Times Get Tough: McCain Stops Campaigning
I'm not taking sides here, but there's something in the news today that just made my jaw drop
I see that John McCain is suspending his campaign and wants to cancel this week's debate, because the economy is collapsing. What is he going to do, take some time off and fix it?
Does anybody think this might be a good time for the American people to hear what their candidates for the office of President of the United States think about this financial crisis and how they would deal with it? Is this a time to display leadership, or a time to give up?
From CNN:
I'm going to make a weird comparison here, but this is where I'm coming from. I used to play music for a living, and you don't always play in the nicest places. You play in bars, and people drink, and crazy stuff happens.
There are few things you learn in that environment. Like, you learn to predict which drunk is going to fall on the stage and knock your microphone into your teeth. Then when he comes teetering toward the bandstand you stand back and preserve your dentist's craftsmanship. These are tricks of the trade, things you learn after a while, every job has them.
Another thing you learn playing music in bars is what to do when a fight starts. First of all, usually from the bandstand you can see it coming, you play a couple of mellow songs, you try to settle people down. But if the fight has already started, you get the bouncer's attention visually, point to the trouble, and you play something that will get everybody on the dance floor so they don't notice the fight. You manage the crowd to minimize the impact of the problem, so the professionals can take care of it and you won't lose your crowd.
I have seen amateur bands before, playing in a bar, and when a fight breaks out they stop playing and whine into the microphones, "Come on you guys, be cool, stop that." The result, inevitably, is that the fight gets worse, the whole crowd leaves, and the band plays the rest of the night to tables and chairs.
No, when there's trouble you have to manage it, you don't stop everything.
I can't believe he's quitting because there's a problem.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. Drudge is quoting David Letterman:
I see that John McCain is suspending his campaign and wants to cancel this week's debate, because the economy is collapsing. What is he going to do, take some time off and fix it?
Does anybody think this might be a good time for the American people to hear what their candidates for the office of President of the United States think about this financial crisis and how they would deal with it? Is this a time to display leadership, or a time to give up?
From CNN:
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain announced Wednesday that he is suspending his campaign to return to Washington and focus on the "historic" crisis facing the U.S. economy.
Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama said at a news conference later Wednesday that he and McCain had spoken by phone and had agreed to issue a joint statement about shared principles in the approach to resolving the economic crisis.
But he disagreed with McCain's call for postponing Friday's first presidential debate in Oxford, Mississippi.
"It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person will be the next president," Obama said in Clearwater, Florida. "It is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once. It's more important than ever to present ourselves to the American people." McCain suspends campaign, Obama plans to continue
I'm going to make a weird comparison here, but this is where I'm coming from. I used to play music for a living, and you don't always play in the nicest places. You play in bars, and people drink, and crazy stuff happens.
There are few things you learn in that environment. Like, you learn to predict which drunk is going to fall on the stage and knock your microphone into your teeth. Then when he comes teetering toward the bandstand you stand back and preserve your dentist's craftsmanship. These are tricks of the trade, things you learn after a while, every job has them.
Another thing you learn playing music in bars is what to do when a fight starts. First of all, usually from the bandstand you can see it coming, you play a couple of mellow songs, you try to settle people down. But if the fight has already started, you get the bouncer's attention visually, point to the trouble, and you play something that will get everybody on the dance floor so they don't notice the fight. You manage the crowd to minimize the impact of the problem, so the professionals can take care of it and you won't lose your crowd.
I have seen amateur bands before, playing in a bar, and when a fight breaks out they stop playing and whine into the microphones, "Come on you guys, be cool, stop that." The result, inevitably, is that the fight gets worse, the whole crowd leaves, and the band plays the rest of the night to tables and chairs.
No, when there's trouble you have to manage it, you don't stop everything.
I can't believe he's quitting because there's a problem.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. Drudge is quoting David Letterman:
"You don't suspend your campaign. This doesn't smell right. This isn't the way a tested hero behaves." And he joked: "I think someone's putting something in his metamucil."
"He can't run the campaign because the economy is cratering? Fine, put in your second string quarterback, Sarah Palin. Where is she?"
"What are you going to do if you're elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We've got a guy like that now!"
posted by JimK at 7:52 PM
60 Comments:
This is obviously just another political gimmick by the Republicans.
I think Friday would be a great time to see who can fix this mess the Repulicans have made...not run away from talking about it.
McBush is just another coward who wants to be a false hero.
"I see that John McCain is suspending his campaign and wants to cancel this week's debate, because the economy is collapsing. What is he going to do, take some time off and fix it?"
Jim, the Congress is considering spending 700 billion dollars of the taxpayers' money. We're paying Senators 160K a year to consider legislation.
There are times when a situation is so important that Senators should be at the Senate. McCain sees that. Obama and Biden should too.
If those two don't want to do their job anymore, they should resign.
"Does anybody think this might be a good time for the American people to hear what their candidates for the office of President of the United States think about this financial crisis and how they would deal with it?"
Instead of hearing it, with McCain, they'll be able to see it.
This is the information age. You don't need to be in a shopping center parking lot giving a speech to communicate with the American people.
NEW YORK (Sept. 24) - Pakistan's new president called GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin "gorgeous" when the two met in New York on Wednesday.
Palin has been in New York meeting international leaders in town this week for United Nations meetings.
On entering a room filled with several Pakistani officials Wednesday, Palin was immediately greeted by Sherry Rehman, the country's information minister.
"And how does one keep looking that good when one is that busy?" Rehman asked Palin, drawing friendly laughter from the room.
"Oh, thank you," Palin said.
Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, entered the room seconds later. Palin rose to shake his hand, saying she was "honored" to meet him.
Zardari then called her "gorgeous" and said: "Now I know why the whole of America is crazy about you."
"You are so nice," Palin said, smiling. "Thank you."
You mean John McSame is too befuddled to be able to work on a crisis and continue his presidential campaign? Presidents have to multitask all the time. If we elect him President there's some other crisis, is he going to "suspend" the rest of his Presidential duties to deal with it?
And what about his "gorgeous" Vice Presidential candidate? Can't she continue the campaign while he has to deal regulating an industry he has never wanted to regulate before? She supposed to be able to step in for McShame at a moment's notice and the fact that she isn't speaks volumes. Maybe her Rovian handlers won't let her take over because she hasn't managed to memorize their script yet.
And if the interviews I heard on TV last night were correct, Senate members, who've been working on this crisis for five days already without hearing from John McShame, were close to an agreement of the oversight, taxpayer and homeowner provisions that need to be added to Paulson's barebones plan. If McShame thinks he's going to cop credit for their work, he is sadly mistaken.
On a completely different note, Congratulations on a job well done to Jim and TTF!! On September 20, Maryland Politics Watch reported:
"Yesterday, Maryland Politics Watch surpassed 100,000 visits. To our knowledge, only seven other Maryland blogs - Red Maryland, Inside Charm City, Pillage Idiot, Rethink College Park, Howard County, Baltimore Reporter and Teach the Facts Vigilance - have broken that threshold. We know that some of you like our material, some of you hate our material and some of you change your opinion on a daily basis. But no matter how you feel about our content, we thank you for reading.
Posted by Adam Pagnucco at 2:31 PM"
"You mean John McSame is too befuddled to be able to work on a crisis and continue his presidential campaign? Presidents have to multitask all the time."
So then, JJ Cool Joebama, should be able to go to work today and still find a way to communicate with the people from DC.
Never fear. After balking at first, Joebama blinked and now will come to Washington today to attend a meeting with McCain, Bush and congressional leaders.
It was a wise blink. America is watching and, fortunately for Joebama Cool, he's not taking advice from Caun't Bea.
I suppose somewhere out there a patron of a Starbucks in Akron will miss out on a chance for a visit from Joebama but he will get over it.
The campaign will never be the same if Mac and Joebama take a couple of days off?
Please.
"If we elect him President there's some other crisis, is he going to "suspend" the rest of his Presidential duties to deal with it?"
Aren't you one of the idiots that thought Bush should stop reading a book to kids in mid-sentence on 9/11 and jump on the first plane to NY?
"And what about his "gorgeous" Vice Presidential candidate?"
Let's not be bitter. We can't all be beauty queens.
"Can't she continue the campaign while he has to deal regulating an industry he has never wanted to regulate before?"
As we saw last week, McCain was suggesting regulation while Obama was in his do-nothing phase several years back. To quote the Post, Joebama was "notably silent".
"She supposed to be able to step in for McShame at a moment's notice and the fact that she isn't speaks volumes."
Could we get a couple of sentences from those volumes? What do you think Palin should do?
"Maybe her Rovian handlers won't let her take over because she hasn't managed to memorize their script yet."
Have you heard Joebama talk lately? If you heard him talk about six months ago, you'd have heard the same memorized script.
"And if the interviews I heard on TV last night were correct, Senate members, who've been working on this crisis for five days already without hearing from John McShame, were close to an agreement of the oversight, taxpayer and homeowner provisions that need to be added to Paulson's barebones plan. If McShame thinks he's going to cop credit for their work, he is sadly mistaken."
He's the one to credit already. Congressional Dems who were trying to drag out the crisis, hoping to score political points, have now come around quickly out of fear that McCain will be able to take credit.
Say what you will, it wouldn't have happened this quick without his intervention.
"On a completely different note, Congratulations on a job well done to Jim and TTF!!"
Oh, please.
People only read this site to hear what anon has to say now.
Battleground Tracking, the only poll on RealClear to have polling through yesterday, now puts McHero up by 1 point.
Two days after a dubious poll conducted by the Washington Post put Joebama up by 9 points, a flurry of polls by more reputable organizations have come out and not one has confirmed it.
If the Post was right, Obama's big surge lasted one day.
What do you think Palin should do?
Um, anything? Other than give speeches, that is.
She's an embarrassment, and regardless of your partisan blinders, even McCain knows it. In New York yesterday, when leaving the meeting with international leaders at the UN (the one reporters were barred from, lest Sarah have to actually answer an unscripted question), one of the reporters had the nerve to ask a question.
"What did you learn from your meetings?"
Complete softball, right? Pick ANYTHING and talk about it. Palin turned around as if to respond, but a McCain aide intervened and hustled her towards the car. Palin turned around and said something to McCain, perhaps along the lines of "Can't I answer that question?" His response, visible to the reporters, was "No."
Unbelievable.
Also yesterday, the Palin interview with Katie Couric was awful as well. Every response was a canned talking point, and often not responsive to the question. When Couric pressed Palin to name one instance of John McCain being in favor of financial regulation in his 26 years on Capitol Hill, Palin responded: "I'll have to find some, and then I'll bring them to you."
Finally, let's look at the McCain "suspend the campaign and postpone the debate" ploy. In addition to its desperate recklessness, McCain has "suggested" rescheduling tomorrow's debate to -- drum roll please -- October 3, the date of the Palin-Biden debate. And the VP debate? Rescheduled or cancelled altogether.
