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Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RetiredNow who wrote (33259)	9/17/2008 5:51:15 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

The Washinton Post's Dan Balz on McCain's Fundamentals Problem... Posted at 1:37 PM ET on Sep 17, 2008 John McCain has a fundamentals problem. It is political as well as economic, and it remains the biggest obstacle standing between the Arizona senator and the White House. McCain didn't single-handedly create this problem but he made it worse Monday when, as Wall Street was melting down, he uttered words -- "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" -- that totally muddied the real message he meant to deliver. Barack Obama has hammered him at every stop since as a man out of touch with reality. Were McCain known as a student of the economy, this instance of a badly delivered statement would matter little. Because he is known as someone who is not, it matters plenty. McCain has responded by ratcheting up his rhetoric about cracking down on Wall Street and Washington. As with his Monday misstep, once again the message is mixed. Guns blazing, McCain is promising to ride into town to -- oversee the creation of a commission to study the problem. He is speaking out in favor of regulation but against a history of opposing a heavy government hand. He has expressed his outrage, but what is the balance he would strike between the old and new McCain? In many ways, the opening to Obama provided by McCain's verbal misstep is the least of his problems. What should worry the McCain camp most is the intersection of the renewed focus on the economy and the underlying political climate that has created such difficulties for McCain and his party all year. McCain's advisers have noted for months that the political environment could hardly be worse for their candidate. None of them has ever suggested that the political fundamentals remain sound. Quite the opposite. President Bush's approval rating appears stuck close to its lowest ever levels -- hovering just above 30 percent. Nearly eight in 10 Americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction. The Republican Party's image is worse than the Democrats' and well below its levels when Bush won reelection four years ago. McCain's party made some gains after his convention but it's not clear whether that was temporary or lasting. Four years ago on election day, the exit polls showed an electorate at parity between Republicans and Democrats. That's not likely to be the case this November. Combine that with the economic indicators. The stock market's plunge has wiped out recent gains and more. The unemployment rate now stands at 6.1 percent and has risen a full percentage point since March. Four years ago this month it was at 5.4 percent and heading down. The economy has been shedding jobs monthly throughout the year. In the past, the unemployment rate was the most sensitive indicator politically. Today both the jobless rate and the stock market can send shivers of anxiety through the electorate -- as they are this week. Nothing in all of that is good for John McCain's hopes of winning the White House. Only once since World War II has a political party maintained control of the presidency for three consecutive terms, which was from 1981-1993. Eisenhower's eight years were followed by Kennedy's and Johnson's eight years, which were followed by Nixon's and Ford's eight years, which were followed by Carter's four years. Voters would not give Democrats a third term after the Clinton presidency, despite a robust economy and a nation at peace. After the tumult of Bush's eight years, what might compel voters to reward the Republicans with a third consecutive term in control of the White House? McCain has managed to make the best of this terrible environment. His pick of Sarah Palin proved enormously effective in the short term. His party appears newly energized, even enthusiastic about their ticket, even if they still distrust the leader of that ticket. He has reinvented himself for the final stretch of the campaign -- or perhaps found a voice that had been missing throughout this election cycle. As in the primaries, he has been reduced to basics and they have served him well over the past two months. His best hope of winning is to make the campaign a test of character. How long can he sustain all this? Absent external events, he was doing well. With the economic news of this week, the polls hint at a deflation in his position. The playing field has once again tilted slightly toward Obama, who now must take advantage of it. This remains as competitive a race as many had forecast. National polls are tight. Battleground states are tight. But the underlying structure that has governed this campaign from the start has not improved. That is the real fundamentals problem for John McCain.

To: RetiredNow who wrote (33259)	9/17/2008 5:57:43 PM
From: sylvester80	Respond to of 149317

State by state polls take time to catch up (they are not done daily) to the national daily polls done by gallup, zogby, reuters etc... but catch up they will. Don't worry about it. POS lying McCain has peaked and is now plummeting. He will never get any higher numbers than he got after the RNC. Obama will win in a landslide. We all just have to work hard to get everyone out there to vote. So don't take anything for granted, work hard till the of election night and well all celebrate together taking our country back from the criminal neoCON fascists.

To: RetiredNow who wrote (33259)	9/17/2008 5:59:43 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 149317

Palin's energy claims ‘not even close’ to the truth newsminer.com

To: RetiredNow who wrote (33259)	9/17/2008 6:14:47 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 149317

A tie in the battleground states going into the debates bodes well for Obama. These states have a sizable Caucasian population. For them not to favor McCain and instead keep their minds open to listen to Barack is good. I wonder if Palin will read the opening statements for McCain in these debates. The networks need to consider this if they want to increase viewership. ============================================ Polls: McCain, Obama tied in 5 battleground states From Paul Steinhauser CNN Deputy Political Director WASHINGTON (CNN) -- New polls in five battleground states that could decide the presidency suggest the fight for the White House between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama remains a dead heat. A new poll out Wednesday shows a virtually tied race between John McCain and Barack Obama in key states. A new poll out Wednesday shows a virtually tied race between John McCain and Barack Obama in key states. ...contd at cnn.com

To: RetiredNow who wrote (33259)	9/17/2008 6:26:23 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 149317

The Case Against the Case Against Biden blogs.tnr.com

To: RetiredNow who wrote (33259)	9/20/2008 2:57:15 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

I'm still crossing my fingers, but am mad as hell that Americans are this flaky and thoughtless as to who their President and VP should be. I mean I'm pretty old and this is the biggest no brainer in my lifetime. Why can't everyone see that? I'm flabbergasted. I think it has been and continues to be an issue of racism. Consequently, this will be a very tight election. Hopefully, Obama will win. Everyone is doing their best to make it happen.

To: RetiredNow who wrote (33259)	9/20/2008 3:02:38 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 149317

McCain Campaign Refuses To Appear On The Rachel Maddow Show Surrogates for Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) presidential campaign rarely shy away from the chance to put out their talking points, regularly flacking on cable news programs. However, there is at least one cable news show they are avoiding: MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show. Discussing the lack of impact Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R-AK) inclusion on the McCain ticket has had with women voters (according to the latest CBS-New York Times poll), Maddow last night noted that McCain surrogates have repeatedly declined invitations to appear on the show: MADDOW: Might it be that women care less about a candidate’s gender and more about a candidate’s position on the issues, like reproductive health, equal pay for equal work? One note - we hope to have someone from the McCain campaign or another Republican guest on the show tonight to talk about this issue as we have contacted them about other issues on other nights. But no matter the topics, thus far at least, they have repeatedly said no one is available. A long list then ran on the screen of McCain surrogates who have turned Maddow down, including senior campaign advisers Carly Fiorina, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Meg Whitman, Ed O’Callaghan and others. Watch it: The McCain campaign has entered into an increasingly combative relationship with the press, demanding that reporters show Palin “deference.” The freewheeling sessions aboard the so-called “Straight Talk Express” have been ditched in favor of a more scripted and disciplined message. The campaign has even attacked the media for scrutinizing Palin, and McCain himself recently canceled an interview with Larry King because a CNN reporter had roughed up campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds. As Maddow noted, “[N]o matter the topic,” if an issue makes the campaign uncomfortable, it will probably just avoid it. thinkprogress.org