Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Socialism tag
The McCain campaign's last gambit in the closing week of the election has been amplifying lately with blatant attempts to label Obama as a radical socialist.
The other recent attempts to paint Obama as an out of touch radical, as with Bill Ayers and ACORN.
I don't think the Obama as a socialist label will stick though, Obama has spent a lot of time talking about tax cuts and has won over the working class consistently in most of the recent polls.
I think that the McCain campaign should've been pushing their recent message of the Democratic Party dominating all branches of government would have been a much better sale to the American people and also would've come across as less desperate and would've been able to drive home a reasonable message the American people could get behind. Americans are generally in favor of a divided party government, and almost all polls are showing another Democratic sweep of congress, and if McCain had been able to shape this message a lot earlier, I think his chances this election would be a lot stronger.
The other recent attempts to paint Obama as an out of touch radical, as with Bill Ayers and ACORN.
I don't think the Obama as a socialist label will stick though, Obama has spent a lot of time talking about tax cuts and has won over the working class consistently in most of the recent polls.
I think that the McCain campaign should've been pushing their recent message of the Democratic Party dominating all branches of government would have been a much better sale to the American people and also would've come across as less desperate and would've been able to drive home a reasonable message the American people could get behind. Americans are generally in favor of a divided party government, and almost all polls are showing another Democratic sweep of congress, and if McCain had been able to shape this message a lot earlier, I think his chances this election would be a lot stronger.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Today's polls 10/22
There's been hardly any movement in the polls recently, Obama still leads in key swing states such as Florida, Ohio, Vriginia, and Colorado, as well as maintaining an average of about a 5 point lead nationally. His path to 270 electoral votes seems to get wider and wider whereas McCain's seems to be narrower by the day.
It appears that the McCain campaign's negative robocalls and attempts to continue the Bill Ayers and ACORN narrative have not had the hold on the average voter that they thought
It's hard to see anything happen between now and election day that could pull McCain in the direction he needs to go, and anything they do at this point anyway would be seen by the media as "desperate."
The election is now less than a month away and already early voting has suggested that there could be another year of record turnout, especially amongst the demographics that the Obama campaign has microtargeted: Young people, African-Americans, and hispanics, key demographics that will no doubt probably go down as being responsible for his election. Early voting in many states has already seen some record numbers, with these early voters drifting Democratic according to most analysis.
McCain needs the base that Bush rallied in 2004 to come out in equally impressive numbers to keep it a nailbiter, and I think his campaign needs to focus on GOTV efforts and spend almost all the money he has left on his ground game. I could see a few of the states, such as North Carolina and Indiana and maybe even Florida and Ohio squeaking into the red category again this election day if he focuses on those efforts hard enough.
It appears that the McCain campaign's negative robocalls and attempts to continue the Bill Ayers and ACORN narrative have not had the hold on the average voter that they thought
It's hard to see anything happen between now and election day that could pull McCain in the direction he needs to go, and anything they do at this point anyway would be seen by the media as "desperate."
The election is now less than a month away and already early voting has suggested that there could be another year of record turnout, especially amongst the demographics that the Obama campaign has microtargeted: Young people, African-Americans, and hispanics, key demographics that will no doubt probably go down as being responsible for his election. Early voting in many states has already seen some record numbers, with these early voters drifting Democratic according to most analysis.
McCain needs the base that Bush rallied in 2004 to come out in equally impressive numbers to keep it a nailbiter, and I think his campaign needs to focus on GOTV efforts and spend almost all the money he has left on his ground game. I could see a few of the states, such as North Carolina and Indiana and maybe even Florida and Ohio squeaking into the red category again this election day if he focuses on those efforts hard enough.
Media focus back on Sarah Palin
The hockey mom who has claimed to be just as average as everybody else may have betrayed her middle class persona. The big story today was about the GOP spending $150K to outfit Sarah Palin and her family, a sum equivalent to the worth of many average American's homes.
This story has been airing all over the celebrity news shows like Extra and Access Hollywood. Will Palin's supporters call her out as a phony? Either way, this story probably won't be helping out McCain...
This story has been airing all over the celebrity news shows like Extra and Access Hollywood. Will Palin's supporters call her out as a phony? Either way, this story probably won't be helping out McCain...
Monday, October 20, 2008
Today's polls 10/20
Well it's almost exactly two weeks until election day and the polling that has come out today has been very good news for the Obama campaign.
