What are the Key Factors for Victory in the 2008 Presidential Election?

[Astronuc]

Powell's statement from Meet the Press.
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/10/colin_powell_endorses_barack_o_1.html

GEN. POWELL: Yes, but let me lead into it this way. I know both of these
individuals very well now. I've known John for 25 years as your setup said. And
I've gotten to know Mr. Obama quite well over the past two years. Both of them
are distinguished Americans who are patriotic, who are dedicated to the welfare
of our country. Either one of them, I think, would be a good president. I have
said to Mr. McCain that I admire all he has done. I have some concerns about the
direction that the party has taken in recent years. It has moved more to the
right than I would like to see it, but that's a choice the party makes. And I've
said to Mr. Obama, "You have to pass a test of do you have enough experience,
and do you bring the judgment to the table that would give us confidence that
you would be a good president." And I've watched him over the past two years,
frankly, and I've had this conversation with him. I have especially watched over
the last six of seven weeks as both of them have really taken a final exam with
respect to this economic crisis that we are in and coming out of the
conventions. And I must say that I've gotten a good measure of both. In the case
of Mr. McCain, I found that he was a little unsure as to deal with the economic
problems that we were having and almost every day there was a different approach
to the problem. And that concerned me, sensing that he didn't have a complete
grasp of the economic problems that we had. And I was also concerned at the
selection of Governor Palin. She's a very distinguished woman, and she's to be
admired; but at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for
some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United
States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question
in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made. On the Obama side, I
watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this seven-week period. And he
displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an
approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I
think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and
changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a, a
definitive way of doing business that would serve us well. I also believe that
on the Republican side over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican
Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower. Mr. Obama, at the same
time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and
aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines--
ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines. He's thinking about all villages
have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values. And I've
also been disappointed, frankly, by some of the approaches that Senator McCain
has taken recently, or his campaign ads, on issues that are not really central
to the problems that the American people are worried about. This Bill Ayers
situation that's been going on for weeks
became something of a central point of the campaign. But Mr. McCain says that
he's a washed-out terrorist. Well, then, why do we keep talking about him? And
why do we have these robocalls going on around the country trying to suggest
that, because of this very, very limited relationship that Senator Obama has had
with Mr. Ayers, somehow, Mr. Obama is tainted. What they're trying to connect
him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that's inappropriate.
Now, I understand what politics is all about. I know how you can go after one
another, and that's good. But I think this goes too far. And I think it has made
the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are
looking for. And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they
trouble me. And the party has moved even further to the right, and Governor
Palin has indicated a further rightward shift. I would have difficulty with
two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's what we'd be
looking at in a McCain administration. I'm also troubled by, not what Senator
McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said
such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct
answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian.
But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with
being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there
something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he
or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop
the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is
not the way we should be doing it in America. I feel strongly about this
particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay
about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the
tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had
her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you
could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart,
Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death.
He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have
a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star
of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an
American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11,
and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we
have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as
nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within
the party, we have these kinds of expressions. So, when I look at all of this
and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of
them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now?
Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period
of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire,
because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all
across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical
abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he
has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful
president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational
figure. He is a new generation coming into the world-- onto the world stage,
onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack
Obama.

Apparently, Powell stunned both parties.

It's great to see Powell back in public forum. It's great to see someone who is intelligent, thoughtful, articulate, and eloquent.

I still think Powell would make a great president.

 

[Evo]

Even if you don't like Obama, you have to admit that it's becoming more evident every day that he is the best choice to turn the country around for the better.

Look at the top Republicans that are announcing that there is no question in their mind that they can not vote for McCain and state that Obama has the knowledge and skills necessary to be President. These are life long Republicans in many cases and many life long friends of McCain. If they can't vote for McCain, that raises a HUGE RED FLAG.

 

[Astronuc]

Thinking About Obama
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/opinion/17brooks.html
By David Brooks

We’ve been watching Barack Obama for two years now, and in all that time there hasn’t been a moment in which he has publicly lost his self-control. This has been a period of tumult, combat, exhaustion and crisis. And yet there hasn’t been a moment when he has displayed rage, resentment, fear, anxiety, bitterness, tears, ecstasy, self-pity or impulsiveness.

