Recently in Politics Category

His home-stretch strategy is surreal, except in the context of desperation.

By George F. Will - October 8, 2008
posted on StarTribune.com

WASHINGTON - Time was, the Baltimore Orioles manager was Earl Weaver, a short, irascible, Napoleonic figure who, when cranky, as he frequently was, would shout at an umpire, "Are you going to get any better, or is this it?" With, mercifully, only one debate to go, that is the question about John McCain's campaign.

In the closing days of his 10-year quest for the presidency, McCain finds it galling that Barack Obama is winning the first serious campaign he has ever run against a Republican. Before Tuesday night's uneventful event, gall was fueling what might be the McCain-Palin campaign's closing argument. It is less that Obama has bad ideas than that Obama is a bad person.

This, McCain and his female Sancho Panza say, is demonstrated by bad associations Obama had in Chicago, such as with William Ayers, the unrepentant terrorist. But the McCain-Palin charges have come just as the Obama campaign is benefiting from a mass mailing it is not paying for. Many millions of American households are gingerly opening envelopes containing reports of the third-quarter losses in their 401(k) and other retirement accounts -- telling each household its portion of the nearly $2 trillion that Americans' accounts have recently shed. In this context, the McCain-Palin campaign's attempt to get Americans to focus on Obama's Chicago associations seem surreal -- or, as a British politician once said about criticism he was receiving, "like being savaged by a dead sheep."

David Brooks spoke frankly about the presidential and vice presidential candidates Monday afternoon, calling Sarah Palin a "fatal cancer to the Republican party" but describing John McCain and Barack Obama as "the two best candidates we've had in a long time."

In an interview with The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg at New York's Le Cirque restaurant to unveil that magazine's redesign, Brooks decried Palin's anti-intellectualism and compared her to President Bush in that regard:

[Sarah Palin] represents a fatal cancer to the Republican party. When I first started in journalism, I worked at the National Review for Bill Buckley. And Buckley famously said he'd rather be ruled by the first 2,000 names in the Boston phone book than by the Harvard faculty. But he didn't think those were the only two options. He thought it was important to have people on the conservative side who celebrated ideas, who celebrated learning. And his whole life was based on that, and that was also true for a lot of the other conservatives in the Reagan era. Reagan had an immense faith in the power of ideas. But there has been a counter, more populist tradition, which is not only to scorn liberal ideas but to scorn ideas entirely. And I'm afraid that Sarah Palin has those prejudices. I think President Bush has those prejudices.

Brooks praised Palin's natural political talent, but said she is "absolutely not" ready to be president or vice president. He explained, "The more I follow politicians, the more I think experience matters, the ability to have a template of things in your mind that you can refer to on the spot, because believe me, once in office there's no time to think or make decisions."

The New York Times columnist also said that the "great virtue" of Palin's counterpart, Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, is that he is anything but a "yes man."

"[Biden] can't not say what he thinks," Brooks remarked. "There's no internal monitor, and for Barack Obama, that's tremendously important to have a vice president who will be that way. Our current president doesn't have anybody like that."

Brooks also spent time praising Obama's intellect and skills in social perception, telling two stories of his interactions with Obama that left him "dazzled":

Obama has the great intellect. I was interviewing Obama a couple years ago, and I'm getting nowhere with the interview, it's late in the night, he's on the phone, walking off the Senate floor, he's cranky. Out of the blue I say, 'Ever read a guy named Reinhold Niebuhr?' And he says, 'Yeah.' So i say, 'What did Niebuhr mean to you?' For the next 20 minutes, he gave me a perfect description of Reinhold Niebuhr's thought, which is a very subtle thought process based on the idea that you have to use power while it corrupts you. And I was dazzled, I felt the tingle up my knee as Chris Matthews would say.

And the other thing that does separate Obama from just a pure intellectual: he has tremendous powers of social perception. And this is why he's a politician, not an academic. A couple of years ago, I was writing columns attacking the Republican congress for spending too much money. And I throw in a few sentences attacking the Democrats to make myself feel better. And one morning I get an email from Obama saying, 'David, if you wanna attack us, fine, but you're only throwing in those sentences to make yourself feel better.' And it was a perfect description of what was going through my mind. And everybody who knows Obama all have these stories to tell about his capacity for social perception.