It's clear that the McCain campaign staffers have come to the conclusion that letting Palin speak off-script or debate is going to be a disaster. She's not up to the task. Why else would all of the above have happened, not to mention the fact that she has yet to hold a press conference or take media questions?
Spin it all you want, but the tight control of the McCain campaign over Palin speaks far more loudly than any lame justification you can offer. She's an embarrassment, and they know it.
Andrea- not Anon
Right, the Post is fake but Anon's polls are honest. McCain said the economy was fine but now it isn't and he wants to stop campaigning and postpone the debate because he is going to fix the crisis he said didn't exist. Anon- please-why do you bother-you may buy this nonsense- but you know we don't.
Lipstick on a Wing Nut
By Katha Pollitt
John McCain chose the supremely under-qualified Sarah Palin as his running mate partly because she is a woman. If you have a problem with that, you're a sexist. She talks incessantly about being a mother of five and uses her newborn, Trig, who has Down syndrome, as a campaign prop. If you wonder how she'll handle all those kids and the Veep job too, you're a super-sexist. "When do they ever ask a man that question?" charges that fiery feminist Rudy Giuliani. Indeed, Palin, who went back to work when Trig was three days old, gets nothing but praise from Phyllis Schlafly, James Dobson and the folks at National Review, who usually blame all the ills of modern America on those neurotic, harried, selfish, frustrated, child-neglecting, husband-castrating working mothers. Even stranger, her five-months-pregnant 17-year-old, Bristol, gets nothing but compassion and respect from Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and others who have spent their careers slut-shaming teens for having sex--and blaming their parents for letting it happen.
If there were an Olympics for hypocrisy, the Republican Party would have more gold medals than Michael Phelps. And Palin would be wearing quite a few of them. It takes chutzpah for a mother to thrust her pregnant teen into the world's harshest spotlight and then demand the world respect the girl's privacy. But then it takes chutzpah to support criminalizing abortion and then praise Bristol's "decision" to have the baby. The right to decide, and privacy, after all, are two of the things Palin wants to deny every other woman, and every other family, in America. Palin's even said she would "choose life" if her daughter was pregnant from rape. Can't you just hear Bristol groaning, "Mo-om...!"
The Republicans bashed Barack Obama as a "celebrity," but now they've got a star of their own, so naturally the rules have changed. Nothing would suit them better than for the media to spend the next two months spellbound by the wacky carnival on ice that is the Palin family: Todd, aka the First Dude, the kids, Levi the hunky bad-boy dad-to-be--well, maybe not him so much after his expletive-adorned MySpace page briefly came to light ("I'm a fuckin' redneck"; "I don't want kids"--whoops). The snowmobiles, the moose burgers, the guns, the hair, the glasses that are flying off America's shelves (starting at $375 a pair, and she has seven). Fretting over the work/family issue alone should take up enough column inches to employ all the female journalists in America from now to next Mother's Day. And don't forget that op-ed staple, What Does This Mean for Feminism?
Well, I'm not playing. I don't care about Sarah Palin's family. I don't care if she's a good mother. I don't care if she's happily married, or who shops and who vacuums, or who takes care of the kids while both parents are at work. I don't want her recipe for caribou hot dogs, either. Life chez Sarah and Todd might make an adorable sitcom (Leave It to Jesus?) or a scathing tell-all a decade or so down the road (Governor Dearest?). Either way, so what? This is an election, not The View. As for feminism's meaning, what can you say after you've said that her career shows that even right-wing fundamentalist women have taken in feminism's message of empowerment and that's good, but that Palin's example suggests women can do it all without support from society and that's bad?
Count me as a feminist who never believed that being PTA president meant you could be, well, President. The more time we spend on dippy ruminations--how does she do it? Queen Bee on steroids or the hockey mom next door? how hot is Todd, anyway?--the less focus there will be on the kind of queries that should come first with any vice presidential candidate, and certainly would if Palin were a man.
Questions like:
§ Suppose your 14-year-old daughter Willow is brutally raped in her bedroom by an intruder. She becomes pregnant and wants an abortion. Could you tell the parents of America why you think your child and their children should be forced by law to have their rapists' babies?
§ You say you don't believe global warming is man-made. Could you tell us what scientists you've spoken with or read who have led you to that conclusion? What do you think the 2,500 scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are getting wrong?
§ If you didn't try to fire Wasilla librarian Mary Ellen Baker over her refusal to consider censoring books, why did you try to fire her?
§ What is the European Union, and how does it function?
§ Forty-seven million Americans lack health insurance. John Goodman, who has advised McCain on healthcare, has proposed redefining them as covered because, he says, anyone can get care at an ER. Do you agree with him?
§ What is the function of the Federal Reserve?
§ Cindy and John McCain say you have experience in foreign affairs because Alaska is next to Russia. When did you last speak with Prime Minister Putin, and what did you talk about?
§ Approximately how old is the earth? Five thousand years? 10,000? 5 billion?
§ You are a big fan of President Bush, so why didn't you mention him even once in your convention speech?
§ McCain says cutting earmarks and waste will make up for revenues lost by making the tax cuts permanent. Experts say that won't wash. Balancing the Bush tax cuts plus new ones proposed by McCain would most likely mean cutting Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. Which would you cut?
§ You're suing the federal government to have polar bears removed from the endangered species list, even as Alaska's northern coastal ice is melting and falling into the sea. Can you explain the science behind your decision?
§ You've suggested that God approves of the Iraq War and the Alaska pipeline. How do you know?
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080929/pollitt
What are you smoking this morning AH?
Here are the latest Real Clear Politics poll numbers. Even FOX has Obama up by 6!