Some candidates are motivated by something they lack. For L.B.J., it was respect. For Bill Clinton, it was adoration. These politicians are motivated to fill that void. Their challenge once in office is self-regulation. How will they control the demons, insecurities and longings that fired their ambitions?

But other candidates are propelled by what some psychologists call self-efficacy, the placid assumption that they can handle whatever the future throws at them. Candidates in this mold, most heroically F.D.R. and Ronald Reagan, are driven upward by a desire to realize some capacity in their nature. They rise with an unshakable serenity that is inexplicable to their critics and infuriating to their foes.

Obama has the biography of the first group but the personality of the second. He grew up with an absent father and a peripatetic mother. “I learned long ago to distrust my childhood,” he wrote in “Dreams From My Father.” This is supposed to produce a politician with gaping personal needs and hidden wounds.

But over the past two years, Obama has never shown evidence of that. Instead, he has shown the same untroubled self-confidence day after day.

There has never been a moment when, at least in public, he seems gripped by inner turmoil. It’s not willpower or self-discipline he shows as much as an organized unconscious. Through some deep, bottom-up process, he has developed strategies for equanimity, and now he’s become a homeostasis machine.
. . . .

 

[Math Is Hard]

I still think Powell would make a great president.

Me too. I was excited when he was thinking about running. I would have campaigned for him.

 

[Astronuc]

Tough Crowd for Obama at Cape Fear BBQ and Chicken
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/tough-crowd-for.html
October 19, 2008 3:07 PM

In Fayetteville, NC, today, at Cape Fear BBQ and Chicken, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was greeted by a 54-year-old woman shouting "Socialist! Socialist! Socialist! Get out of here!"
. . . .

Obama came to the long table where Fanning was eating with fellow congregants from the local First Presbyterian church.

Obama held out his hand to her.

“How are you, ma’am?” he asked.

She refused to shake his hand.

Obama spoke with other, friendlier members of the congregation about health care, Social Security, and taxes.

Fanning explained their courtesy to a reporter, saying, “Some of ‘em are just nicer than I am. I know how some of ‘em think.”
. . . .

It's sad to see people succumb to propaganda and ill feelings. I'm sure Fanning has no accurate understanding of socialism, nor an accurate grasp of Obama's policies.

 

[Astronuc]

George Stephanopolis's (ABC) Roundtable analyzes - Does Powell Nod Help?

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6065828


Even more interesting - the Hawaiian influence of Barack Obama.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6065770

He's going to make an interesting president.

 

[Astronuc]

I guess we don't have a Joe the Plumber thread. Hmmmm.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=188619&title=joe-the-plumbers-house

 

[LowlyPion]

I just don't believe I've seen these kinds of crowds with McCain and Palin. I think this is why they do town hall meetings inside, so they can conceal the numbers.

Huge crowds turn out at Obama rallies: 100,000 in St. Louis, 75,000 in Kansas City

By MARGARET TALEV AND WILLIAM DOUGLAS
McClatchy Newspapers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Democrat Barack Obama turned out enormous crowds at his two stops in battleground Missouri on Saturday in what campaign aides said was a strategy of using his ability to command huge crowds as a way to build excitement heading into the final two weeks of the presidential campaign.

An estimated 100,000 people showed up in St. Louis Saturday morning to hear Obama speak at the Gateway Arch - the largest crowd ever to hear Obama in the United States.

Saturday evening, a crowd estimated at more than 75,000 thronged the Liberty Memorial near downtown Kansas City for an Obama rally.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/731877.html

 

[turbo]

Look at the top Republicans that are announcing that there is no question in their mind that they can not vote for McCain and state that Obama has the knowledge and skills necessary to be President. These are life long Republicans in many cases and many life long friends of McCain. If they can't vote for McCain, that raises a HUGE RED FLAG.

When GOP "insiders" like politicians and columnists feel they have to jump ship and abandon McCain, they may have reasons that they cannot or will not discuss publicly for fear of harming the party down-ticket. I would like to know what's going on between the RNC and the McCain campaign right now.

