this masterfully.

...currently housing Palin. Maybe they can avoid all human contact until November 4.

Man, but Obama is standing tall today.

The response from the McCain camp will be full of the usual dunce-cap platitudes: Obama doesn't care as much as me; Obama is putting his ambition ahead of the country; Obama noun verb POW; etc.

It's the media's reaction that matters here. Will they report this as the charade that it is? Or will they give McCain another free pass?

I tried to put country above politics, but my opponent wouldn't, so I have no choice but to......(whatever).

 

dewberry

who is somewhere with power for just a minute and can't remember her log-in.  Do you all miss me?  We still don't have power and hopefully will by Sunday, more than two weeks after Ike. 

McCain can try whatever he likes, but that doesn't mean it will work. This is such an obvious political stunt that it has almost the complete opposite effect of what was intended, it was meant to look non-partisan but it ends up looking like a partisan stunt.

Wow.. That is all I can say!!  What a disastrous afternoon for the McCain campaign.  I honestly think they are still in the mode that they found themselves in when they decided to make the desperate pick of Sarah Palin.  They know from the polls that the only possible way they can win is to try and create a game changing moment.  They have to be looking at the polls this week and knowing that they have no real path to victory.  I'm sure their internal polls are showing worse numbers then we see in the MSM polls.

John McCain will do anything and say anything to win an election.  

Man, McCain is the ultimate drama queen...

Can you IMAGINE what his White House would be like?!

Breaking News: John McCain Asks Congress to Bail Out His Failing Campaign

John McCain, his polling numbers in free-fall, and with such veteran conservative commentators as George Will fleeing his sinking ship, today asked Congress to bail out his failing campaign.

McCain asked Congress to allow him to hide behind her skirts for the duration of the bail-out crisis so he can avoid facing America in a debate this Friday against Barack Obama, whom McCain described as "scary smart."

McCain's aides will begin navigating a course to Capitol Hill, as the Senator has not visited that location since April 8th and has forgotten the way.

McCain missed more votes (412 out of 643) than any other Senator in the present term.  More than even Ted Kennedy, who is recovering from brain cancer surgery yet still managed to return to the Senate, as did Obama and Clinton even while engaged in their primary battle, to cast a crucial health-care vote.  McCain didn't even return to cast a vote on the GI Bill.

McCain's aides promised to send current photos of McCain to Capitol Hill security and members of his staff so that they would not block his entry into the building or his offices upon his return.

"Any chance McCain could try and rescue this situation for himself by portraying Obama as heartless or something similar for NOT stopping the campaign etc??"

That certainly seems like McCain's only remaining option to recover this fumble. But something tells me, based on today's events, that dog won't bite.

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportUC.aspx?g=54d651a7-a62b-4420-bb32-9dd6b2df8c02

I agree, this really has been a fun campaign to watch.  Lots of ugliness -- from Hillary's "not as far as I know" response to whether or not she thought Obama was a Muslim to the several metric tons of bullshit the McCain camp has spewed into the atmosphere -- but it's really something to watch a campaign executed so beautifully.

They remind me of the '86 Celtics in the way they anticipate where the ball's going to be, and Obama has the same peripheral vision, the same awareness of the entire court, that Bird had. 

Shorter version: "It's not my fault you can't walk and chew mother!@#$in' gum at the same time, old man."

 

:)

Al, if this were chess, McCain's next move would be to bid "3 no trump".

As I said in the previous thread, I'm not so sure we can count out the idea that he has lost it. They tried prepping him for debate and his handlers came to the conclusion that there is no way he can look passable at a debate.

(UPDATE: By the way I don't mean to imply that this is age related.  It's simply about his lack of focus, awareness and alertness.)