Brooks predicted an Obama victory by nine points, and said that although he found Obama to be "a very mediocre senator," he was is surrounded by what Brooks called "by far the most impressive people in the Democratic party."

By Brian Schaffner - October 4, 2008
Pollser.com

Saturday's Gallup tracking poll revealed two big numbers for Obama. Obama hit 50% in the tracking poll and took an 8% lead over McCain. This isn't the first time that Obama has hit the 50% mark, and it isn't the first time he has held a lead of 8%; but now we are in the last month of the campaign and numbers like these in October usually mean electoral success in November.

Using Gallup's compendium of presidential trial heat polling since 1936, I counted16 candidates who received 50% support or higher in an October Gallup poll. Hitting the 50% mark was a very good predictor of victory. Of those 16 candidates, just two failed to win the general election--Al Gore and Thomas Dewey.

An 8% lead has also been difficult for trailing candidates to overcome. Only one candidate who held a lead of at least 8% in October ended up losing the election--once again, that was Al Gore in 2000. There were thirteen other occasions since 1936 where a candidate had an 8% lead or greater in at least one October poll, and in each case that candidate won.

While the history doesn't look good for Republicans, the McCain campaign can take some solace from 2000. In that campaign, Gore's support reached as high as 51% (and he had a 10% lead over Bush) early in October. However, he quickly lost that lead after the first debate and Bush actually built his own 13% lead in a late October Gallup poll. This was the only time that both candidates reached 50% and held a lead of at least 8% in October Gallup polls--yet another way in which the 2000 election was truly unique. The McCain campaign will have to hope they can duplicate Bush's 2000 comeback rather than go on to defeat like the other 13 candidates who found themselves behind by 8% in October.

By Jed Lewison - October 4, 2008
Huffington Post

Here's the two key things you need to know about the Palin-McCain campaign's cynical new line of attack:

1. Barack Obama is way ahead of John McCain in this campaign. In fact, he's at or above 50% in three of the four national tracking polls, and leading in all of them.

2. The reason for McCain's slide in the polls is simple: While Barack Obama has focused his campaign on solutions to get this country out of the ditch that Bush-McCain policies have put us in, John McCain has focused his campaign around lies about his opponent and the glorification of his own personality and that of his running mate.

To put it in blunt terms, while Barack Obama has provided answers and solutions, John McCain has provided nothing.

And now John McCain is doubling down on his failed political strategy. He is now insourcing the Swiftboating slime machine that is the hallmark of Bush-Rove-McCain politics.

John McCain thinks the only way he can win this election is by destroying Barack Obama.

But he's wrong.

The problem for John McCain is that this election isn't about Barack Obama.

This election is about what's important to America at this crucial point in our nation's history.

It's about recovering from the disastrous Bush-McCain foreign policy legacy.

It's about recovering from this economic catastrophe unleashed by eight years of Republican economics.

It's about finally doing something about our energy and environmental problems.

It's about changing direction from the past eight years, and on that essential challenge, John McCain has nothing to say.

All he has is character attacks -- character attacks that just won't work.

If we wanted to play his game, we could go after McCain's fundraiser with G. Gordon Liddy who had advocated killing federal agents by shooting them in the face. We could make as a centerpiece of the campaign John McCain's vote against the seminal 1990s legislation that protected women's health clinics from anti-choice terrorists. We could talk about Sarah Palin's involvement with the pro-secessionist Alaskan Independence Party. We could savage her extremist witch-doctor religious freak show.

We could do all that, but that's not what this campaign is about.

This campaign is about the future of our country and the world. We have so many problems that are so serious and need to be dealt with.

Barack Obama is winning because has addressed these problems head on and talks about them every day. Because what matters to him -- and to us -- is delivering the change we need to start moving in the right direction.

John McCain is losing because the only thing that he has to offer is tired, old, recycled attacks on Barack Obama. The only thing he offers is the cynical politics of division. The only thing he offers is lies and deceit.