Last week I said I wanted to wait a week or so to see if there would be movement in the polls in light of the McCain campaign's all out kitchen sink attack on Barack Obama.
Well there has been a tiny bit of movement and overall I'd say Obama has come down nationally about 1-3 points, and still looks to be breaking 350 electoral votes if the state polling is analyzed. McCain may have no other chances to try and change the American People's minds, and the elusive "game changer" may never materialize for him. Obama's campaign is hitting McCain hard on the economy and health care and they have just reported a massive fundraising number that will allow his campaign almost limitless spending in the next two weeks on advertising, canvassing, and get out the vote efforts, as well as unleashing the most impressive volunteer army any campaign has ever had.
I think these are the elements that are maintaining his lead, not neccessarily that McCain's message has failed, indeed I think if anything it has further polarized the base of the Republican Party the same way they felt about Clinton in 1992, with fringe elements of that party equating Obama to a terrorist, a socialist, or both.
I was tempted to write a post last month about whether Obama's ground game would be any benefit to him, as it didn't make much of a difference during the primaries, but then again, no ground game like this has ever been unleashed in modern politics.
As much as Obama tries to tie McCain to Bush, it was this way of campaigning that won Bush two terms in office, so credit needs to be given where it's due.
Last week I said I wanted to wait a week or so to see if there would be movement in the polls in light of the McCain campaign's all out kitchen sink attack on Barack Obama.
Well there has been a tiny bit of movement and overall I'd say Obama has come down nationally about 1-3 points, and still looks to be breaking 350 electoral votes if the state polling is analyzed. McCain may have no other chances to try and change the American People's minds, and the elusive "game changer" may never materialize for him. Obama's campaign is hitting McCain hard on the economy and health care and they have just reported a massive fundraising number that will allow his campaign almost limitless spending in the next two weeks on advertising, canvassing, and get out the vote efforts, as well as unleashing the most impressive volunteer army any campaign has ever had.
I think these are the elements that are maintaining his lead, not neccessarily that McCain's message has failed, indeed I think if anything it has further polarized the base of the Republican Party the same way they felt about Clinton in 1992, with fringe elements of that party equating Obama to a terrorist, a socialist, or both.
I was tempted to write a post last month about whether Obama's ground game would be any benefit to him, as it didn't make much of a difference during the primaries, but then again, no ground game like this has ever been unleashed in modern politics.
As much as Obama tries to tie McCain to Bush, it was this way of campaigning that won Bush two terms in office, so credit needs to be given where it's due.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
More on the Colin Powell endorsement...
Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama today could not have been more eloquent or thoughtful. If the rest of the GOP had modeled their tone and rhetoric after after Colin Powell these past 4 years, John McCain would probably have a much better chance of winning right now.
The Powell endorsement
This morning on "Meet The Press" Former Secretary of State under George Bush, Colin Powell, endorsed Barack Obama for president saying he would vote, but not campaign for him.
Even though the public doesn't usually pay too much attention to endorsements like this in terms of affecting their decision to vote, what this will do for Obama is likely dominate the media coverage going into next week, with pundits and surrogates going back and forth on what the endorsement means. This is a bad time for McCain to be losing news cycles, and last week the coverage of the hostility of his supporters at his rallies to Obama and his inability to produce a "game-changer" during the debate is what most people were talking about, further producing forward momentum for Obama.
After last week McCain needed something desperately to turn around his chances, or at least create some tightening in the polls, especially as the Republican attacks get more and more negative in the hope to produce something that will stick in the American People's minds.
Powell's endorsement this morning was less about Obama in terms of readiness to lead or simple experience, but seemed more to be about character, judgment and demeanor, the same qualities that have gotten Obama to this point in his political career. And although Powell didn't say anything negative about McCain himself, the heartfelt stories that Powell told, such as the muslim soldier who died in Iraq and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, to his very vocal abhorrence to the tactics being used by the GOP, as well as what he called the party's "narrowing" over the past 8 years, created a kind of zeitgeist feel to it, as most of what he said seems to be the conventional wisdom right now as to why 2008 will most likely be a huge realigning election, swinging the political pendulum to the left.
Even though the public doesn't usually pay too much attention to endorsements like this in terms of affecting their decision to vote, what this will do for Obama is likely dominate the media coverage going into next week, with pundits and surrogates going back and forth on what the endorsement means. This is a bad time for McCain to be losing news cycles, and last week the coverage of the hostility of his supporters at his rallies to Obama and his inability to produce a "game-changer" during the debate is what most people were talking about, further producing forward momentum for Obama.