Obama is right to say that as President it will be necessary to handle several things at one time.  Personally, what I want to hear him say is something along the lines of:

 

"Just because we are facing a financial crisis does not mean that al Qaeda is putting any plans it has on hold, it does not mean that Iran and North Korea are going to call time out, it does not mean that Putin is going to give us a break, it does not mean that our service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan are not going to face hostile fire.  And it just these issues that Senator McCain and I are to debate in Mississippi.

 

Apparently, Senator McCain thinks those issues have become irrelevant for the time being and we can only focus on one thing at this moment in our history.  I can promise you the the mothers and fathers and wives and husbands and children of our service people who are in harm's way woudl never forgive us if that is what we did."

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportUC.aspx?g=54d651a7-a62b-4420-bb32-9dd6b2df8c02

like:

1.National Enquirer expose on Sarah's local affair policy knowledge.

2. Sarah's illusion tot eh Great Depression.

3. the Polls

but don't feel blue we get Keith on Letterman instead of Grumpy.

Not sure how they pulled this off that quick:

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportUC.aspx?g=54d651a7-a62b-4420-b...

 

People aren't buying McCain's idea.

Al,

I know that as a journalist you don't like this little thing but reading your blog and Obama versus  "an empty rocking chair" all that I want to say today is ...roll the drums...            :)

 

So the Senate Majority Leader FINALLY did something without hemming and hawing and whining and screwing it up. Perhaps he had his lines handed to him today but at least he read them well.  I swear he and Lieberman are cousins.

Well, given the latest developments I guess Timmons' services will not be needed.

he's lost his (Poli)Grip! The Fix(odent) is in!

 

 

The media is already angry over Palin: See Campbell Brown's temper tantrum. Now, McCain tried to take away one of their  bread and butter debates. This would have gone FAR better for him if he'd call for no campaigning but the debate.

He over-reached in trying to shank Obama after Obama (stupidly IMO but stateman like) tried to get a joint statement on the bailout from him.

Survey USA has a quick and dirty poll saying people want the debates and the campaigns to continue according to TPM.

And McCain has hardened the "risky" assesment against him in the eyes of the media. Hell, George Will was calling him out. I can't imagine the columns to come.

Between that and the Palin VP debate; I think this campaign is freaked the hell out. The pollsters have to be scaring them mindless.

The McCain camp is in free fall and they tried to DISTRACT DISTRACT DISTRACT yet again ,that's all they've been doing all week.

 

 

 "They tried prepping him for debate and his handlers came to the conclusion that there is no way he can look passable at a debate."

But I'll take it a step further, I said it yesterday, he is not firing on all cylinders.

Although I know a few 80 year olds that could out think me, in MacCains case it is health and age related, he is not fit.

Al, I love it when you sound giddy. :)

http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/2008/09/inside_the_metro_bunker.php

 

Renee

This is two hail Mary's they've thrown and we're only just now entering the 4th quarter.  I mean is this really the administration people want?  Gimmicks and Hail Marys all the time?  It gets exhausting just watching.

Did anyone catch Hardball?  I know they were going to discuss it.  Has Chuckie T weighed in?  I'm always curious to hear what the so called unbiased folks have to say.

is that it's obvious to any thinking person that this, just like Sarah Palin, is a gambit for electoral gain (especially considering he didn't cancel his appearance at the Clinton Global Initiative or his meeting with Lady de Rothschild), which is in direct contradiction of the "country first" message that he intended to convey with it.

That's why I always found "Country First" to be a terrible political slogan (strategically speaking): it's an irresolvable paradox. By using it as a campaign slogan, you're by definition using all those supposed instances you put country before self-interest for partisan gain, and therefore not putting country before self-interest, but quite the reverse.

So yes, it's a terrible move. Only the people who already thought the world of McCain will fall for it.

It's time to intercept this one and return it for a touchdown.  It would be really helpful to open up a really big lead on the Prez race so we can put more resources into the down ticket races.  Still going for the veto proof majority in the Senate.

A McInsane complete implosion could help us do that.

This is rapidly turning back on McCain.