RCP Average 09/18 - 09/24 -- 48.0 44.4 Obama +3.6
Battleground Tracking 09/18 - 09/24 1000 LV 47 48 McCain +1
FOX News 09/22 - 09/23 900 RV 45 39 Obama +6
Gallup Tracking 09/21 - 09/23 2740 RV 47 44 Obama +3
Rasmussen Tracking 09/21 - 09/23 3000 LV 49 47 Obama +2
Hotline/FD Tracking 09/21 - 09/23 903 RV 48 42 Obama +6
NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl 09/19 - 09/22 1085 RV 48 46 Obama +2
ABC News/Wash Post 09/19 - 09/22 780 LV 52 43 Obama +9
LA Times/Bloomberg 09/19 - 09/22 838 LV 49 45 Obama +4
Ipsos-McClatchy 09/18 - 09/22 923 RV 44 43 Obama +1
CNN/Opinion Research 09/19 - 09/21 697 LV 51 47 Obama +4
Letterman Mocks McCain
By Christopher Weber
Sep 24th 2008 6:56PM
Filed Under:eJohn McCain, Economy, 2008 President, Humor, Media
McCain was supposed to appear on "The Late Show" tonight but canceled at the last minute to stage a political stunt focus with a laser-like intensity on the economy. At the taping this afternoon, Dave showed his unhappiness, and his political savvy (via Drudge):
"You don't suspend your campaign. This doesn't smell right. This isn't the way a tested hero behaves." And he joked: "I think someone's putting something in his metamucil."
"He can't run the campaign because the economy is cratering? Fine, put in your second string quarterback, Sarah Palin. Where is she?"
"What are you going to do if you're elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We've got a guy like that now!"
It's funny cuz it's true.
Check out the video
Following up on that post by the lovely Aunt Bea, note that both Rasmussen and Hotline now have numbers updated through yesterday, 9/24. Obama continues to lead both polls, and his average lead in the ten polls is 3.5%.
Suck. On. This.
"Why else would all of the above have happened?"
All of the above? Nothing happened. An aide told her she didn't have time to answer questions when she was leaving a building and she didn't have McCain legislative history memorized when quizzed by Katie "Cutie" Couric. (of course, no one would have any trouble memorizing Joebama Cool's legislative record; you could write it on a matchbook).
Oh yeah, and there is talk of rescheduling the debate.
That's not much but when you're a Dem, you got to hype what little you can find.
"Spin it all you want, but the tight control of the McCain campaign over Palin speaks far more loudly than any lame justification you can offer. She's an embarrassment, and they know it."
Compared to what? Biden? The only reason we've haven't heard more about Mr Experience is that most reporters can't stay awake when talking to him.
He has been acknowledged by both sides as a complete disaster though.
Did anyone catch the clip they were showing on the news shows last night?
Biden, on a train, was talking to a reporter. First he said, "In this day and age, it's so important for leaders to know what they're talking about."
Then came the zinger, "Back when the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on TV right away to reassure the American people."
If Palin has said something so stupid, she'd be off the ticket.
But for the guy who put the Joe in Joebama, it's just another day on the trail.
"Right, the Post is fake but Anon's polls are honest."
All you who are confused,
The Post poll was the only one taken with sampling ending on Monday. It had Obama up by 9 points.
This poll was scattered all over the media as proof Obama is surging. That's a more fun story for them.
Problem is, no other polls were taken that day and several since show it was either wrong or one-day phenomenom.
There are four polls released today which include polling from yesterday:
Battleground Tracking: McCain by 1
Gallup: tie
Ramussen: Obama by 3
Hotline: Obama by 4
Most likely explanation:
Voters were confused about events and tended to blame Republicans. They've now noticed that Obama's nickname, Mr Bright Idea, is not appropos.
I think the Post poll was right and Obama is losing ground as the week went on.
People,
As Captain Kirk said, "Get a life."
Dems, go out and work -- we will win on the ground with the huge increase in registrations.
Anon, enjoy your fantasy life.
Mccain's missed 412 votes in the 110th congress, obviously he's not been too concerned about "doing his job".
A majority of Americans say the debate should be held. Just 10% say the debate should be postponed. A sizable percentage of Americans, 36%, think the focus of the debate should be modified to focus more on the economy. 3 of 4 Americans say the presidential campaign should continue. Just 14% say the presidential campaign should be suspended. If Friday's debate does not take place 46% of Americans say that would be bad for America.
The move by Mccain is going to be good for obama, it makes it clear Mccain's hiding from Obama because he knows he can't compete one on one.
Democratic Rep. Barney Frank said on Wednesday Democrats had reached an agreement on a financial bailout plan, and there would be enough votes to pass it and send it to President George W. Bush to sign into law.
"We now have between House and Senate Democrats an agreement on what we think should be in the bill, and we have a meeting scheduled at 10 a.m. tomorrow to meet with the Republicans," said Frank, who chairs the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.
Frank took a dig at Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who has interrupted his campaign to return to Washington on Thursday to help work on a bailout bill.
"All of sudden, now that we are on the verge of making a deal, John McCain here drops himself in to help us make a deal, Frank said. "I really worry about the politicalization."
"As Captain Kirk said, "Get a life.""
LOL. Good point, Dana.
"Dems, go out and work -- we will win on the ground with the huge increase in registrations."
You've already got that. Unfortunately, they aren't showing up.
"Anon, enjoy your fantasy life."
Hey, you're living yours.
"it makes it clear Mccain's hiding from Obama because he knows he can't compete one on one"
Oh yeah, that'll be clear.
Until, of course, the first debate happens and this clear idea looks ridiculous.