This November, we're going to move past John McCain, and we're going to close the door on the Bush era once and for all. We're going to leave it behind, in the past, where it belongs.

You know when you're down:

WHEN...

You call the wrong audible: The Fundamentals of the Economy are strong and you're sacked for a safety.

You throw 5 interceptions

Your star tailback continues to forget the plays while fumbling the ball again and again.

The opponent's defense is too strong while pushing your lineman back again and in the trenches, and your tailback and you are crushed behind the line of scrimmage.

The refs have been throwing their flags for the lies and deceit in your campaign.

Your fans think that you have bad judgment for even putting a tailback with such a bad record even your old fans now are booing.

You yell at the fans in the stands and call them elitists when they tell you what you don't want to hear - the truth.

You don't tell your running mate that your no longer campaigning in Michigan.

You look up at the scoreboard in beginning of the 4th quarter and your significantly down.

Time is running out.

You look at your play-book and see that you don't have an Economic Plan.

You crumble your health plan because you know it sucks big time.

Your big play of Foreign Policy was old and wrong like your Economic Policy; so what do you do?

You call for timeout, but you used your last time out for the bailout.

Your offensive coordinator yells in your headphones - GOEBBELS, HITLER, MUSSOLINI!!! HATE!!!! HATE!!! HATE!!! LIE!!!! LIE!!! LIE!!!

So you and your tailback simply LIE with HATE!!!

AND NOW... YOU NOW KNOW THAT YOU ARE A LOSER:

WHEN THE CROWD, SPECTATORS AND THE DEFENSE ALREADY KNOW THAT SAME OLD PLAY THAT YOU HAVE BEEN USING FOR THE PAST 8 YEARS, AND THEY PUT AN 8 MAN FRONT DEFENSE AGAINST YOU.

AND WITH TIME RUNNING OUT, YOU'RE STUFFED BEHIND THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE AGAIN.

GAME OVER!

YOU LOOK AT THE FINAL SCORE - YOU'VE BEEN ROUTED

YOU HAVE A TEMPER TANTRUM AND YELL AT ALL THOSE NEAR YOU. YOU AND YOUR TAILBACK BLAME THE REFS AND SPORTSCASTERS.

YOU BOTH WON'T ACCEPT QUESTIONS, AND YOU REFUSE TO SHAKE HANDS IN GOOD SPORTSMAN-LIKE-WAY WITH THE NEW CHAMPS!!!

Polls show that the American People do not believe that Palin is qualified to be Vice President.

Per The Constitution:

The qualifications for the vice presidency are the same as those for the presidency.

Palin in her own words said that she wants to be another Dick Cheney, but with only greater power upsurping the Constitution.

Regarding the powers and duties of the Vice President, the Constitution says:

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

Section Three provides that the Vice President is to serve as President of the Senate, although in practice, the Vice President usually presides over the Senate only when a tie in the voting is anticipated. Neither the Vice President nor the full-time President pro tempore of the Senate preside over the body's routine sessions; instead, the President pro tempore typically deputizes a junior member of the assembly to fill the role. As a non-member of the assembly, the Vice President has no vote unless the Senate is equally divided, in which case the Vice President has what is called a casting vote. This is as contrasted with the Speaker of the House, who has always been chosen from among the Members of the House of Representatives,[38] and as a Member of the assembly can vote to both make or break a tie. This provision is typically seen as one of the "checks and balances" built into the U.S. Constitution, whereby the 3 branches of the federal government (Congress, President, and the courts) are given the ability to influence the others. In this case, the Vice President's ability to preside over the deliberations of the Senate and (more importantly) break tie votes, presumably in favor of the presidential administration's preferences, allows the Executive Branch to influence the behavior of the Senate (and, consequently, Congress).

YESTERDAY'S DEBATE ONLY CONFIRMED THREE THINGS:

1) PALIN IS NOT QUALIFIED TO BE PRESIDENT (VICE PRESIDENT); THUS MCCAIN ONCE AGAIN HAS DEMONSTRATED HIS BAD JUDGEMENT.