I don't know if it was intentional but David Gregory called McCain's move a "campaign bailout."  God help him if that picks up.

Yes, McCain's ploy flopped.  But remember, McCain is resilient.  He comes back.  He most likely will lose out big all week and during the debates.  But he may get some bounce if a bailout package is put together and approved in time.  He can come back next week and take credit...(much of the resistance to the current plan comes from the GOP...and "changing their minds" could be a convenient ploy to boost their man McCain.)  This may not be enough to save him, but before we start rediculing the old man as a surefire loser, let's stay focused on the fact that the Obama campaign has to be ready to deflect McCain's moves next week just as well as he has today.

I strongly agree and have for some time.  McCain has made some pretty irrational comments.  It doesn't matter about the cause and the election should be simply about judgement, but his POW history (and the psychological damage he must have experienced) weighs on my mind.

Now CNN is reporting that the McCain campaign wants to postpone the first debate until Oct 2 and moving the VP debate to another "later date".  I'm sorry, this is just bullshit.

The Obama campaign on fire. Check this out.

http://thepage.time.com/obama-campaign-release-on-debate-day-history/

Pff, Duran said no mas because Leonard was clowning, running, and in general confusing Duran, not because Leonard was pounding him.

I agree, Al, this may be one of those defining moments that come out of nowhere. A desperate gamble answered with devastating calm and forthrightness. McCain pushes the panic button; Obama takes it in stride, saying it comes with the job.

If McCain believed his own rhetoric, he would seize the opportunity to use the scheduled TV time to explain the finance crisis, the proposed solutions, why they are different, why one is better, and the implications for America's future. That would help Americans a lot more at the moment than debating motions on the Senate floor.

Even if we give him the benefit of the doubt, I think McCain is showing us that he feels far more comfortable in the role of Senator than that of President.

McCain now has to show up to the debate anyway, or cede a national prime time stage to Obama during a national crisis. And he has to figure out how to play his flip flop. However he plays it, he is already playing the erratic foil to Obama's calm leadership, again.

Or perhaps he can go all in and send Sarah Palin as surrogate, who might possibly throw Obama off stride with her well-honed ability to ignore facts and reason.

DELAY the VP debate??!?!  This is friggin' ridiculous.  I mean it can't possibly be THAT bad for them is it?  This is a circus and it's going to create a media hailstorm.  You can't take away their debates from the media and the entire country is on pins and needles waiting for the VP debate.  I mean surely the smart Republicans are even going to be able to see through this one.  It's so patently desperate that I don't really get it.  Sure they are down a bit in the polls but there is still time for them to turn things around.  Why the panic?  Or am I just so biased that all I can see is panic and it really isn't???

I mean it's not like this is the week after 9/11 or something.  Now then I can see where folks would have been open to delaying the debates but TPM is reporting that the bailout is 98% of the way done with the Administration having conceded to many Congressional demands.

I need more objectivity on this.  It just seems like a total meltdown to me.

1. Wake up tomorrow pretending that nothing happened. Maybe we hear something like "in spite of Sen Obamas's insistence on cancelling the debate, I am for going on with it".

2. Go to Washington

2.1 If there is a deal, take all the credit for it and be the "mavrick" who solved the problem.

2.2 If things go badly, blame Obama for the failure.

3. Another creative McCain-campaign-moment (sorry, I haven't got as much imagination as these guys).

None of these seem good.

This campaign is just too good to miss a minute of it. Yet another night without sleeping to follow up? It's already 1 am here. Stupid timezones...

 

Time/CNN

Colorado: Obama 51 McCain 47

Michigan: Obama 51 McCain 46

Pennsylvania: Obama 53 McCain 44

Montana: McCain 54 Obama 43

West Virginia: McCain 50 Obama 46

Rasmussen

Colorado: Obama 50 McCain 47

 

Insider Advantage

Colorado: Obama 50 McCain 41

Could it be that McCain wants time out to find a way to replace his VP with someone who at least has informed opinions?