Mighty Mac will tear Joebama Cool to shreds.
LOL Anonfreak, yeah right, a senile old man who can't remember how many houses and cars he has is bound to do "real well".
If Mccain wasn't afraid to debate he'd be there this friday instead of making excuses - he knows he's going to get his butt whipped and he's desperately trying to delay the inevitable in a vain hope that through some miracle he's going to come up with something intelligent to say.
AnonBigot...
Do you realize that you are really the only one copying and pasting on this blog? Furthermore, do you also realize that you are really having conversations with YOURSELF???... nobody cares what a lunatic has to say (YOU).
On John McCain’s suspension of his campaign, Harry Reid went out of his way to tell him, “don’t bother”.
However, as John McCormack notes at the Weekly Standard, that’s just a day after Reid’s insistence that McCain return to support the Bush administration’s bailout plan.
How soon they forget:
But yesterday, Reid demanded that the White House made sure the legislation had John McCain’s backing, and Reid floated this bogus piece of news clearly intended to force McCain’s hand: “I got some good news in the last hour or so … it appears that Sen. McCain is going to come out for this.” McCain flatly denied that he had endorsed the plan.
So Harry Reid says that it’s essential that John McCain backs legislation designed to avert the greatest economic meltdown since the Great Depression. And when McCain says the highly problematic legislation, in its current form, is not good enough, Reid tells McCain to stay away from Capitol Hill.
Who’s playing politics with economic crisis?
Well, everyone is, but this gambit from Reid is really transparent. He wanted McCain on the hook so that Reid could blame McCain for the political fallout. When McCain called Reid’s bluff — and that’s what appears to have happened here — Reid did what Reid always does: retreat.
Latest Battleground poll out this morning from George Washington University has McCain leading nationally by 2 points, the only poll with sampling through yesterday.
Voters have seen through the Democrats who claim to have had a deal done before McCain got there and then backed off in a vain attempt to discredit him. Americans don't appreciate the Democrats playing politics with our economy.
Remember Obama who didn't think he should leave the campaign trail? He's on the front page of the Post this morning, sitting at the table with George Bush.
This may be the Dems' final error!
That's right Anon, cling to a single poll of 1000 likely voters and ignore all the others polls that questioned nearly 10,000 more likely or registered voters.
All of the polls taken together show a 3.2% Obama lead. But you cling to the one poll if it makes you feel better.
It must be rough to be a wingnut GOP supporter these days, now that a "renegade block of Republicans" at the last minute has decided to try to pull the rug out from under the bipartisan agreement to save the US economy. Everyone knows the bipartisan talks didn't falter until after McBozo saw his poll numbers tanking and tried to stop the free fall by throwing some maverickness into the serious business of righting our economy. But all McShame has done is reinforce the view that he "doesn't get the economy." He's a guy who doesn't even know how many houses he owns for crying out loud, which demonstrates that he can't even count, let alone add and subtract.
Andrea- not anon
Cmon anon, Tell us you don't really believe your own nonsense- you're just playing devil's advocate. it is really clear what kind of sad political game Mcpalin is playing- to everyone except the no-nothings. Of course, you may really be a no-nothing- that has occurred to me.
"That's right Anon, cling to a single poll of 1000 likely voters and ignore all the others polls that questioned nearly 10,000 more likely or registered voters.
All of the polls taken together show a 3.2% Obama lead. But you cling to the one poll if it makes you feel better."
Bea, you are such a propagandist. Do you have no shame?
The GWU poll is no smaller than any other. Yeah, if you take the other ten polls together they, in total, represent more people but those other polls are all older, some with data a week old. This race is moving fast and the trends and latest data are more significant than an average that includes polling a week old.
The 3.2% number you cite is, therefore, dated. RealClear's idea is to average the last dozen or so polls but they might want to rethink that and start averaging all the polls from a single day to make their data relevant.
Meanwhile, the Post had a poll taken on Monday that had Obama up 9points. The Post interpretation of that poll, printed on Tuesday, grandly asserted that, finally, one of the nominees has broken through the margin of error for polling. No other poll before or after found a similar lead. And yet, different news service are still putting out the story, based on that one poll, claiming Obama is breaking out.
Interesting how anytime anyone says Obama is breaking out, his poll numbers start dropping. There was a similar phenomenom during the primaries. Makes one wonder if people really like him.
"it is really clear what kind of sad political game Mcpalin is playing"
Can anyone read these things and, at least, try to see through the haze created by a media that is dying to see Obama win this election?
Here's the events:
George Bush was trying to put together a plan to bailout Wall Street.
Senate Democrats were afraid if they cooperated with the President, they would lose the perception of the public that the Republicans are to blame for the ecenomic crisis. Then, McCain could attack the plan with his own idea and appear to distance himself from the unpopular President AND the even more unpopular Democratic Congress.
Therefore, Harry Reid start saying that Democrats wouldn't agree to the President's plan unless McCain also endorsed it.
This is what they call politics.
Reid had his loyal subordinate, Barack Obama, call McCain and suggest that the two of them jointly endorse the bailout package.
Remember, Obama called McCain.
McCain said, actually I don't completely agree with the plan but maybe we can negotiate something. Let's drop campaigning for a few days and go to Washington and hammer out a bill we can all agree on.
Remember, McCain didn't blindside Obama. He told Obama his plans and gave him the opportunity to do the same before it was announced to the public.
Remember, McCain didn't unilaterally decide to become involved. He was requested to weigh in by both Obama and Reid, whose motive was to shield themselves politically.