Publicly-stated reasons for defection include McCain's choice of Palin as running-mate, McCain's inability to come to terms with economic problems, and the inane smear campaign against Obama. I would like to know if there is more. Is there a segment of the Republican party that is willing to sacrifice an election cycle in order to purge radical neo-cons and force the party back to fundamental conservative values? Certainly, Chris Buckley's defection has an air of that.

 

[turbo]

I just don't believe I've seen these kinds of crowds with McCain and Palin. I think this is why they do town hall meetings inside, so they can conceal the numbers.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/731877.html

Palin's handlers claimed that she drew 6000 when she visited Bangor last week, but the way they've been inflating their numbers, I doubt even that modest head-count. In contrast, if Obama came to Maine, he'd have to rent the Portland Sea Dogs' stadium, and that would probably be insufficient capacity, even with the whole field set up with seats. This is the whitest state in the nation, and it is solidly pro-Obama.

 

[LowlyPion]

You won't see this on Fox.

Ontario police arrest man in voter fraud case
Mark Jacoby, who owns a firm hired by the California Republican Party, violated state laws with his own registration, authorities say.
By Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 20, 2008
SACRAMENTO -- The owner of a firm that the California Republican Party hired to register tens of thousands of voters this year was arrested in Ontario over the weekend on suspicion of voter registration fraud.

State and local investigators allege that Mark Jacoby fraudulently registered himself to vote at a childhood California address where he no longer lives so he would appear to meet the legal requirement that all signature gatherers be eligible to vote in California. His firm, Young Political Majors, or YPM, collects petition signatures and registers voters in California and other states.

Jacoby's arrest by state investigators and the Ontario Police Department late Saturday came after dozens of voters said they were duped into registering as Republicans by people employed by YPM. The voters said YPM workers tricked them by saying they were signing a petition to toughen penalties against child molesters.

The firm was paid $7 to $12 for every Californian it registered as a member of the GOP.

Dan Goldfine, an attorney for Jacoby, on Sunday denied any wrongdoing by his client and called the charges "baseless."

He said the arrest outside an Ontario hotel, which involved seven squad cars and nine police officers, was part of a "long pattern of harassment against Mr. Jacoby for an entirely valid voter registration effort."

Goldfine said the case that prosecutors are bringing against his client involves charges that are rarely pressed.

Jacoby was released on bail Sunday evening from the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, Goldfine said.

After complaints by voters and Democratic Party officials, several agencies launched investigations into Jacoby's activities. They included the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, which issued the warrant for his arrest earlier this month on felony charges of voter registration fraud and perjury.

"We contacted people at the addresses where he registered, and they have no idea who he is," said Dave Demerjian, head deputy of the public integrity unit at the L.A. County district attorney's office.

Goldfine said his client does business in many states, traveling frequently, and his permanent address has been his parents' Los Angeles County home, where he received mail and registered to vote.

Demerjian said his office is continuing to investigate allegations that YPM workers improperly re-registered voters with the GOP.

Several dozen voters recently told The Times that YPM workers said they had to become Republicans to sign the petition, contrary to California initiative law. Other voters said they had no idea their registration was being changed.

YPM has been accused of using bait-and-switch tactics across the country. Election officials and lawmakers have launched investigations into the activities of YPM workers in Florida and Massachusetts. In Arizona, the firm was recently a defendant in a civil rights lawsuit.

In a written statement Sunday, the state Republican Party called the charges against Jacoby "politically motivated." The party said the charges do not support accusations from voters and Democratic officials that YPM has been duping voters into joining the GOP.

The statement accused Secretary of State Debra Bowen, who announced the arrest, of "using her office to play politics."

Bowen is a Democrat.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fraud20-2008oct20,0,3842357.story

 

[LowlyPion]

When GOP "insiders" like politicians and columnists feel they have to jump ship and abandon McCain, they may have reasons that they cannot or will not discuss publicly for fear of harming the party down-ticket. I would like to know what's going on between the RNC and the McCain campaign right now.

Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008 11:05 EDT
Powell endorses Obama with "overwhelming force"

The "Powell doctrine," as articulated by former chief of staff Colin Powell in a Foreign Affairs article in 1992, holds that military action should be used only as a last resort, but if you're going to do it, use "overwhelming force."