The CBS interview tonight was terrible. All Palin could do was repeat the little she knows and could not give any further examples.

Asked what action McCain had taken in 26 years to support deregulation, all she could do was the lame Freddie and Fannie respose. Then saying she would research it and get back to Katie.

James Wolcott gives Al a shout out about all this zaniness, and even some props to a Fieldhand:

One of his commenters compares McCain's stunt to a student pulling the fire alarm in order to get out of taking midterms.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/wolcott/2008/09/battening-down-the-hatc...

"John McCain said he was suspending his campaign to deal with the nation's economic crisis. McCain also said he would not attend Friday night's debate with Democratic rival Barack Obama unless an economic bailout deal is reached by then."

Since I am new this year to politics, I have a question.

What happens on Friday if there is no deal and McLame does not show up? Will Barack go on stage alone and get the same coverage?

The O campaign is saying the debate parties are going forward.

"If there's no deal before the debate, McCain is staying in Washington, period, a McCain senior adviser tells NBC News."

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/24/1444065.aspx

 

I think Obama should go, and if McCain doesn't show up, the he can just take questions from the moderators and the public.

 

Who's running this country?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/24/19746/2465/924/609294

 

I've been wondering what the reasoning was behind $700 billion.  Now we know there was no reasoning.  Scary.

McCain "suspended" his appearance on Letterman tonight too.  Love this from Dave:  "I think someone's putting something in his metamucil."

How much does money play into this strategy?  Suspend the campaign, pull ads...  is McCain hurting, even with all the RNC cash?  Maybe the drip, drip, drip factor also means the cash is going down/has gone down the drain given the spending in states they didn't think were in play.

 

If McCain doesn't show up, that is.

At CNN, McCain wants to reschedule the presidential debate for October 2 and postpone the VP Debate for later That is what all of this is about He saw the interview with Couric today and realized Palin was ready, so he pulls this stunt Really, if the American people can't see threw this, I got a bridge to Alaska to sell'em............

If you ask me: Jerry Springer together with Gordon Gekko.

He won't show up?!?!  I think everyone can agree to the idea of working in a bipartisan manner to solve this problem but why would this notion and holding the debates at the same time be mutually exclusive?  And it's not like Ole Miss can sit around waiting to see if legislation passes on Friday...which it won't.  The deal isn't even hammered out yet let alone scheduled for a vote.  And I still think McCain and Obama showing up on the Hill could make things much worse.

What about this notion of swapping out the VPs?  They can't argue that Sarah is busy on the Hill.

 

I've arbitrarily chosen the Drudge Report's timestamps for the McCain proposal, and David Letterman's ridicule of it, as the bookends for this little comedic vignette.

What a day! And it's not over yet. Thanks for the video clip. Barack is going to be President, and not just any ole President, but a great one. I'm 40 now and consider myself well versed in the ways of the world, but I've been thinking of it, and have come to the conclusion that he is the (potentially) greatest man I've known or read of in recent American history. He inspires me, damn it! And calms me, and makes me feel respected as an individual AND as part of something bigger -- something noble and proud and in need of help: America.

 

I know, I know! "Obama is the Messiah"! I'd be called a brainwashed cult member if this were a Conservative board. But I don't care. Objectively, Barack Obama is an amazing human and he's gained my total trust (for now).

 

In this "Crisis" -- I don't even know if it's real or artificial at this point -- Obama is shining through as the real leader. The McCain campaign is actually getting a bit frightening in their incompetence and sarcastic asshatery. And this latest move - this day! - it's gone to a level I could not have imagined yesterday. Almost breathtaking. McCain's saying he ain't debating unless there's a signed deal up on the Hill. Showdown time.

 

My money's with Obama.

Then read this:

http://www.americablog.com/2008/09/this-is-why-mccain-canceled-debates.h...