To listen to the media spin, you'd think McCain just hatched some plot to exploit a crisis when the truth is that Democrats requested his involvement for their own political reasons.
Democrats were looking for McCain's endorsement and McCain said, no, I can't, in good conscience give that, but I'll work with you for the good of the country. McCain has some alternatives that might work better.
So, right now, we have the three most discredited institutions in America, the President, the Democratic Congress and the press on one side with McCain and a band of responsible Republicans on the other side.
Will the American people be able to see through the smoke screen created by the press?
The fact that today's polling show a trend toward McCain is an encouraging sign that they aren't as gullible as they seem.
God, you are such a liar.
The GWU poll is no smaller than any other.
No, the Rasmussen poll is 3000 respondents, triple the number in the GW Poll.
the only poll with sampling through yesterday
You post this every morning, but before noon, it's not true anymore. Hotline and Rasmussen are both doing daily tracking polls. The fact that GW posts their numbers at 7 in the morning doesn't make them better than Rasmussen or Hotline.
Through September 25, Rasmussen
puts Obama up, 50-45. Through September 25, Hotline puts Obama up, 49-42.
If you knew anything about polling, anything at all, you'd realize that the GW poll is an outlier (look it up). Until its results get duplicated by some other poll, it cannot and should not be trusted.
But even if we want to use your criteria (latest data only), Rasmussen, Hotline and GW yield an average lead for Obama of 3.3%, and it's growing in Rasmussen and Hotline. Rasmussen, noting an 8 point swing in Obama's favor, describes the last week as follows: "It’s stunning to note how rapidly the dynamics of the campaign have changed. Two weeks ago, just before the Wall Street financial crunch became visible, McCain was up by three points in the aftermath of his convention. One week ago today, the candidates were even. Now, Obama’s lead is approaching new highs entering the final few weeks of the campaign."
In the Hotline poll, also through September 25, Obama's 7 point lead is his largest since the poll started in early September, and represents a 6 point swing just since the beginning of the week.
Any questions?
"you are such a liar."
Didn't lie about anything.
As you say though, further polls have been released this afternoon.
People do seem as gullible as the press thinks.
Showdown tonight in Mississippi
Now that's a trend and it's all toward Obama.
Is anybody going to mention Palin's interview with Couric? The trend toward Obama may just be a trickle now, but just wait, the torrent will come once the public has a few days to absorb this shit:
Transcript:
Day 1
"Couric: You've said, quote, "John McCain will reform the way Wall Street does business." Other than supporting stricter regulations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago, can you give us any more example of his leading the charge for more oversight?
Palin: I think that the example that you just cited, with his warnings two years ago about Fannie and Freddie - that, that's paramount. That's more than a heck of a lot of other senators and representatives did for us.
Couric: But he's been in Congress for 26 years. He's been chairman of the powerful Commerce Committee. And he has almost always sided with less regulation, not more.
Palin: He's also known as the maverick though, taking shots from his own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party. Trying to get people to understand what he's been talking about - the need to reform government.
Couric: But can you give me any other concrete examples? Because I know you've said Barack Obama is a lot of talk and no action. Can you give me any other examples in his 26 years of John McCain truly taking a stand on this?
Palin: I can give you examples of things that John McCain has done, that has shown his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership abilities. And that is what America needs today.
Couric: I'm just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.
Palin: I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you."
Day 2
"Couric: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?
Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundary that we have with Canada. It's funny that a comment like that was kinda made to … I don't know, you know … reporters.
Couric: Mocked?
Palin: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.
Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy credentials.
Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there…
Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?
Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state."
This is the person McCain thinks is best suited to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency? Say it ain't so!
He's no maverick, he's a fool!
Debating who's up and who's down, while interesting (and it is clear that right now Obama's up) is less signficant than what the voters are learning about the character and qualifications of the candidates.
I think we are learning a lot about one of them that is very disappointing to those who, in past years, had a decent opinion of him.
When a candidate loses his moral compass in the quest for victory, when a candidate demonstrates that he will do almost anything, no matter how inconsistent with his stated views, no matter how dishonest, or no matter how heedless of future consequences for the country in order to win an election, then that candidate has sullied all the honorable and brave things he has done before.
It is very sad.
Palin being interviewed by Couric - the stupid, it burns.
From Pam's house blend:
Insider to Ed Schultz: Palin is clueless; NRO columnist calls for her to bow out
Progressive radio show host Ed Schultz has spoken to folks inside the McCain campaign, and there's a serious meltdown over Palin:
McCain Camp insiders say Palin "clueless"
Capitol Hill sources are telling me that senior McCain people are more than concerned about Palin. The campaign has held a mock debate and a mock press conference; both are being described as "disastrous." One senior McCain aide was quoted as saying, "What are we going to do?" The McCain people want to move this first debate to some later, undetermined date, possibly never. People on the inside are saying the Alaska Governor is "clueless."
Latest McFlip:
Republican John McCain agreed to attend the first presidential debate Friday night even though Congress doesn't have a bailout deal, reversing an earlier decision to delay the event until Washington had taken action to address the crisis.
Mccain's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. If he delays the debate he makes it clear he's avoiding Obama, if he goes to the debate he knows he's going to look like the senile old man he is.
Hope you're watching tonight, Priya. You'll become enlightened about the very inexperienced and unaccomplished individual that the Democrats have nominated this year.
Amazing that all of you have the nerve to attack Palin.
Inexperienced?
Yes, but her experience is the equal of Obama's and she's got executive experience and success. And she's a nominee for VP rather than P.
Not able to handle reporters' questions?
After Biden said with a straight face this week that FDR was president during the 1929 stock market crash and spoke to the country on TV?