You could argue that the retired general and former secretary of state employed a version of his doctrine in his appearance on "Meet the Press" Sunday morning. Powell came off as thoughtful and serious and he made his views absolutely clear. He was disappointed with John McCain's response to the financial crisis, unhappy with the choice of Sarah Palin as a vice-presidential nominee and uncomfortable with the direction that the Republican Party is headed.

Powell praised Obama's "steadiness," his "depth of intellectual curiosity" and his "intellectual vigor." He called Obama "the president we need now" and a "transformational figure."

As the Republican Party has become "narrower," the Obama campaign has become more "inclusive," said Powell. He expressed dismay that Bill Ayers had become a central point of the McCain campaign, and criticized the McCain robo-calls. The McCain campaign "has gone too far" he said.

He even raised the issue of the Supreme Court, saying he would have difficulty with two more "conservative appointments" to the court.

"I will be voting for Barack Obama," he declared.

On Fox News, John McCain said the endorsement "doesn't come as a surprise," and cited his own endorsements from "four former secretaries of state" and "over 200 retired generals and admirals."

Not one of those figures, however, is going to be dominating political news headlines as we head into the final two weeks of the campaign. Colin Powell went all in on Barack Obama on "Meet the Press," and for the next 24 hours, that fact -- along with the $150 million the Obama campaign raised in September -- will be the story.

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_r...r_room/2008/10/19/right_wing_powell_reaction/

 

[LowlyPion]

Palin's handlers claimed that she drew 6000 when she visited Bangor last week, but the way they've been inflating their numbers, I doubt even that modest head-count. In contrast, if Obama came to Maine, he'd have to rent the Portland Sea Dogs' stadium, and that would probably be insufficient capacity, even with the whole field set up with seats. This is the whitest state in the nation, and it is solidly pro-Obama.

I think Palin is more a curiosity than a force for political change. Her 15 minutes on stage will be forgotten along with Joe the Plumber shortly enough, and longer term will likely be remembered about as often as Dan Quayle whenever another unqualified candidate pops on the scene.

 

[mgb_phys]

I think Palin is more a curiosity than a force for political change. ... longer term will likely be remembered about as often as Dan Quayle

If the republicans win then she is only an octogenerian heart beat away from being commander in chief - if they lose she is the excuse not to have another female candidate for the next couple of decades.

(Sorry I misremembered him being 76 for some reason)

 

[LowlyPion]

If the republicans win then she is only an octogenerian heart ebat away from being commander in cheif - if they lose she is the excuse not to have another female candidate for the next couple of decades.

In that regard there has been some question raised about the progress of John McCain's skin cancer. This article suggests that he only has about a 10% chance from skin cancer over the next 10 years, though he is at additional risks given his age.

Questions Linger About McCain's Prognosis After Skin Cancer

By David Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 18, 2008; A04

In May, the presidential campaign of 72-year-old cancer survivor John McCain tried to put to rest doubts about his health by allowing a few reporters to inspect his medical records, but the effort has failed to quell questions about his odds of surviving an eight-year tenure in the White House.

One loosely organized group of physicians has been claiming in Web-based videos, op-ed columns and newspaper ads that McCain's risk of dying from a recurrence of the skin cancer he had treated eight years ago may be as high as 60 percent.

However, data on cancer survival rates compiled by the federal government suggest that people in McCain's situation have no more than a 10 percent chance of dying from melanoma over the next decade.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/17/AR2008101702825_pf.html

 

[LowlyPion]

McCain's response to Powell's announcement that he would vote for Obama was to say he had the endorsement of Kissinger, Eagleberger, Haig, and Baker. Too bad Powell is the only one held in much regard these days.

But really who cares about who Haig is supporting? He was the one that blurted out that he was Constitutionally in charge when Reagan was shot and Bush was flying back to Washington. Most Civics students know better than that. I'd think McCain would want to keep that endorsement a secret.

 

[LowlyPion]

The Republicans have been doing an awful lot of "What I really said" recently. I mean Palin must need a full time interpreter. And McCain has quite a list of his own. Now Michelle Bachmann jumped into the spotlight with her ignorant McCarthy-esque remarks about Obama.