 

The comments are great too.

1. Obama is behind 4 in WEST VIRGINIA

 

WEST VIRGINIA

 

2. You MUST post the Couric/James.Dobson.In.A.Dress interview

simply horrifying.

 

3. Two scenarios: a) Obama debates McCain, b) Obama has a great Townhall in one of the reddest states in the Union. WIN-WIN Obama.

Oops! Colorado McCain camp sends internal e-mail to reporters http://coloradoindependent.com/9151/oops-colorado-mccain-camp-sends-inte...

That Palin interview with Couric was truly a disaster. Explains a lot about why the campaign hasn't trotted her out or let her into an unscripted moment.  You can tell she is beyond her knowledge on these questions and is desperately trying to string together points she was instructed to say and hoping it is relevant to the question. It goes to show how difficult it is for someone new to the scene to come off like a pro in the heat of a high stakes campaign.

I was thinking the same thing on the way home from work tonight and was going to write about it but thought it would be misinterpreted for the same reasons you mentioned.  But I KNOW I have never seen any person (let along a POLITICIAN ) display as much brilliance, intelligence, and thoughtfulness in his/her daily life.  I can't imagine how we might be lucky enough to have him as President.  I get all sentimental thinking about how it would be so special for his Mom to be with him and to be able to witness the beautiful person we are so fortunate to have in our world.

Breaking news on MSNBC President Bush as all of a sudden invited both Sen McCain and Sen Obama to attend the meeting with Congressional politicians.  This is so coordianted with the WH.  If there is a GOD, or if KARMA is real, this has got to backfire on McCain.  Americans can not be that stupid.

 

"Is it me or did he not want to say the word 'Barack Obama'?"

Effing hilarious. (and off topic).

This man is a genius - don't let opening "He's so smart, I'm so dumb" act at the beginning fool you.

lamh31 - Maybe it is some kind of plot to get Obama off his game, but as he said today, President's have to deal with more than one thing at a time. This takes care of one of my worries, the photo ops of McCain walking around DC looking like he is doing something. It would have been bad for Obama to follow McCain to Washington, but coming at the request of the President is another thing entirely.

McCain's #1 objective here is to get Rick Davis' lobbying story off page one. I watched the evening news coverage and it came up in the Palin-Couric interview, but did not have extended coverage.

Also the much-feared National Enquirer allegations of a Palin extramarital affair were made public and Schmidt may have wanted to nip that in the bud.

This is one of McCain's impulses. Already the negotiations are to postpone the Presidential debate 6 days and the VP debate longer, perhaps with the Republicans coming up with an excuse not to ever have it. A postponement for VP replacement is not an impossibility.

One scenario I see playing out is that Bush may ask Obama to postpone the debate tomorrow.

The second scenario is that McCain shows up to the Friday night debate with lowered expectations.

Those lowered expectations are the good news for McCain, the bad news is the poll numbers on the delay that fly in his face.

I'm right with you! In Iowa, we have a very unique perspective during the many months leading up to our caucuses and Barack had me at hello!  lol  I was fortunate to see him many times, shake his hand a few, and felt so freaking inspired at every turn. I cried at the J-J speech. Our precinct captain team worked our neighborhood fiercely and on caucus night when the chair announced WE had one the majority of delegates, I cried.  To top off that night we took our children to Barack's incredible caucus winning speech and guess what, I cried.  I get sentimental thinking about the incredible future my children will have with Barack as our president.

Like Ian Keenan,

I think that McCain is also trying to lower expectations and so Obama needs to play the game as well.

Nick -- I'm with you (and the others). I love him, I'm 40 as well and I know that despite a life-long involvement with politics, I've never felt this way about a politician and I never will again. I don't think he's perfect, and I'll disagree with him from time to time, but I also trust him immensely and I'm willing to be led by him.