This was right after he said how important it is for leaders to know what they're talking about.
Who knows what this clown will say during the debate with Palin!
"When a candidate loses his moral compass in the quest for victory, when a candidate demonstrates that he will do almost anything, no matter how inconsistent with his stated views, no matter how dishonest, or no matter how heedless of future consequences for the country in order to win an election, then that candidate has sullied all the honorable and brave things he has done before.
It is very sad."
I guess you're talking about Obama, huh?
I am an ex-gay. That is why I hate everything so much; I am trying to deeply repress my feelings and natural being.
I am a jerk.
Anonymous said:
"We can't all be beauty queens."
I want to be a beauty queen.
rrjr
After Biden said with a straight face this week that FDR was president during the 1929 stock market crash and spoke to the country on TV?
At least Biden can keep the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite straight and has never moved Pakistan's location on the map. McOldGuy made both of those gaffes and more with a straight face too....bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran...
"I want to be a beauty queen."
Finally revealed. The key to the intense TTF hatred for Sarah Palin
"bomb Iran"
The leader of this country has said he wants to destroy another member country of the United nations and Barack Obama would like to take the guy to tea so they can discuss the idea over scones.
Red Baron said "Hope you're watching tonight, Priya".
LOL, there's a Canadian football game on and you think I'm going to subject myself to the tedium of an American presidential debate - ah...NO. I already know how this one's going to play out, Obama's going to beat Mccain like a rented mule. I'll get more than my fill of the U.S. debates afterwards on the blogs I frequent.
McBush is such an angry man... OBAMA wins the debate.
The legendary Gallup poll" has Obama up by 3.
The trend is clear.
Joebama lost.
The funniest part was when, after McCain had talked about a soldier killed in Iraq whose bracelet he wears, Joebama said "I've got one too" and then had to read the guy's name off the bracelet.
Touching, Joebama Cool.
On to St Louis on Tuesday.
Palin will throw Biden under the bus!
Of course, he could counter with a moving story about how Abraham Lincoln took a video of the Battle of Bunker Hill with his cellphone and posted it to youtube.
Only people with his level of experience would know stuff like that.
"The legendary Gallup poll" has Obama up by 3."
Margin of error.
Margin of error.
Yep, just like the outlier poll you cling to:
Latest Battleground poll out this morning from George Washington University has McCain leading nationally by 2 points, the only poll with sampling through yesterday.
Duh, just to state the obvious, a two percentage point spread is even deeper within the margin of error than a three percentage point spread. And so's that tie you keep mentioning.
Today RealClearPolitics has Obama up by 4.2%. Obama's lead is moving out of the margin of error.
The trend is becoming clearer and clearer.
Oops, RealClearPolitics just updated that to 4.3% since the latest Rasmussen poll data through September 26 just bumped Obama's lead up to 6%. Rasmussin had Obama's lead at 5% based on data collected through September 25.
The trend keeps getting clearer.
let's see what happens after last night's debate is factored in, Bea-posterous
there's no big trend at this point
everything's about the same
That's right. Everything's the same, Obama continues to gain ground as Pa-Lame continues to suck McPander down into her family's trashy values.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
September 24, 2008, 1:00 pm
WSJ/NBC Poll: Voters Doubt Palin’s Qualifications to Be President
Susan Davis reports on the presidential race.
The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows nearly half of voters harbor doubts that Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin is qualified to be president.
Asked, “Do you feel that Sarah Palin is qualified to be president if the need arises, or is she not qualified to be president?” 49% of all respondents said the Alaska governor is not qualified while 40% said she is.
If elected, John McCain, at 72 years old, will be the oldest president ever sworn in to a first-term. Questions about McCain’s age have persisted in the campaign, and the Arizona senator himself has said that voters need to have confidence that his running mate will be ready for the Oval Office.
Voters have significantly more confidence in Democratic vice presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s ability to serve as commander-in-chief if need be. Almost two-thirds of respondents, 64%, said Biden, Barack Obama’s running mate, is qualified; just 21% said he is not. Biden has the most confidence among voters 65 years and older, with nearly three-quarters, 74%, of seniors saying Biden is qualified to be president. Only 37% of seniors said the same about Palin.
Biden also has more confidence among Democratic voters specifically; 81% said the Delaware senator is ready while just 7% said he is not qualified. Among Republican voters, Palin has higher marks, with 75% saying she is qualified, although 15% said that she is not.
The WSJ/NBC News poll will be released at 5:00 p.m/EDT today, check back at www.wsj.com for the full take.
Permalink | Trackback URL: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/24/wsjnbc-poll-voters-doubt-palins-qualifications-to-be-president/trackback/
When is McCain going to release his health records so Americans can make a fully informed choice when they vote? What is he hiding?
(CBS) The first presidential debate helped uncommitted voters learn about the candidates - and it appears that Democrat Barack Obama benefited the most, according to a CBS News/Knowledge Networks poll taken immediately following the debate.
CBS NEWS/KNOWLEDGE NETWORKS POLL
1st Presidential Debate
September 26, 2008
PostQ1. Which candidate do you think did the best job – or won – tonight's debate?
UNCOMMITTED VOTERS WHO WATCHED THE DEBATE
John McCain 24%
Barack Obama 39
Tie 37
PostQ3. After tonight's debate, has your opinion of John McCain:
Changed for the better 32
Changed for the worse 21
Not changed 47
PostQ4. After tonight's debate, has your opinion of Barack Obama:
Changed for the better 46%
Changed for the worse 8
Not changed 46
And to state again what was obvious before the debate took place, Obama's the clear winner:
The associated press:
Related News
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Full coverage »
©2008 Google - Map data ©2008 Tele Atlas - Terms of Use2 quick polls give Obama edge in debate
37 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — A pair of one-night polls gave Barack Obama a clear edge over John McCain in their first presidential debate.