After last week McCain needed something desperately to turn around his chances, or at least create some tightening in the polls, especially as the Republican attacks get more and more negative in the hope to produce something that will stick in the American People's minds.
Powell's endorsement this morning was less about Obama in terms of readiness to lead or simple experience, but seemed more to be about character, judgment and demeanor, the same qualities that have gotten Obama to this point in his political career. And although Powell didn't say anything negative about McCain himself, the heartfelt stories that Powell told, such as the muslim soldier who died in Iraq and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, to his very vocal abhorrence to the tactics being used by the GOP, as well as what he called the party's "narrowing" over the past 8 years, created a kind of zeitgeist feel to it, as most of what he said seems to be the conventional wisdom right now as to why 2008 will most likely be a huge realigning election, swinging the political pendulum to the left.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Debate Round Up
Well...tonight was McCain's last big chance to take down Obama and I think he blew it. Other than the now famous Joe the Plumber, I think McCain's biggest contribution to the debate tonight was his hideous array of smirks, air quotes, eye rolls, and yes, weird flicky tongue moves.
Obama kept his cool throughout and stuck to his talking points. I don't think he lost any ground tonight. In fact, I think McCain just lost the election.
J, thanks for liveblogging!!! Obviously, I wasn't able to pull away from the television early to go to my class.
Obama kept his cool throughout and stuck to his talking points. I don't think he lost any ground tonight. In fact, I think McCain just lost the election.
J, thanks for liveblogging!!! Obviously, I wasn't able to pull away from the television early to go to my class.
Closing remarks
McCain ends on a good note, touting his reformer credentials as well as his record and talking directly to the camera for the first time.
Throws the word "trust" in there.
Obama also ends well, "fundamental change," pitches directly to working and middle class Americans, hits some good notes of optimism in there, it's no "shining city on the hill speech," but he did his job. He didn't sit on his lead this debate, he engaged McCain but was respectful and I think McCain's body language and sarcasm really betrayed him tonight and lost him his last chance to change the direction of the race.
The Joe The Plumber remarks are already going around on PBS, I'm sure it'll be the new buzzword until election day.
Throws the word "trust" in there.
Obama also ends well, "fundamental change," pitches directly to working and middle class Americans, hits some good notes of optimism in there, it's no "shining city on the hill speech," but he did his job. He didn't sit on his lead this debate, he engaged McCain but was respectful and I think McCain's body language and sarcasm really betrayed him tonight and lost him his last chance to change the direction of the race.
The Joe The Plumber remarks are already going around on PBS, I'm sure it'll be the new buzzword until election day.
McCain gives a good answer on education
Sticks to his guns, "you can't throw money at it," I would say McCain was winning at the beginning, but he really collapsed at the end, Republicans are groaning that this thing is almost over and unless a stage light falls on Obama right now, he'll be the next President Of The United States.
ROE V. WADE
Did McCain just use air quotes to Obama? McCain should have been nailing this issue to the wall. Ultimate wedge issue here, he could've hit a home run.
Obama's answer was a little weak, but he recovered a little with his anecdote about the woman who sued for equal pay.
McCain is going for the throat on abortion. He could seal the deal here.
Nope he ruined it with the air quotes again.
Obama's answer was a little weak, but he recovered a little with his anecdote about the woman who sued for equal pay.
McCain is going for the throat on abortion. He could seal the deal here.
Nope he ruined it with the air quotes again.
HEALTH CARE!!
Obama stays on his main talking points, democrats usually win the health care debate and although against Hillary, Obama was usually on losing ground, here he shines, looking right into the camera.
McCain brings up the fine again and ruins a great run by attacking Obama again, it's really not his night.
Obama attacks McCain too towards the end, also ruins a good run.
McCain brings up the fine again and ruins a great run by attacking Obama again, it's really not his night.
Obama attacks McCain too towards the end, also ruins a good run.
The energy question
Both candidates stay close to the chest, Obama wraps up his support in the auto industry and amongst unions "the Americans invented the auto industry". "We need to protect workers who try to organize."
McCain's patronizing of Obama is not flattering for him, he needs to be breaking stereotypes tonight, not perpetuating them.
McCain's patronizing of Obama is not flattering for him, he needs to be breaking stereotypes tonight, not perpetuating them.
