And In The End

I spent the day on Sunday in a swing state out canvasing and making calls. The Obama office was a mess, it was chaotic. But the people there were extremely focused and full of energy. These people were going non-stop. When you look at the strength of the campaign effort that has grown up around [...]

Not a Serious Campaign Effort

When I look at how the McCain campaign has been run, it seems like a half-hearted effort. Even John McCain seems to be uncomfortable or even embarrassed by it at times. 
So the question is, is McCain the disposable candidate the GOP felt they could sacrifice in a year they felt they didn’t have any hope [...]

Imagine All That Brain Power in One Place

Apparently, Sarah Palin needed some help out on the campaign trail, so in the tradition of John McCain, she picked who she thought represented the best and the brightest…Elizabeth Hasselbeck from the View. Just think of all the talent McCain and Palin administration would surround themselves with.

What A Real Leader Does

A real leader raises the level of public discourse. A real leader speaks to the public like equals. A real leaders does not dumb things down.
Joe Klein on Barack Obama – “Why Brack Obama is Winning”.
He seemed to be thinking in my presence, rather than just reciting talking points, and it took him some time [...]

Yes We Can

Illinois: Obama 61, McCain 32
Indiana: Obama 51, McCain 41
Iowa: Obama 52, McCain 39
Ohio: Obama 53, McCain 41
Michigan: Obama 58, McCain 36
Minnesota: Obama 57, McCain 38
Pennsylvania: Obama 52, McCain 41
Wisconsin: Obama 53, McCain 40
Polls co-directed by University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientists Charles Franklin and Ken Goldstein with the cooperation of colleagues from participating Big Ten universities. [...]

The End of Rovian Politics?

ABC News / Washington Post poll, among likely voters:
On Ayers: 60% say Obama’s connection to him is not a legitimate issue.
On Palin: 52% say McCain’s choice of her for veep weakens their confidence in his judgment.
More challenges for John McCain: Likely voters overwhelmingly reject his effort to make an issue of Barack Obama’s association with [...]

The Powell Endorsement

Watch the show here.
This is huge. I think this story is going to dominate the press for the next 2-3 days. What does that mean? No news coverage for McCain.
Powell’s performance on Meet The Press was fantastic. He presented a clear, logical, measured argument for Obama. He was kind to McCain – he cited his [...]

The BOOM We have Been Waiting For

Mark Halperin has the news:
The former Bush Secretary of State crosses party lines to endorse Obama, citing his “ability to inspire and lead.”
Says the Illinois Senator dives deeply into issues and tackles them with a steady hand.
Makes the announcement on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.” Says he plans to vote– but not campaign– for Obama.
Powell also [...]

It’s The Temperament, Stupid

Georgie Packer on McCain’s change over the course of the election:
The contrast now is so severe that it makes running for President seem like a personal disaster on the scale of a prolonged nervous breakdown leading to physical and psychological ruin. This campaign has done something terrible to McCain. And it’s entirely his own fault. [...]

Live Blogging with Cocktails 2 by dressedtogo

UPDATE (aka the morning after):
McCain fought for his life. Fought. He had some pretty good jabs, especially early on. And he certainly put Obama on the offensive more than Obama put McCain on the offensive.
But looking at the polling, it appears that people are simply relating more to Barack Obama. Which is astounding if you [...]

Republican In Independent’s Clothing

The last 8 years, and the disastrous McCain campaign have mad Republican a bad name. So what do you do if you are running under the Republican ticket? Why pretend you are an Independent of course. Daily Kos has a good round up of Republicans who are hiding out.

It’s not 2004 anymore

The Atlantic’s Mark Ambinder has a post on the AFL-CIO mailing targeting 80,000 swing voters who own guns in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The BOOMS! Just Keep Getting Bigger

From NY Times/CBS News, among likely voters:

Obama 53, McCain 39
In early October: Obama 48, McCain 45.
Dates conducted: Oct. 10-13. Error margin: 3 points.
And this has got to be killing the GOP:
What are the candidates spending more time doing?
Explaining what he would do:
Now: Obama 63, McCain 31
Sept. 25: Obama 56, McCain 38

Attacking the other candidate:
Now: McCain [...]

Holding Steady

From Quinnipiac/washingtonpost.com/Wall Street Journal polls:
Colorado: Obama 52, McCain 43
Michigan: Obama 54, McCain 38
Minnesota: Obama 51, McCain 40
Wisconsin: Obama 54, McCain 37
Dates conducted: Oct. 8-12. Error margin: Ranges 2.8-3.1 points.

“Rope a Dope”

Andrew Sullivan discusses why “Barack Obama’s strategy of calm is provoking his rival into fatal errors.”
McCain never seemed to learn from the Clintons’ misjudgment of their rival. A key element of Obama’s strategy is classic rope-a-dope. He gets his opponents to splutter with irritation as “that one”, as McCain contemptuously described Obama in last Tuesday’s [...]