I was happy when Billary was elected, but I never felt inspired, only cynical, before this. Maybe we had to put up with the awfulness of Bush in order finally to have a leader like Obama. I just hope the world situation isn't too wretched over the next four years, that we can actually make some progress.

I remember the 1992 election when President George H.W. Bush was painted as ducking debates and Clinton folks were following him around in a chicken suit talking about Chicken George. And they kept complaining about the media, even printing up bumper stickers that said, "Annoy the media. Vote Bush."

We have a Chicken John on our hands.

And did they think we wouldn't notice their transparent attempt to prevent a Palin-Biden debate?

As I was reading this blog entry, I looked at my hand, searching for the best sports analogy card that I could play.  Then I get to the Update section and Al throws down "No Mas", the greatest plea for mercy in a sporting event of all time.

I fold.

...the closest analogy would be McCain seizing his few remaining pieces and locking himself in the pantry. I honestly think they're hoping to go the rest of the campaign without either R candidate giving an interview or appearing in a debate. Shame, of course, but the press of the nation's business doesn't leave time for such.

I agree Nick, MichaelNyc. This guy is the real deal.  This guy will make us all better, no matter what the nasty economics.  More and more people are joining with that feeling. At this point, it doesn't even matter if there IS another debate.  This situation was the game changer, and Obama passed the test. McSame/McBush/McCoward/McLoser failed. Obama will be the POTUS. 

Keep calling, keep knocking on the doors, keep talking to folks, because he will need all the help he can get!

A bit off-topic, but since internal polls were mentioned:

Can someone explain the internal polls thing to me? Do the campaigns hire their own pollsters or hire the "regular" polling firms to do specific polls for them? And why are internal polls always cited in the context of being more accurate than the public polls? Do they do something different? If so, why don't public polls do the same thing?

Thanks.

Don't mess with Dave. I am still laughing.

I hope Obama sticks to his guns and is there for the debate on friday. If McCain doesn't show up he can do a townhall and lay out his vision for the country.

Also check this out:

McCain's Talking Points about suspending campaign sent to the media by mistake

http://coloradoindependent.com/9151/oops-colorado-mccain-camp-sends-internal-e-mail-to-reporters

Here's some numbers for you Al:

 

Every weekend, each Congressional district in IL sends volunteers to outside states, including MI, IN, WI, IA, and MO. My district is assigned to Michigan and I went there last weekend to pound the pavement. Look what the campaign e-mailed me about the results of one afternoon's worth of Chicago labor:

 

"The trip to Michigan on September 20th produced

Amazing Results!!!

Because of you…. as a group…

You knocked on 2258 doors.

You talked to 865 Michigan citizens.

You registered 90 new voters.

You identified 451 Barack Obama supporters."

This is happening every single day on an unfathomable scale. The enemy can lie, distort, and try to sow fear, but at the end of the day our sheer numbers and passion will overcome.

And so appropriate, with McCain being born in Panama and all that. He's not just bringing third world political capers to the North; he has turned them into an art form.

It's the media's reaction that matters here. Will they report this as the charade that it is? Or will they give McCain another free pass?

How are they playing it on teh teevee ? Are they calling it out for the bs stunt it is ? Or will they peddle McCain's spin of "country first" ?

amk

TNK - Yes, the campaigns have their own pollsters polling in swing states, and that decides where they go.

Internal polls are more trusted than public ones, because who knows if Rasmussen or Zogby or Gallup or any of the others are really being honest, or taking wads of cash to influence the public perceptions of the contest? Campaigns don't trust those polls. And I think they're smart to be distrustful.