Fifty-one percent said Obama, the Democrat, did a better job in Friday night's faceoff while 38 percent preferred the Republican McCain, according to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. survey of adults.
Obama was widely considered more intelligent, likable and in touch with peoples' problems, and by modest margins was seen as the stronger leader and more sincere. Most said it was McCain who spent more time attacking his opponent.
About six in 10 said each did a better job than expected. Seven in 10 said each seemed capable of being president.
"In a CBS News poll of people not committed to a candidate, 39 percent said Obama won the debate, 24 percent said McCain and 37 percent called it a tie. Twice as many said Obama understands their needs than said so about McCain.
Seventy-eight percent said McCain is prepared to be president, about the same proportion of uncommitted voters as said so before the debate. Sixty percent said Obama is ready — a lower score than McCain, but a solid 16-percentage-point improvement from before the debate.
In another Obama advantage in the CBS poll, far more said their image of him had improved as a result of the debate than said it had worsened. More also said their view of McCain had gotten better rather than worse, but by a modest margin."
Red baron likes to comfort himself with the thought that Obama's lead is sometimes within the margin of error. On a single poll that's important but when poll after poll after poll shows the same Obama lead its clear that that lead represents a consistent reality. If the lead were due to a polling error it would shift back and forth between Obama and Mccain. It doesn't because it is a true lead in favour of Obama.
"The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows nearly half of voters harbor doubts that Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin is qualified to be president."
It is extremely interesting that someone from TTF would take comfort in this fact when only 60% say Obama is ready to be President.
That means 40% harbor doubts that Democratic presidential hopeful Joebama Cool is qualified to be president.
And that's a 16 point pick-up since the debate.
Therefore, before last night's debate, 56% of Americans harbored doubts that Democratic presidential hopeful Joebama Cool is qualified to be president and before Palin's debate, less than half, worst case 49%, had the same doubts about her.
If that doesn't tell you something about the quality of the gentleman Democrats have chosen to be President, what would?
Anon, I have been wondering something. Is the name "Joebama Cool" supposed to mean something? Like, is Barack Obama's secret name "Joe?" Does he seem especially cool to you? Typically your sarcasm is pointless but I can figure out what delusion or Republican talking-point you base it on. I just don't get this one.
Remember when Snoopy used to be Joe Cool?
I'm just playing with Obama's personal unflappability. He's got about as much emotional character as a Vulcan from the United Federation of Planets. Does he have any passion about anything?
Of course, as always, I never used this derogatory nickname until you guys did the same to McCain for months.
From Pam's House Blend:
John McCain - unfit to lead because of his selection of Palin
With the incredibly incompetent performance of Sarah Palin when she's asked basic policy question, criticism is now returning squarely back where it belongs -- on John McCain's judgment for selecting her in the first place. With a convention theme of "Country First" and a health history that means selecting a VP is critical, John McCain decision to put a wholly unqualified individual on the ticket shows he's not fit to govern. The debacle of Palin was his decision, his deal with the devil on the far right.
That's the case Fareed Zakaria makes in this week's Newsweek, "Palin Is Ready? Please."
[T]he more Palin talks, the more we see that it may not be sexism but common sense that's causing the McCain campaign to treat her like a time bomb.
Can we now admit the obvious? Sarah Palin is utterly unqualified to be vice president. She is a feisty, charismatic politician who has done some good things in Alaska. But she has never spent a day thinking about any important national or international issue, and this is a hell of a time to start. The next administration is going to face a set of challenges unlike any in recent memory. There is an ongoing military operation in Iraq that still costs $10 billion a month, a war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan that is not going well and is not easily fixed. Iran, Russia and Venezuela present tough strategic challenges.
...In these times, for John McCain to have chosen this person to be his running mate is fundamentally irresponsible. McCain says that he always puts country first. In this important case, it is simply not true.
Of course the right will bleat that this is just the echo chamber of the "liberal media," but how can they ignore those in their own ranks who are horrified at the 2008 edition of John McCain.
Take former Congressman John Buchanan (R-AL). He voted for McCain in the primary, but is so unnerved by McCain's move of selecting Sarah Palin that he sent Howie Klein of Down With Tyranny a letter that ends with "for our country's sake, I hope... Barack Obama, becomes our next president." A snippet:
The Republican candidate this year for the Presidency of the United States is proving himself to be a very unfunny caricature of the John McCain we knew and loved and now have lost, and we have reason to grieve. He is using the same oft repeated big lie strategy of bearing false witness against Obama that was used against him in 2000. The real John McCain was above such nefarious tactics. He would instead be running an honest and honorable campaign on the real and important issues our country faces in this election.
Even worse, the pseudo John McCain has put within a heartbeat of the Presidency, should he win, someone totally unprepared to lead our country, much less the free world, in these perilous times. There are people of both genders in both parties with the knowledge, experience, judgment and character to assume the helm if necessary. His nominee is not one of them. He recklessly chose someone with no such knowledge or experience, who is on the far right extreme of the political spectrum, and who is joining him in setting truth on its head in this campaign.
God Bless Frank Rich
McCain’s Suspension Bridge to Nowhere
Anonymous seems to think "you did it first" is actually a justification for his own behavior.
it's not justification, robert, it's just pointing out that the accuser doesn't qualify to be one
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