Scheiffer with the good questions
The running mate question is good and gives Obama the chance to tout Joe Biden as the champion of the working class and hero of Scranton, PA.
McCain says great things about Sarah Palin, and makes great points. If she hadn't been getting the intense media scrutiny and turned into a running joke by Tina Fey then it would've been a convincing argument.
McCain says great things about Sarah Palin, and makes great points. If she hadn't been getting the intense media scrutiny and turned into a running joke by Tina Fey then it would've been a convincing argument.
AYERS!!!
Obama beats it back with a stick namedropping the president of the chicago tribune and really hits a home run on his "associations."
McCain brings up old talking points, and can't really seem to make anything to stick.
Definitely not the game changer McCain needed on this issue.
McCain brings up old talking points, and can't really seem to make anything to stick.
Definitely not the game changer McCain needed on this issue.
Scheiffer asks about the negative tone
McCain says he regrets the negativity, brings up his town hall idea, makes some good points, I don't think the public financing point was neccessary though, you can't call someone out when the question denounces negativity.
Obama's answer here is okay, although McCain hasn't run 100% negative ads, that's untrue. A good question by Scheiffer doesn't get good answers, and the candidates just use it as a forum to attack eachother.
Viewers are probably rolling their eyes.
Obama's answer here is okay, although McCain hasn't run 100% negative ads, that's untrue. A good question by Scheiffer doesn't get good answers, and the candidates just use it as a forum to attack eachother.
Viewers are probably rolling their eyes.
McCain admits he can balance the budget in 4 years
He's gonna take a hit in the op-eds for that one but he got a good zinger in there with the "I'm not President Bush, if you wanted to run against President Bush you should've ran 4 years ago."
McCain took it to Obama pretty good asking him to his face if he has ever challenged his party, but Obama responded cooly with a nice prepared answer, which McCain seems a little miffed by.
McCain took it to Obama pretty good asking him to his face if he has ever challenged his party, but Obama responded cooly with a nice prepared answer, which McCain seems a little miffed by.
Obama still can't admit any spending cuts
A lot of this is deja vu. Bob Scheiffer so far hasn't asked anything that hasn't been covered before and the candidates are very much in their safe zones.
McCain accuses Obama of waging class war
McCain's poker face isn't really shining tonight, he looks angry and annoyed, like he shouldn't have to lower himself to be in the same room as Obama.
These are the things people take from them when they watch debates.
These are the things people take from them when they watch debates.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
McCain decides to turn the page...
Forget about Bill Ayers, it's time to talk about the issues Americans really care about... like fraudulent voter registrations submitted by ACORN? For all the backlash Bill Kristol received after suggesting earlier this week that McCain fire his campaign staff, I think he might have been right...
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Both campaign's digging in and stickin to their strategy
So the Obama and McCain campaigns have started to lay out the startegies they think will win for them in November, Obama thinks that running with the economy is his winning strategy and the McCain campaign thinks running ads with Bill Ayers and questioning Obama's character harder than they have this whole campaign is their way to victory.
There haven't been any national polls that have come out lately that show that the Ayers issue has really sunk in with the average voter, but it's still a little soon to tell, and I would say that there's probably some tightening of the polls that will inevitably happen, since negative advertisements and negative campaigns do work.
I will be looking forward to the polling this week, as well as the message both campaigns drive. I don't think Obama will stray from the economy, since he's seen his pollin numbers soar since the economic crisis, and I doubt the McCain campaign, desperate and behind in almost all of the recent polling, will fare any better than they have already. Although The Republicans have dug up some successful October surprises in the past.
There haven't been any national polls that have come out lately that show that the Ayers issue has really sunk in with the average voter, but it's still a little soon to tell, and I would say that there's probably some tightening of the polls that will inevitably happen, since negative advertisements and negative campaigns do work.
I will be looking forward to the polling this week, as well as the message both campaigns drive. I don't think Obama will stray from the economy, since he's seen his pollin numbers soar since the economic crisis, and I doubt the McCain campaign, desperate and behind in almost all of the recent polling, will fare any better than they have already. Although The Republicans have dug up some successful October surprises in the past.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Obama's got campaign finance funding burning a hole in his pocket...
What's a boy to do?
He's blowing some serious cash on a 30 minute prime time infomercial on October 29th. According the the NYTimes, the informercial will air on NBC and CBS.
The content of the infomercial is currently unknown.
I hope they give Ross Perot a cameo.
