Feeling Minnesota
THE CORNER
By Mark Hemingway
I just spoke to some McCain campaign sources up in Minnesota and they pretty much confirmed what the polls have been telling us for a while -- Minnesota really is in play for McCain. Of course, you could simply dismiss that as McCain spin, but even Obama surrogate Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius acknowledged today on the stump in Iowa that the state was awfully close. Still, though my McCain sources made some interesting observations about what's they're seeing in Minnesota: McCain has been surprisingly strong in the urban Twin Cities area. They think the convention presence was a big help. It's tied up in the Minnesota's 'Iron Range' -- the seven counties that make up the Northeastern part of the state. Traditionally, it's big Democratic-Farmer-Labor territory so it's surprising to see McCain doing so well there. There's a lot of sportsmen up there and they think gun issues are hurting Obama. Those working for McCain on the ground in the state say that the momentum swing toward McCain began in earnest prior to the Palin pick. Timing wise, they trace it back to his strong performance at the Saddleback forum. Minnesota and the upper Midwest tend to have extremely high voter turnout across the board so they think any unforeseen increase there in the youth vote for Obama will prove negligible. McCain's Minnesota folks say they're already starting to see the national press pay more attention to the state. Seems to be a fresh angle as everybody is tired of visiting and talking about the same battleground states. Expect to hear a lot more about the state as the election nears.
Fight Club
By Kathryn Jean Lopez
McCain in Ohio today: Now I believe America's best days are ahead of us. Governor Palin and I are going to reform Wall Street. We're going to reform Washington. I'm going to fight for you and I'm going to lead our nation forward in the greatest periods of prosperity in its history. And let's have some straight talk. Senator Obama is not interested in the politics of hope, he's interested in his political future and that's why he's hurling in insults and making up facts about his record. Today, he claimed that the Congressional stimulus package was his idea. That's news to those of us in Congress who supported it. Senator Obama didn't even show up to vote. He talks a tough game on the financial crisis, but the facts tell a different story. Senator Obama took more money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than anyone but the chairman of the committee they answer to. And he put Fannie Mae's CEO, who helped create this problem in charge of finding his Vice President. That's not change, that's what's broken in Washington. He talked about siding with the people, siding with the people, just before he flew off to Hollywood for a fundraiser with Barbra Streisand and his celebrity friends. Let me tell you, my friends, there is no place I'd rather be, than here, with the working men and women of Ohio. I'm going to fight for you and together we're going to win in November. |