Here she is putting her "Anti-American" views:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv-PwDe9U-M

Here she is trying to get her hands out of the McCarthy Tar Baby.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxzP8gECrUg

 

[Astronuc]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/choice2008/view/

The Choice 2008 draws on in-depth interviews with the advisers, friends and those closest to these unlikely candidates, as well as with seasoned observers of American politics, who together tell the definitive story of these men and their ascent to their party's nominations.

When FRONTLINE first aired a profile of presidential candidates during the 1988 election, The Choice redefined political journalism on television. Now, in an unprecedented election year, veteran FRONTLINE producer Michael Kirk (Bush's War, Cheney's Law) goes behind the headlines to tell a deeper political story about the candidates, the decisions they made, and why their nominations may indicate a historic change in American politics.

The story begins at the Democratic Convention in 2004 when Barack Obama, a little-known candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois, stepped forward to tell his personal story and to call for a move beyond partisan politics.

"All around were people with tears in their eyes," Obama's chief political adviser David Axelrod tells FRONTLINE. "And I realized at that moment that his life would never be the same."

Also that summer, the future Republican nominee John McCain, a self-described maverick and sometime adversary of the Bush administration, took the stage at his party's convention to defend the president's national security policy. In an effort to win the support of his party, the longtime senator from Arizona had decided to try to walk a fine line -- a line he had had trouble walking all his life -- between being an unconventional outsider and a team player.

"I think McCain's goal was to make himself more acceptable to the party base without completely surrendering his outsider, independent persona, and that was a very complex balancing act," says Mark McKinnon, a member of McCain's inner circle and former media adviser to President Bush.

As McCain the maverick was trying to make peace with his party, Obama the newcomer was being urged by party elders to consider a future run for the White House. Within two years of his arrival in the Senate, a window of opportunity seemed open, if he was willing to take the chance.
. . . .

 

[LowlyPion]

October 20, 2008
McCain camp looking for way to win without Colorado
Posted: 06:40 PM ET

From CNN Chief National Correspondent John King

(CNN) — The McCain campaign is looking at an Electoral College strategy heading into the final two weeks that has virtually no room for error and depends heavily on a dramatic comeback in Pennsylvania, which hasn't backed a Republican for president in 20 years.

While Iowa, New Mexico and Colorado are still officially listed as McCain target states, two top strategists and advisers tell CNN that the situation in those states looks increasingly bleak. Iowa and New Mexico always have been viewed as difficult races, but the similar assessment of Colorado reflects a dramatic shift for a campaign that had long counted on the state.

"Gone," was the word one top McCain insider used to describe those three states.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/20/mccain-camp-looking-for-way-to-win-without-colorado/

 

[LowlyPion]

Obama suspending his campaign 2 days to go to Hawaii to be with his ailing Grandmother.

 

[LowlyPion]

Another 50,000 in Orlando. These are big crowds. 100,000 in St Louis. 75,000 in Kansas City. The Republicans simply aren't pulling that many "real Americans" to their rallies.

Obama, Clinton campaign together to clinch Florida

By JENNIFER LOVEN – 1 hour ago

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Barack Obama and former Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton sought together Monday to swing this state to blue, mocking the Republican ticket by saying the election's theme should be "jobs, baby, jobs" for people hurting in a nearly unprecedented economic crisis.

It was the first time the bitter opponents from the Democratic primaries have appeared together since a pair of fundraisers in early July. Those were understated affairs compared to the wild, sign-waving, overflow crowd of more than 50,000 people that gathered outside a sports arena to see them side-by-side as the sun set.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5isOFwdbq0tsqatW6vJpkDRTI1gMgD93UJ4IO0

 

[Astronuc]

What campaign finance reform?

In Fine Print, a Proliferation of Large Donors
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/us/politics/21donate.html

. . . .
But there has been another proliferation on the national fund-raising landscape that was not fully apparent until the latest campaign finance reports were filed last week: people who have given tens of thousands of dollars at a time to help the candidates.