He's blowing some serious cash on a 30 minute prime time infomercial on October 29th. According the the NYTimes, the informercial will air on NBC and CBS.
The content of the infomercial is currently unknown.
I hope they give Ross Perot a cameo.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Today's polls 10/8
Well Barack Obama has a pretty undisputed lead right now, there's no amiguity in the polls, the real clear politics electoral vote tracker has him at about 364 to McCain's 174 (keep in mind Bob Dole only got 159 electoral votes in 1996.)
With states like North Carolina, Missouri, and Nevada most recently falling into the Obama column solely based on current polling numbers, the map is beginning to look startlingly blue. I for one would still call those three states pure toss ups, only because the polling is so close, and no one is going to know how the Obama ground game will produce votes versus the underlying racial factor that a lot of pundits and media have been discussing, and to be fair, is a legitimate question as all three of those states are for the most part, historically conservative.
Things are undeniably looking grim for McCain, it's all over the news and in the papers, Obama has the wind at his back now, and I'm sure his advisors are telling him not to change a single thing that he's doing, ensuring he continues to look even tempered and confident in the face of the growing financial crisis.
McCain on the other hand has run out of options, he has to go nuclear, and his all out character assault on Obama recently is really the last card that he can play, unfortunately for him it plays into the media narrative that Obama has really been driving that McCain is desperate and erratic at a time when the country is looking for inspiration and confidence.
All of the polling that was released today has been following the trends of the last week, the states where Obama is ahead, he maintains his lead, and the states where he is not ahead, he is seeing his margins growing closer. It being this close to the election there are almost too many polls daily to be discussed, but what we can do is point out a few states that only a month ago looked out of reach for him. States like Florida, Ohio, and Virginia. Between those three states alone there's a whopping 50 electoral college votes, almost 10 percent of the total electoral college, and it's hard to see any McCain strategy where he can find a path to victory without winning at least 2, if not all 3 of those states.
With states like North Carolina, Missouri, and Nevada most recently falling into the Obama column solely based on current polling numbers, the map is beginning to look startlingly blue. I for one would still call those three states pure toss ups, only because the polling is so close, and no one is going to know how the Obama ground game will produce votes versus the underlying racial factor that a lot of pundits and media have been discussing, and to be fair, is a legitimate question as all three of those states are for the most part, historically conservative.
Things are undeniably looking grim for McCain, it's all over the news and in the papers, Obama has the wind at his back now, and I'm sure his advisors are telling him not to change a single thing that he's doing, ensuring he continues to look even tempered and confident in the face of the growing financial crisis.
McCain on the other hand has run out of options, he has to go nuclear, and his all out character assault on Obama recently is really the last card that he can play, unfortunately for him it plays into the media narrative that Obama has really been driving that McCain is desperate and erratic at a time when the country is looking for inspiration and confidence.
All of the polling that was released today has been following the trends of the last week, the states where Obama is ahead, he maintains his lead, and the states where he is not ahead, he is seeing his margins growing closer. It being this close to the election there are almost too many polls daily to be discussed, but what we can do is point out a few states that only a month ago looked out of reach for him. States like Florida, Ohio, and Virginia. Between those three states alone there's a whopping 50 electoral college votes, almost 10 percent of the total electoral college, and it's hard to see any McCain strategy where he can find a path to victory without winning at least 2, if not all 3 of those states.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
The Last Question
New Hampshire wants to know: What don't you know and how will you learn it?
Obama's answer? Ask my wife. He then uses his background story to make a case that the American dream must continue to be attainable. Overall, a good closing statement.
McCain says he doesn't know the same things everyone else doesn't know. McCain uses his background story to make the case that he thinks America is a great country.
I call the the debate for Obama tonight! He was ahead in the polls before the debate and I think that McCain didn't do much with his face time with the nation to make much of an impression.
PS: The McCain campaign is complaining that this was not a true town hall format. Does that mean that they're trying to blame the format for McCain's weak performance tonight?
Obama's answer? Ask my wife. He then uses his background story to make a case that the American dream must continue to be attainable. Overall, a good closing statement.
McCain says he doesn't know the same things everyone else doesn't know. McCain uses his background story to make the case that he thinks America is a great country.
I call the the debate for Obama tonight! He was ahead in the polls before the debate and I think that McCain didn't do much with his face time with the nation to make much of an impression.
PS: The McCain campaign is complaining that this was not a true town hall format. Does that mean that they're trying to blame the format for McCain's weak performance tonight?