2) PALIN SHOWED THAT SHE KNOWS HOW TO REMEMBER TALKING POINTS, BUT STILL CAN'T ANSWER QUESTIONS.

3) 90% OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT BIDEN DEMONSTRATED THAT HE IS HIGHLY QUALIFIED TO BE PRESIDENT (VICE PRESIDENT); THUS OBAMA AGAIN DEMONSTRATED IS GREAT JUDGEMENT.

MCCAIN IS WRONG ABOUT IRAQ, WRONG ON THE WAR ON TERROR, WRONG ON HEALTH CARE, WRONG ON ENERGY AND WRONG ABOUT THE ECONOMY.

OBAMA IS RIGHT ABOUT IRAQ, RIGHT ON THE WAR ON TERROR, RIGHT ON HEALTH CARE, RIGHT ON ENERGY AND RIGHT ABOUT THE ECONOMY.

By Jon Cohen and Jennifer Agiesta
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, October 2, 2008; A01

With the vice presidential candidates set to square off today in their only scheduled debate, public assessments of Sarah Palin's readiness have plummeted, and she may now be a drag on the Republican ticket among key voter groups, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Tonight's heavily anticipated debate comes just five weeks after the popular Alaska governor entered the national spotlight as Sen. John McCain's surprise pick to be his running mate. Though she initially transformed the race with her energizing presence and a fiery convention speech, Palin is now a much less positive force: Six in 10 voters see her as lacking the experience to be an effective president, and a third are now less likely to vote for McCain because of her.

A month ago, voters rated Palin as highly as they did McCain or his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, but after weeks of intensive coverage and several perceived missteps, the shine has diminished.

Nearly a third of adults in a new poll from the Pew Research Center said they paid a lot of attention to Palin's interviews with CBS News's Katie Couric, a series that prompted grumbling among some conservative commentators about Palin's competency to be the GOP's vice presidential standard-bearer. The Pew poll showed views of Palin slipping over the past few days alone.

In the new Post-ABC poll, Palin matches the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., on empathy, one of McCain's clear deficits against Obama, while fewer than half of voters think she understands "complex issues."
But it is the experience question that may prove her highest hurdle, particularly when paired with widespread public concern about McCain's age. About half of all voters said they were uncomfortable with the idea of McCain taking office at age 72, and 85 percent of those voters said Palin does not have the requisite experience to be president.
The 60 percent who now see Palin as insufficiently experienced to step into the presidency is steeply higher than in a Post-ABC poll after her nomination early last month. Democrats and Republicans alike are now more apt to doubt her qualifications, but the biggest shift has come among independents.

In early September, independents offered a divided verdict on Palin's experience; now they take the negative view by about 2 to 1. Nearly two-thirds of both independent men and women in the new poll said Palin has insufficient experience to run the White House.
Obama was able for the first time to crack the 50 percent mark, albeit barely, on whether he has the experience to be president following Friday's presidential debate, and the question is one of Palin's central challenges as she prepares to face Biden in prime time before a national television audience.

More than two-thirds of voters in the Pew poll said they plan to watch the debate, far more than said they were going to turn on the vice presidential debate four years ago. The expectations are that Biden, a six-term senator, will win: Voters by a 19-point margin think he will prove to be the better debater.
In the new Post-ABC poll, majorities of conservatives and Republicans maintain that Palin has the necessary experience to step in as president, though those numbers are also down somewhat from early last month.
But a third of independent voters now indicate they are less likely to support McCain because of Palin, compared with 20 percent who said so in an ABC poll a month ago. Palin now repels more independents than she attracts to McCain. The share of independent women less apt to support McCain because of the Palin pick has more than doubled to 34 percent, while the percentage more inclined to support him is down eight points.

White Catholics, another important group of swing voters, also are now more likely to say that Palin dampens their support for McCain.

Still, nearly half of both white Catholics and independents said she does not affect their votes. Even more, about six in 10, said Obama's pick of Biden did not change their chances of voting Democratic.

The history of vice presidential picks suggests they are rarely consequential, and in a July Post-ABC poll, the nominees' choice for No. 2 was last on a list of 17 items voters said might sway their decisions.