Enabled by the fine print in campaign finance laws, they have written checks that far exceed normal individual contribution limits to candidates, to joint fund-raising committees that benefit the candidates as well as their respective parties.

Many of these large donors come from industries with interests in Washington. A New York Times analysis of donors who wrote checks of $25,000 or more to the candidates’ main joint fund-raising committees found, for example, the biggest portion of money for both candidates came from the securities and investments industry, including executives at various firms embroiled in the recent financial crisis like Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and AIG.

The joint fund-raising committees have been utilized far more heavily this presidential election than in the past. Mr. Obama’s campaign has leaned on wealthy benefactors to contribute up to $33,100 at a time to complement his army of small donors over the Internet as he bypassed public financing for the general election. More than 600 donors contributed $25,000 or more to him in September alone, roughly three times the number who did the same for Senator John McCain.

And Mr. McCain’s campaign, which had not disclosed most of these donors until last week, has taken the concept to new levels, encouraging deep-pocketed supporters to write checks of more than $70,000, by adding state parties as beneficiaries of his fund-raising.

All told, each candidate has had about 2,000 people give $25,000 or more to his various joint fund-raising committees through September.
. . . .
Compared with Mr. Obama, Mr. McCain drew a slightly larger percentage of his big-donor money from the financial industry, about a fifth of his total. The next biggest amount in large checks for Mr. McCain came from real estate and then donors who identified themselves as retired. With his emphasis on offshore drilling, Mr. McCain has also enjoyed heavy support from generous benefactors in the oil and gas industry, a group Mr. Obama drew relatively little from.
. . . .

McCain's complaint about Obama's fund-raising is disineguous. McCain is getting plenty of money from large private donors, but perhaps not as much, as Obama.

The GOP didn't complain when they received more donations than the democrats.

Generous support from the financial industry (who gave us the sub-prime problem, credit default swaps, and financial crisis), the housing (housing bubble), oil and gas industry (costly oil and gas). Ummm - McCain is up to his neck in special interests.

 

[turbo]

The Republicans have been doing an awful lot of "What I really said" recently. I mean Palin must need a full time interpreter. And McCain has quite a list of his own. Now Michelle Bachmann jumped into the spotlight with her ignorant McCarthy-esque remarks about Obama.

Bachmann may have ruined her own chances in this election. In the three days since her comments, her Democratic challenger has raised $700,000 for his campaign AND the Republican that she beat in the primary has thrown himself back into the race as a write-in candidate. Her Tail-gunner Joe mentality is on public display, and it's blowing up in her face.

 

[BobG]

Which team is Biden on, again?

McCain hits Biden remark

"Watch, we're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy," Biden continued, according to press accounts. "As a student of history and having served with seven presidents, I guarantee you it's going to happen. . . . And he's going to need help."

 

[Astronuc]

That's an interesting comment by Biden. I have to wonder why he would bring that up. It's almost like Bush's statement to US adversaries - "Bring it on." Of course, Bush doesn't risk his neck, just those of the military.

As for "McCain saw an opportunity to parlay his greater experience in foreign policy," I'd like to know exactly what foreign policy experience McCain does have. With what world leaders has he met - individually - and recently?

Anyone can start a war and blunder through it as Bush has demonstrated. War is not an ideal foreign policy.

In what trade and security agreements has McCain been involved?


Here is some description of McCain's foreign policy experience:
http://www.nysun.com/national/mccains-foreign-policy-experience-has-breadth/72988/

I have to wonder if McCain is capable of diplomacy, or will simply muscle his way on world stage, like Bush has done.

 

[LowlyPion]

Bachmann may have ruined her own chances in this election. In the three days since her comments, her Democratic challenger has raised $700,000 for his campaign AND the Republican that she beat in the primary has thrown himself back into the race as a write-in candidate. Her Tail-gunner Joe mentality is on public display, and it's blowing up in her face.

It would be a fitting end for such an ignorant divisive representative of the people of Minnesota.

There is too much division in the world as it is, and her paranoid charges of those in Congress as being Anti-American is simply stupefying.

I think she should be retired along with McCain.

 

[LowlyPion]

That's an interesting comment by Biden.

Unfortunately it was Biden being Biden. His foot is no stranger to his mouth. Neither are his shoes.