Can we get some new debate questions?
It seems like the same questions get asked over and over?
Brokaw just asked a question about Afghanistan and McCain is talking about Iraq. I think he just realized that he lost track of what he was saying...
Brokaw just asked a question about Afghanistan and McCain is talking about Iraq. I think he just realized that he lost track of what he was saying...
healthcare? a priviledge, a right, or a responsibility?
good question!
McCain says that healthcare is a responsibility of employers.
Obama says healthcare is a right.
McCain says that healthcare is a responsibility of employers.
Obama says healthcare is a right.
Obama tells McCain the Straight Talk Express lost a wheel
I think McCain is about to take the gloves off.
McCain: "Social security is not that tough to fix." and Medicare? Let's start a commission.
McCain is trying to pull a Hillary Clinton and say the Obama is all rhetoric. It didn't work for Clinton, will it work for McCain?
McCain: "Social security is not that tough to fix." and Medicare? Let's start a commission.
McCain is trying to pull a Hillary Clinton and say the Obama is all rhetoric. It didn't work for Clinton, will it work for McCain?
What sacrifices will the next president ask americans to make?
McCain: Let's eliminate inefficient government programs! LAME... not exactly Jimmy Carter asking Americans to put on a sweater. I sure will miss those inefficient government programs...
Obama: the first to bring up 9/11 (where's Rudy Guiliani right now?). McCain is wondering around stage behind Obama... OK, he's asking all americans to examine how they're using energy. That's a pretty good one, Jimmy Carter would be proud.
Obama: the first to bring up 9/11 (where's Rudy Guiliani right now?). McCain is wondering around stage behind Obama... OK, he's asking all americans to examine how they're using energy. That's a pretty good one, Jimmy Carter would be proud.
McCain is starting to get pissy
He's clenching his jaw. Obama is smiling at him. I think McCain is having a hard time being tough on Obama with him sitting right there.
McCain buzz word for the night
If you vote for him, he will buy your bad mortgage!
Is this like the jr high class president saying he will lobby for less homework?
Is this like the jr high class president saying he will lobby for less homework?
Obama defends himself
He was FOR regulation of the housing crisis. McCain was for de-regulation.
It's a fight over who loves Fannie Mae the most!
Obama just tried to brush McCain's character attacks aside - voters care about what's going on in America, they don't want to listen to politicians squabble with each other.
Boo-yah!
It's a fight over who loves Fannie Mae the most!
Obama just tried to brush McCain's character attacks aside - voters care about what's going on in America, they don't want to listen to politicians squabble with each other.
Boo-yah!
McCain tries to pin the mortgage crisis on the dems
he's going after Obama tonight. he's looking a little tired and old.
Will Obama bring some more enthusiasm?
Will Obama bring some more enthusiasm?
Obama gets a chance to say what he will do to help seniors during the financial crisis
and... he doesn't quite answer the question. What does he say? Tax cuts! Oversight!
McCain is old, will he have a better answer?
Energy independence? WTF?
No taxes?
Now he's talking about China.
McCain says he wants the federal gov't to buy up all the bad mortgages and renegotiate them with homeowners. That doesn't sound very small government-y.
No dice on getting an answer on the first question.
McCain is old, will he have a better answer?
Energy independence? WTF?
No taxes?
Now he's talking about China.
McCain says he wants the federal gov't to buy up all the bad mortgages and renegotiate them with homeowners. That doesn't sound very small government-y.
No dice on getting an answer on the first question.
Monday, October 6, 2008
With friends like these. . .
The former CEO of Bank Of America Hugh McColl, just endorsed Barack Obama's economic plan and the candidate himself in an op-ed to the Charlotte Observer in the gentleman's native North Carolina.
The endorsement is warm and flattering, and Mr. McColl speaks very highly of Obama's intellect, judgment and calm demeanor during the current economic crisis.
I suppose this is good for Obama in North Carolina, which is home to the banking giant Mr. McColl was formerly in charge of. As well as many other national financial institutions, some of which are failing.
Whether anyone even notices this, Obama I think has been smart to constantly making it seem like he's always surrounding himself with smart economists like Austan Goolsbee, and potent investment sages like Warren Buffet and Jason Rubin, perhaps the multitude of "economic meetings" Obama has had as of late with his large team of economic advisors may be why voters seem to be trusting him more on the economy; and this may be another notch he can add to his belt of high power executive endorsements.