The reaction to Palin, however, has been uncharacteristically strong.
Nearly three in 10 independent women have intensely unfavorable opinions of her, more than twice the proportion holding such views of Biden. And a majority of Democratic women now have "strongly unfavorable" views of Palin, up sharply from just after she accepted the nomination.

Among all voters, 29 percent have "strongly favorable" views, and an exactly offsetting number hold intensely negative ones. Attitudes toward Biden are more subdued.
Overall, 51 percent of voters view Palin favorably; for Biden, that number is a bit higher at 57 percent.

The vice presidential hopefuls run about evenly among all voters and among independents on the question of whether they "understand the problems of people like you." That is an important factor for the GOP ticket, as McCain continues to trail Obama as the candidate more in tune with the financial problems Americans face.
White married women are particularly likely to see Palin as in touch, as three-quarters said she understands their concerns. At the same time, a majority of such women do not think Palin has enough experience to be a good president. (White married women support the GOP ticket by a 20-point margin.)

Palin runs far behind Biden on another important attribute: About three-quarters of those surveyed said he understands complex issues, compared with 46 percent who said so of her.

On the eve of the presidential election in 2000, 76 percent said Al Gore had a solid grasp of hard issues; 60 percent said so of George W. Bush.
Despite Palin's slip in public assessments, the boost she has provided among some core segments of the GOP base has not faded. Enthusiasm for McCain's candidacy among Republicans, conservatives and white evangelical Protestants climbed sharply after the party's convention in St. Paul, Minn., where Palin made her debut, and it has held relatively steady since.

But even within these Republican strongholds, questions about Palin's experience are fairly common. About four in 10 conservatives and white evangelical Protestants, three in 10 Republicans and a quarter of GOP women said she does not have the necessary experience.

October 1, 2008

(CBS) Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama leads GOP rival John McCain 49 percent to 40 percent among registered voters in a new CBS News poll. The nine-point spread marks an increase of four percentage points in Obama's lead from a CBS News/New York Times survey taken last week. Obama also leads by nine points among likely voters, 50 percent to 41 percent.

About 1 in 4 voters remains uncommitted to either candidate - they are either undecided or favor one candidate but say they could change their mind.

While no single factor can account for Obama's increased lead, both the financial crisis and the first presidential debate may have benefited the Democratic presidential nominee.

Neither candidate wins majority approval for their role in handling the financial crisis. But forty-four percent of registered voters approve of Obama's handling of the financial crisis, nine points higher than McCain. Forty-six percent of those surveyed, meanwhile, disapprove of McCain's handling of the crisis, compared to 32 percent for Obama.

Obama also continues to lead in voter confidence in handling the economy. Half of the registered voters surveyed say they are not at all or not too confident in McCain's ability to steer the economy, 11 percentage points more than say the same of Obama. Just 15 percent are "very confident" in McCain's ability when it comes to the economy, 11 points fewer than say the same of his rival.
The Democratic nominee was also widely seen as having won the debate. Forty-one percent of registered voters, including more than half of those who watched it, said Obama came out on top; just 21 percent said McCain was the winner.

Most voters said the debate did not change their opinion of the candidates, but Obama fared better amongst those who did. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed said their opinion of Obama changed for the better, more than twice the percentage who said the same of McCain. While 17 percent said their opinion of McCain got worse, meanwhile, just 6 percent said as much of his rival.

Obama's voters continue to be more enthusiastic than McCain's voters about their candidate, and their enthusiasm has increased in the last week. Sixty-one percent of Obama voters are enthusiastic about the Illinois senator, up eight points from last week, while 36 percent of McCain backers are enthusiastic about their candidate.

Obama's favorable rating has risen five points from last week, to 48 percent, while his unfavorable rating is 32 percent. McCain's favorable rating is 39 percent and his unfavorable rating is 42 percent, an increase of 7 points from last week.

McCain's support appears softer than Obama's. Twenty-one percent of McCain voters say it is too soon to say for sure who they will vote for, compared to 14 percent of Obama voters.