http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1221204722.76

Money quote

Among the major eurozone economies, only Germany has healthy public finances, but Steinbrueck has repeatedly refused to loosen up fiscal discipline even though the commission estimates that Europe's biggest economy is already in recession

amk

Hi All, Didn't read all the comments tonight so apologies if this is a repeat. Be sure and see as much video of tonight's Letterman as possible. Maybe Letterman was pissed off because McShame cancelled and yet did the CBS interview and remained in NY for the Clinton gig. Whatever. Letterman was not pleased and went totally OFF on McShame. For at least an 1/2 hour virtually every Letterman line zinged and zapped McShame and included the repeated refrain "and he suspended his campaign". Letterman's biting humor made the Will (can't remember his last name -- the abc commentator super conservative) op-ed piece seem like a kind rebuke. IMO Al, I've gotta believe you can use this material as an intro to one of your upcoming threads. Letterman has always poked and made jokes about politicans but tonight he took it to a new level. He used humor to mock(scorn)both McShame and Palin. Tonight, Letterman gave Jon Stewart and Colbert some serious competition.

I think you said it best, Al... prelude to a landslide.  Bush is in the Hoover position and McCain is no contender, this latest trick is a transparent failure.

I would assume the campaigns get their number from inside too?

They are recording every voter contacted. Don't they get a clear sense of where they are? If, say for example, they canvassed and phone banked some voters in each precinct in Georgia and realized it was a losing battle, do they need internal pollsters also, or is that their internal poll? Or do they use both? Just a curios question.

Campaigns have complete transparency and control over the conducting of polls when they are internal.  Contrast that to public polls where we are lucky to see the polling methodology, much less the crosstabs.  Internal polls also act like a microscope.  If a campaign wants to know how well they are doing with particular demographics or particular geographic areas (i.e. a swing county), they can do that.

I remember reading an article mentioning that Obama has somewhere between three to six separate pollsters working for him.

Yelling like Cosell to my computer screen, "Down goes McSame! Down goes McSame!"

The Rovian plan is to put Obama on the spot by having Bush ask him to postpone the debate in "the national interest." Obama must refuse. If he goes along with this ploy it will make him look weak and McCain look good.

Thank you all for putting into words, some of the feelings of this extraordinary time.  A leader who speaks from the heart, and inspires us because he trusts us and we trust him.  A person who is smart, really smart, and wise, and makes mistakes and reaches to get better every time, a person who learns from his mistakes, and expects us to grow as individuals with him.  Community.  Each individual doing the best she/he can, learning with each other, and sharing the best ( and sometimes worst! of ourselves!) - and trusting each other to keep trying to make it better.

A leader, a teacher, an organizer - with a heart, and energy, and passion to share!

I agree with all of you.  Field Hands keep inspiring me to keep going, even when things get difficult.

The City of Detroit is a Blue Democratic stronghold island surrounded by Republican counties (Macomb, Oakland); and metro Detroit is one of the most racially polarized areas in the country.  Although things are slowly changing, people come into Detroit to cheer on (some) of the sports teams, parades, concerts, to work, etc., then go back to their mostly single-race neighborhoods.

However, lately, I have seen and heard...just when I'm out and about, *white* people saying Obama must win, and seeing Obama/Biden bumper stickers on everyone's cars, and almost none of the *other*...

Did a quick run to the grocery store in my neighborhood (also known as "the hood") the other day, and there was one white man with a ponytail all by himself doing voter registration. Took my Mom to the clinic this morning for an out-patient procedure (Mom wears her Obama shirt and hat every day and everywhere), and a *white* lady in the elevator said..."Go Obama...I listen to (the country radio station) and they were slamming Obama, but I and everyone in my family are voting Obama!"

Some people are trying to keep alive the now deunked "Bradley/Wilder" effect where *white* people say they'll vote for the Black guy, but after they pull the curtain really vote for the white guy.

Well, has anybody thought of the reverse? *White* people, especially around the 'burbs of Detroit and similar places around the country, feeling they *have* to say they're voting for the white guy, but when they pull that curtain, they're gonna vote for the Black guy who just happens to be the Best guy?!?!?!?!?!?

I'm feelin' it around here!

 

waterprise2 AKA Pam

Liberal with a Capital L!