Still, it seems a little crass in the wake of a global financial meltdown, that high ranking executives and wealthy oligarchs, largely to blame for the crisis, are making such endorsements to begin with.
The endorsement is warm and flattering, and Mr. McColl speaks very highly of Obama's intellect, judgment and calm demeanor during the current economic crisis.
I suppose this is good for Obama in North Carolina, which is home to the banking giant Mr. McColl was formerly in charge of. As well as many other national financial institutions, some of which are failing.
Whether anyone even notices this, Obama I think has been smart to constantly making it seem like he's always surrounding himself with smart economists like Austan Goolsbee, and potent investment sages like Warren Buffet and Jason Rubin, perhaps the multitude of "economic meetings" Obama has had as of late with his large team of economic advisors may be why voters seem to be trusting him more on the economy; and this may be another notch he can add to his belt of high power executive endorsements.
Still, it seems a little crass in the wake of a global financial meltdown, that high ranking executives and wealthy oligarchs, largely to blame for the crisis, are making such endorsements to begin with.
Obama's weak response to the Ayers attack
Obama's campaign defended him this morning and all throughout the day by saying that he didn't even know Ayers was a radical when he first met him, as well as downplaying even more the ties that the two individuals have.
I think this is absolutely lame, for a campaign that has had months to come up with better, more airtight explanations to ease voter concerns (remember this come up during the April Democratic Primary Debate in Pennsylvania) and they HAD to know that McCain would use the Ayers connection sooner or later, this is the best they can come up with? Arguably the most disciplined and effective political campaign in modern times has some lame-duck plausible deniability spin?
Palin and McCain, with the help of a willing media aching for more attack politics to feed their evening news cycles, have been hammering this point home today. No doubt, if this is the best they can do (as well as a "you know bad people too" argument) we will be hearing about this story MUCH more.
I wouldn't be surprised if Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright came up every single day between now and Novemeber 4th.
Who knows if this will come up tomorrow during the debate, no doubt John McCain will try and throw in a few "who is this guy really?" jabs. Or maybe Obama is saving his best zingers for tomorrow night, either way, the race is getting into the deep end of the mud pit, and everyone is going to get dirty.
I think this is absolutely lame, for a campaign that has had months to come up with better, more airtight explanations to ease voter concerns (remember this come up during the April Democratic Primary Debate in Pennsylvania) and they HAD to know that McCain would use the Ayers connection sooner or later, this is the best they can come up with? Arguably the most disciplined and effective political campaign in modern times has some lame-duck plausible deniability spin?
Palin and McCain, with the help of a willing media aching for more attack politics to feed their evening news cycles, have been hammering this point home today. No doubt, if this is the best they can do (as well as a "you know bad people too" argument) we will be hearing about this story MUCH more.
I wouldn't be surprised if Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright came up every single day between now and Novemeber 4th.
Who knows if this will come up tomorrow during the debate, no doubt John McCain will try and throw in a few "who is this guy really?" jabs. Or maybe Obama is saving his best zingers for tomorrow night, either way, the race is getting into the deep end of the mud pit, and everyone is going to get dirty.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
McCain tries to change the subject, who wants to talk about the boring old economic crisis?
The McCain campaign launched an attempt to change the subject this weekend by targeting Obama for his past association with Bill Ayers. The NYTimes recounts the relationship here. According to the article, the two men crossed paths on a few occasions where they both worked on education projects in Chicago and later when Obama's predecessor in the Illinois state senate introduced Obama to influential democrats at a meet and greet held at Ayers home.
The McCain campaign is desperate to focus the remainder of the campaign on Obama, but will Americans and the media respond to this kind of character smear while everyone is so focused on the economy? We'll see how it plays out this week...
The McCain campaign is desperate to focus the remainder of the campaign on Obama, but will Americans and the media respond to this kind of character smear while everyone is so focused on the economy? We'll see how it plays out this week...
Thursday, October 2, 2008
VP debate round-up
The VP debate just ended, and to say the least, it wasn't too exciting.
Joe Biden held back from attacking Palin directly and focused entirely on John McCain. The bar was set extremely low for Sarah Palin and I say she passed even though she managed to avoid directly answering all of the questions posed to her. Palin appeared extremely nervous at times and had a hard time straying from her prepared talking points. Joe Biden took some time to wake up, I think compared to Sarah Palin, Joe Biden might be viewed as having a tendency to talk "above" average americans. Personally, I find her folksy speaking style just plain irritating.