Opinions of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin are now evenly divided, with her unfavorable rating (33 percent) now slightly higher than her favorable rating (32 percent). Last week, Palin had an eight point net positive rating. Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden's favorable rating stands at 34 percent and his unfavorable rating at 19 percent.

Women's perception of Palin has become increasingly negative. On Sept. 8th, Palin had a 47 percent favorable rating among women and a 19 percent unfavorable; now her favorable rating among the group is down to 30 percent, while her unfavorable has risen to 34 percent.

The debate has not changed voters' perceptions of the candidates' qualities. McCain continues to have a slight edge on how registered voters expect the candidates to handle Iraq and is far more likely to be seen as an effective potential Commander-In-Chief.

In addition to the economy, Obama has a clear advantage on empathy, with 67 percent saying Obama understands their needs and problems compared to 46 percent for McCain.

More than half now say Obama is prepared to be president, up from 46 percent last week, while a larger percentage, 60 percent, say McCain is prepared for the job.

While nearly 3 in 4 registered voters say Obama cares more about protecting ordinary people, more than 1 in 2 say McCain cares more about protecting large corporations.

Obama is leading among women, moderates and voters under age 45. He now has the support of nearly two in three voters who supported Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, a slight increase from last week.

McCain continues to lead among white voters, including white men. White Catholics and white evangelicals also support McCain, as do conservatives.

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer October 1, 2008

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama has surged to a seven-point lead over John McCain one month before the presidential election, lifted by voters who think the Democrat is better suited to lead the nation through its sudden financial crisis, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that underscores the mounting concerns of some McCain backers.

Likely voters now back Obama 48-41 percent over McCain, a dramatic shift from an AP-GfK survey that gave the Republican a slight edge nearly three weeks ago, before Wall Street collapsed and sent ripples across worldwide markets. On top of that, unrelated surveys show Obama beating McCain in several battlegrounds, including Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania -- three states critical in the state-by-state fight for the presidency.

Several GOP strategists close to McCain's campaign privately fret that his chances for victory are starting to slip away.

These Republicans, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid angering the campaign, point to several factors: Obama's gains nationally and in traditionally GOP states, no McCain gain from the first debate, McCain's struggles with economic issues as the financial crisis has unfolded and deepening public skepticism about his running mate, Sarah Palin.

They said McCain's options for shaking up the race are essentially limited to game-changing performances in the final presidential debates or in Palin's vice presidential debate with Joe Biden Thursday night. Short of that, they said, McCain can do little but hope Obama stumbles or an outside event breaks the GOP nominee's way.

Democrats hope Obama is starting to build a lasting lead.

"We have a light optimism," said David Redlawsk, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention who teaches political science at the University of Iowa. "We've already learned in the last several weeks that we can be whipsawed back very, very quickly."

Not all Republican insiders are pessimistic.

Obama's failure to achieve a double-digit lead and maintain it "has given a lot of hope to Republicans," GOP pollster Whit Ayres said. Yet he also allowed, "You can't have a playing field that leans this heavily toward the Democrats and not be nervous."

Added Neil Newhouse, also a Republican pollster: "If anybody thinks we're in for a straightforward next month of this campaign all they have to do is look back at the last 30 days" of topsy turvy developments.

To be sure, the election is still a month away, plenty of time for anything to happen in politics.

Yet the AP-GfK poll shows McCain faces substantial hurdles.

With the perilous financial situation at the forefront of voters' minds, 60 percent in the survey say it's more important to them to choose a president who would make the right economic decisions than a commander in chief who would make the right decisions on national security. Obama leads among economic voters, with 63 percent support, while McCain is ahead among security voters, with 73 percent.

As the two senators prepared to vote late Wednesday on the administration's $700 billion bailout plan, 16 percent of likely voters said they thought McCain hurt negotiations over the proposal when he bolted back to Washington last week to get involved. Just 5 percent thought Obama did damage when he returned after a summons by President Bush to attend a White House meeting on the crisis.

McCain also lost ground among likely voters on experience, though he still leads on the issue, while Obama's marks ticked up slightly. And McCain slid a bit as voters measured which candidate "cares about people like me," while Obama gained.