I vaguely understand what his point was and likely it is a possibility that Obama will be tested maybe even because he will be thought to be new to the office. But he does not strike me as someone that will do anything but act firmly in the interests of the common good. Personally I should think that any foreign power would be thinking twice about the power of a more unified and a more focused and determined United States leading a broader coalition of world nations - something the more divisive McCain approach to getting in office cannot hope to do.

The suggestion that I heard this morning that foreign powers wouldn't act the same with McCain because they would be afraid of him is undoubtedly true, because to be honest speaking as a citizen, I'm afraid of his erratic behavior as well. Heaven forbid that he wouldn't survive the office and unleash what I think would be a constant fear of the potential End of Days Nightmare from this Palin woman.

 

[turbo]

Biden's comments were ill-advised, absent context. BUT, the plain truth is that in times of crisis EVERY president relies on a team of advisors pulled from (but hopefully not limited to) the diplomatic corps, the cabinet, and senior advisors (both on-staff and unofficial). It is unreasonable to expect the president to possesses the experience and detailed knowledge of every region and every political faction when a crisis breaks out, or is perhaps still in a state where it can be averted. The president should cast a wide net, and secure the cooperation of the most experienced distinguished advisers he can. Hopefully, the next president will not rely on an insular group of top staffers like Nixon and W. There were some horrendous decisions made and acted on under such circumstances, and our country suffered.

 

[turbo]

Bachmann has company.

Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.), has conceded that he did tell a North Carolina crowd that "liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God," even though he initially denied making such a statement.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14797.html

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The RCP national polls appear to show a couple of points jump for Obama today.

 

[turbo]

What would McCain and his surrogates say if after an Obama rally, his staff disrespected the US flag? It happened after a McCain rally in St.Louis, with a huge American flag unceremoniously dropped to the ground by a crane and then cut from its fastenings the rest of the way to the ground. KSDK seems to think there's a story there.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=158061&catid=3

Edit: lest I get jumped on, I know that McCain bears zero responsibility for the way the employees of the production company who set up the event treated the flag, but I have no doubt that had this happened at an Obama event, it would have been the newest attack ad.

Also, if the production company had asked for assistance in handling that flag from Boy Scouts, local National Guard, etc, they would have gotten it.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Republicans protest at voting site.

...Photographer Joe Eddins and I headed over to the closest one and found a steady line of voters hoping to cast ballots early. Most seemed to be Obama supporters and several had come from the rally. Nearly all the voters were black.

Also at the polling site was a group of loud and angry protesters who shouted and mocked the voters as they walked in. Nearly all were white. [video][continued]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/webl...ct/20/mccain-supporters-call-early-voters-ch/

About 30 cars had their tires slashed during that rally, according to a local press report.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/Protesting_early_voters.html?showall

 

[Astronuc]

McCain reminds Biden he's been tested in crisis
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081021/ap_on_el_pr/mccain

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Republican John McCain told voters in this key electoral state Tuesday he was personally tested by the same kind of crisis that Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph Biden warned Barack Obama will almost certainly face if elected president.

McCain recalled being ready to launch a bombing run during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which Biden said over the weekend tested a new President John F. Kennedy and was the template for the kind of "generated crisis" the 47-year-old Obama would face within six months of taking office.

"I was on board the USS Enterprise," McCain, a former naval aviator, said in the capital city of Harrisburg. "I sat in the cockpit, on the flight deck of the USS Enterprise, off of Cuba. I had a target. My friends, you know how close we came to a nuclear war."

As the crowd of several thousand began to swell with cheers and applause, he added with dramatic effect: "America will not have a president who needs to be tested. I've been tested, my friends."

If one is a carrier pilot, and one sits ready to do a run - that's not a test. That is doing one's job - a job for which one signed up.

The true test is avoiding military conflict through diplomacy. Kennedy passed that test.

McCain's claim has no merit in the context of the office of president.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

For most Inds, the experience issue was settled once and for all by Powell's endorsement. Powell is greatly respected by key, swing voter groups.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The CNN poll of polls now has Obama by 51-42, which according to their polls is the largest lead that Obama has had so far.
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/polling/index.html