I don't think the debate was a game changer. I can't wait to see SNL this weekend!
Joe Biden held back from attacking Palin directly and focused entirely on John McCain. The bar was set extremely low for Sarah Palin and I say she passed even though she managed to avoid directly answering all of the questions posed to her. Palin appeared extremely nervous at times and had a hard time straying from her prepared talking points. Joe Biden took some time to wake up, I think compared to Sarah Palin, Joe Biden might be viewed as having a tendency to talk "above" average americans. Personally, I find her folksy speaking style just plain irritating.
I don't think the debate was a game changer. I can't wait to see SNL this weekend!
Final thoughts
The final thought here is not how badly Palin was beaten, because the CW going into the debate was that she was going to get beaten, but whether each did their candidate any harm, and I don't think any did, in fact they both met expectations. Biden didn't put his foot in his mouth as bad as he could've, and Palin remembered her geography lessons.
However, the final statements were definitely kind of a microcosm of the whole debate. Palin kinda rambled and mashed words together and Biden appealed directly to middle class Americans, talking passionately about the economy, and other bread and buter issues, this one goes to Joe.
However, the final statements were definitely kind of a microcosm of the whole debate. Palin kinda rambled and mashed words together and Biden appealed directly to middle class Americans, talking passionately about the economy, and other bread and buter issues, this one goes to Joe.
Palin rambles about vice presidential constitutional definition
Really came off weak here, didn't answer the question and sounded a little ignorant.
Palin on Biden's wife
"God bless her, her reward is in heaven, right?" That is the sound of every teacher in America voting for Barack Obama. Wow. What a mistake.
Palin really trying to not be associated with George Bush
Her attempt to break that argument and move on though was pretty weak.
But
Palin's job isn't to outshine Biden, it's to pass a threshold. Much like Obama in last week's debate.
Although
Palin answered every question Katie Couric gave her and got raked over the coals for her rambling non-responses. Now she's just ignoring questions, probably will get better favorables for it.
Biden speaking in 3rd person?
"No one in the senate has been a stronger advocate to Israel than Joe Biden." A Bob Dole moment?
George W. Bush fans are stoked
Palin is making all the arguments that he's been saying for the past 3 years, again, playing to the base.
Biden's strategy
Take freewheeling attacks against John McCain so that Palin has to go off script to try and defend him and wait for her to ramble or gaffe.
Iraq
I don't think Palin should refer to McCain as a "great American," and here comes the "who doesn't support the troops" argument. Palin nails the surge argument, but falters a little bit towards the end. Biden and Obama are on friendly terms with the Iraq argument and Biden nails his talking points.
Palin again tries to rally the base claiming Obama and Biden want to wave a "white flag of surrender," after that gem she really starts to ramble a bit.
Palin again tries to rally the base claiming Obama and Biden want to wave a "white flag of surrender," after that gem she really starts to ramble a bit.
Same sex issues
The ultimate wedge issue cometh, Palin has gay friends and supports traditional marriage, Biden does too. Tragedy averted, talking points stuck too.
East coast politicians?
Here comes the scary elitist liberals vs. the downhome people like you and me "real Americans" in small towns.
Watching the debate on C-Span
The only way to go, split screen the whole time, Biden's not liking Palin's "look how spunky I am!" Answers and you can see his reactions to everything she says.
Tina Fey is stoked
Sarah Palin is having a hard time staying on subject, and seems to be having some of the problems she's had during her interviews this week.
Middle class
Biden's taking a lesson from Obama here, ease voter worries on your tax plans and hammer out the words middle class every other sentence. I'd like to see a count on how many times he says it.
Biden needs to be more exciting
He needs to be more passionate and emotional, he's at his best when he's really letting loose, another thing he's probably been prepped on.
Initial reactions
I think Biden has been prepped to keep it short.
Palin is being a little too folksy, the "maverick" and "joe six pack" and "hockey mom" and "darn right" drops are a little cringing.
Palin is being a little too folksy, the "maverick" and "joe six pack" and "hockey mom" and "darn right" drops are a little cringing.
VP debate tonight
The VP debate is just 90 minutes away. Will Sarah Palin exceed the low expectations that have been set for her? Will Joe Biden manage to come out without a major gaffe? I think one thing's for sure, regardless of how the republican VP candidate performs, the right will likely blame Gwen Ifel's perceived Obama bias as a major reason for a poor performance from Sarah Palin...
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