Adding to McCain's woes, just 25 percent of likely voters say Palin has the right experience to be president if needed, a huge drop from 41 percent in the previous poll last month. She posted an enormous loss in confidence among Republicans; three in four had called her experienced enough before, but not even half say that now.

"If she was running the helm, she wouldn't know what she's doing," said Caitlyn Pardue, a Republican from Rohnert Park, Calif., who decided last week that she probably would vote for Obama after determining that Palin "doesn't have the breadth of knowledge." Pardue, 60, called McCain's selection of Palin "pretty ill-advised" and added: "It shows irresponsibility to me."

In Port Orange, Fla., Jaimye Strickland just decided this week that she'll probably support McCain -- even though she's "hoping and praying" he doesn't end up following Bush's path. "I'm afraid of Obama," the Republican, age 56, said. "He doesn't have the experience that McCain does." She also said she worries that "he has some Muslim ties," even though she knows he's a Christian.

Outwardly, McCain's campaign expresses optimism, and advisers say they expect the race to reset itself several more times.

But privately some advisers acknowledge the difficult seas he is trying to navigate as the economy dominates the race. The Republican has previously agreed that the subject is not his forte, and historically the party in power loses elections during economic recessions.

Seeking traction, McCain sought to change the story line as the week began by questioning Obama's character, particularly during a crisis.

"A vote for Senator Obama will leave this country at risk," McCain said in a scathing speech. "We need a president who will always tell the American people the truth. ... Country first or Obama first?"

Efforts also were under way Wednesday that suggested McCain and the Republican National Committee would start ramping up TV advertising -- and going on the air in more media markets -- to close the spending gap in Florida, Missouri and other key states. Industry officials say Obama is shelling out $13 million this week compared with $11 million by McCain and the RNC combined.

Meanwhile, it appears Obama may be padding his edge in the Electoral College vote count in battleground states.

Polls show he has started pulling away from McCain in pivotal vote-rich states that Democrat John Kerry won four years ago and that McCain has made targets this year, including Michigan and Pennsylvania. Surveys also show that Obama is a few percentage points or more ahead in Ohio and Florida, two critical states that Bush won four years ago and that McCain must retain to have any hope of winning the White House.

Quinnipiac University surveys released Wednesday found that Obama's support jumped to 50 percent or more in three of those states: Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. Combined, they offer 68 of the 270 electoral votes needed for victory on Nov. 4. New CNN/Time/Opinion Research Corp. polls also showed Obama ahead in Nevada, Virginia, Minnesota and Florida, and tied in Missouri.

At the same time, McCain and his Republicans find themselves in the undesirable position of having to defend traditionally GOP states they hadn't anticipated would be competitive. Obama successfully put Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina into play by pouring money and manpower into the states at levels until recently unmatched by Republicans.

If I was an interviewer and had five questions for both McCain and Palin, then here are my questions:

FOR MCCAIN:

1) You and your party have consistently (including your recent Republican Presidential Convention) had a platform for deregulation of our economics systems including banking and stock markets. Today, with the turmoil in our economy caused by de-regulations, are you now saying that you and your party were wrong? And why the sudden change of your policy? Is it politically motivated?

2) Knowing that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Saddam Hussien's Iraq, and he was not an immediate threat, do you think that it was a mistake for us to enter a war against Iraq? If not why?

3) Today with the realization that our addiction for oil has affected our economy as well as security and the need to go to alternatives, why did you consistently vote against alternative energy sources? And why do you feel that oil companies though have record profits should continue to receive tax breaks?

4) Why did you not select Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge to be your V.P. running mate?

5) Since you in your words acknowledge that you voted with President George Bush for over 90% of the time and still want to maintain the same taxes along with Bush's previous economic policies, what makes you different in detail from Bush?

FOR PALIN:

1) You claim that you are against earmarks, but as mayor and governor you championed in receiving federal earmarks for both your state and town. Though you were previously for the "Bridge to No Where" and you now claim that you are against it then why haven't you returned the money?

2) You claim that you are reformer and that you want to remove the lobby influence in government, but you in the past significantly utilized lobbyists to get federal funding for State and Township, then why the sudden change in your policy? Is it politically motivated? If not, why do McCain and you still maintain a campaign staff comprised of lobbyists?

3) As mayor of your town, why did you make it a policy to charge women who have been raped for the rape kits?

4) McCain refers that you are an expert on energy; do you believe that drilling for more oil would immediately drop oil prices? And do believe we should move to alternative energy systems? If so how do you feel that John McCain voted consistently against bills that would have place alternative energy as paramount?

5) With the dynamics of Iraq with the religious and ethnic division (Shi'te, Sunni and Kurds) how would you make in detail change in the status quo? And finally knowing that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Saddam Hussien's Iraq, and he was not an immediate threat, do you think that it was a mistake for us to enter a war against Iraq? If not why?

BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE | September 28, 2008
HuffingtonPost

WASILLA, Alaska -- Though Sarah Palin depicts herself as a pit bull fighting good-old-boy politics, in her years as mayor she and her friends received special benefits more typical of small-town politics as usual, an Associated Press investigation shows.

When Palin needed to sell her house during her last year as Wasilla mayor, she got the city to sign off on a special zoning exception _ and did so without keeping a promise to remove a potential fire hazard.

She gladly accepted gifts from merchants: A free "awesome facial" she raved about in a thank-you note to a spa. The "absolutely gorgeous flowers" she received from a welding supply store. Even fresh salmon to take home.

She also stepped in to help friends or neighbors with City Hall dealings. She asked the City Council to add a friend to the list of speakers at a 2002 meeting _ and then the friend got up and asked them to give his radio station advertising business.

That year, records show, she tried to help a neighbor and political contributor fighting City Hall over his small lakeside development. Palin wanted the city to refund some of the man's fees, but the city attorney told the mayor she didn't have the authority.

Palin claims she has more executive experience than her opponent and the two presidential candidates, but most of those years were spent running a city with a population of less than 7,000.

Some of her first actions after being elected mayor in 1996 raised possible ethical red flags: She cast the tie-breaking vote to propose a tax exemption on aircraft when her father-in-law owned one, and backed the city's repeal of all taxes a year later on planes, snow machines and other personal property. She also asked the council to consider looser rules for snow machine races. Palin and her husband, Todd, a champion racer, co-owned a snow machine store at the time.

Nearly eight out of 10 Americans -- 78% -- say Congress should approve a historic bailout of the nation's financial markets, but most want lawmakers to significantly modify the Bush administration's $700 billion plan, according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.

Only 11% in the poll taken Wednesday night say Congress should take no action to ease the current credit crisis, which Bush has said could lead to a panic. Fifty-six percent of respondents say Congress should pass a plan that's different from the administration's proposal, while 22% want lawmakers to approve a plan similar to Bush's proposal to allow the Treasury Department to buy up to $700 billion in distressed assets from financial institutions.

POLL RESULTS: 43% following situation very closely

The one-night poll of 1,019 adults came on the night President Bush delivered a prime-time TV speech in which he argued the rescue plan is critical to averting a financial disaster. Results from the one-third of those who responded after the speech mirrored the earlier group.

Work continued late Thursday as members of Congress and the administration sought a compromise. Earlier in the day, lawmakers said they had reached a preliminary agreement among themselves, but it appeared to fray as the day wore on.
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The plan as proposed would allow the Treasury Department to buy troubled mortgage-backed securities and other loans held by financial institutions. The government could later resell the assets, presumably after they've recovered much of their value. The plan is designed to restore market confidence and allow bank capital and credit to flow again, unlocking critical gears of the economy.

Many Americans agree the financial meltdown is dire. Forty percent of poll respondents said it's the biggest crisis in their lifetime; 24% agree it's a crisis but say it's not the worst. However, 80% say they're following news about the Wall Street turmoil at least somewhat closely.

But many Americans also agree with Democrats who are pushing for significant new provisions. Sixty-three percent of respondents say it's "very important" to limit the pay of executives whose firms benefit from the plan. And nearly half of those polled say it's very important to help homeowners who can't pay their mortgages.