I think Sarah and her Republican handlers are trying to create distance between her and McCain as part of positioning her as the party's next leader.
Posted by Shirin at November 1, 2008 01:37 AMThere's something happening here
This time, it's perfectly clear
One man offering hope not despair
Another, telling us to beware
AP poll shows Obama backers gleeful, McCain's glum
My wife has said she's worried that McCain seems so confident, and wonders if they'll steal this election too.
My response is that the McCain team's feigned confidence, and Drudge's breathless "Breaking News!" reporting of every McCain-favoring poll outlier, is a very logical response to their situation.
Which is: They are about to get trounced badly and are trying to minimize the degree of the rout, especially in Congress. In order to do this the Republicans must address the discouragement of their base or otherwise large numbers of the base won't bother to vote.
Seriously, we've all see the stats showing massive early voting despite long lines and that Democrats are winning the early votes by large margins. We've also seen the surveys, one of which I've linked to above, showing that Democrats are enthusiastic, excited, energized, and thus willing to stay for up to 10 hours (as happened in Georgia yesterday) in line to vote.
What the Republican leadership knows is that unless they give their people some hope (ironic, no?) that McCain/Palin can win, a lot of their people won't brave the long lines to vote on election day.
This, by the way, explains why the 527 that is showing the Wright ads is going national, not just in swing states. They are trying to GOTV the Republican vote in all districts to help GOP Congress. It's why McCain is taking money from the ground game and putting it into TV -- he's trying to signal the base Republicans that there is a chance, otherwise the ground forces won't have a chance anyway.
It's why the McCain team is sounding like Baghdad Bob when talking about the election:
Reports of McCain's ground game being trampled by Obama's? Our ground game is the best that's ever been assembled.
The polls showing a huge lead for Obama? Our internal polls show it's tied. No, you can't see them.
The massive Obama edge in early voting? We're expecting a massive unexpected Republican surge in turnout on election day.
The fact that Obama is now campaigning in AZ, ND, MT, and GA? This shows Obama is grasping at straws and needs these Republican states to get to 270.
It's kinda-sorta like what Bob Dole did in 1996. In that election Clinton had a clear victory a week out, so Dole changed his campaign schedule to do a series of joint appearances of GOP candidates who were in close races, many outside of the swing states. Of course, in 1996 Dole was popular with the Republican base, so his appearances helped. And in 1996 it was not a change election -- it was a keep-the-status-quo election. So, what Dole did in 1996 won't work in 2008.
Instead, McCain/Palin's simple mission for the next 3 days is to give their base an illusion that they have a chance.
For the record, I think they will fail. And for that reason I think that we'll find the Likely Voter polling models are wrong -- that in this election it will be the registered Democrats who vote in greater percentages than registered Republicans, and thus the final victory will be at least as great as the registered voter polls (which all favor Obama by greater numbers than the likely voter polls) indicate.
Posted by Anonny at November 1, 2008 07:14 AMFOX News is known for outrageous graphics. Remember the chyron under a photo of Michelle Obama that called her "Obama's Baby Mama"? Well the producer who oversaw that to air got fired after the network initially tried to stem the issue by calling it "poor judgment."
FOX News Graphic Shows Men Shooting At Obama, McCain.
Last night Fox ran another graphic that could be considered "poor judgment," asking the question which candidate is for gun control. This one had two gunmen pointing their guns at photos of Barack Obama and John McCain.
See for yourself and decide whether it's "poor judgment" to point guns at our presidential nominees, especially when news of Obama assassination plots continues to surface.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/31/fox-news-graphic-shows-me_n_139881.html
Posted by Judith at November 1, 2008 07:27 AMAmusing enough, but's almost as if Jon and his writers don't really know what to do with this level of teh stupid anymore. It's getting almost impossible to parody.
I listened to a live McCain speech on Cspan radio last night, a rally in Columbus. When I was a kid watching Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Green Jeans, I was addressed at a more mature level than McPOW treats his crowds. (Then again, at age five I probably was more mature than his crowds.)
Posted by Sharkbabe at November 1, 2008 07:34 AMPalin: First Amendment Rights Threatened By Criticism.
According to Palin, what the Founders intended with the First Amendment was that political candidates for the most powerful offices in the country and Governors of states would be free to say whatever they want without being criticized in the newspapers. The First Amendment was meant to ensure that powerful political officials would not be "attacked" in the papers. It is even possible to imagine more breathaking ignorance from someone holding high office and running for even higher office?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/31/palin-criticism-threatens_n_139729.html
Posted by Judith at November 1, 2008 07:37 AMWell, McCain can continue to tout a win. It only helps Democrats.
Posted by Judith at November 1, 2008 07:43 AMAs noted earlier, everyone on the far right is excited that Zogby reported his Friday polling showed McCain up 48-47. We know Zogby is a poor pollster, but what do the other national trackers think after Friday?
R2000 has Friday's one-day sample at +9, after +8 on Thursday and the 4 samples before that being +5 or +6.
Rasmussen is comfortably back at 51-46, the average of where they've been since the last week in September, after 51-47 yesterday. The two big days for McCain in their polling were Sunday and Tuesday, and both have now rolled out of their 3 day tracker. This reaffirms that even Rasmussen is subject to distorted samples.
3 days left and a stable big lead.
Posted by Anonny at November 1, 2008 07:52 AMSharkbabe, when I hear McCain call Joe the Plumber "a hero and my model," he is not addressing an intelligent and politically savvy crowd. The idiots don't realize that McCain is talking down to them. Remember, they are the bottom feeders/chattering class to McCain.
Posted by Judith at November 1, 2008 07:53 AM"I think Sarah and her Republican handlers are trying to create distance between her and McCain as part of positioning her as the party's next leader."
Shirin, Palin couldn't find her way out of a paper bag, much less lead the Party. However, she does have all the qualifications they admire.
Posted by Judith at November 1, 2008 08:04 AMI get it now. onar writes for the Onion. Who else could cram so many ridiculous pseudo-scandals into one paragraph with such hilarity? Kudos, onar! You've perfectly captured the living satire that is the wingnut nation!
Posted by iamcoyote at November 1, 2008 09:28 AMZero's half brother lives in a run down hut in Kenya, making about a buck a week.
You mean this brother? The one who owns an electronics shop and prefers small town life? The one who has a consulting gig in Washington?
"Still, Malik Obama prefers the village to the fast-paced capital, Nairobi, where he grew up. He runs an electronics shop in a town a half-hour drive away, and works as a consultant in Washington for a few months each year."
"It was in the United States, in 1985, that he first met his 43-year-old half-brother Barack...'He was best man at my wedding and I was best man at his,' said Malik, who likes to point out that his younger brother's name is actually Barack Obama II, because their father was the original Barack Obama."
I'll be damned, Onar. You are a fucking idiot!
Auntie is here illegally,
You mean the one he knows nothing about being here? Damn! Rumor is she had really bad gas the other day. Got it from beans and onions. How dare Obama invent beans and onions!!! Bastard.
Onar, I've been trying to understand your hatred of Obama, so I went online and found your picture. Nice tats, asshole. When the time comes you'll be really easy to find...by the proper aurhorities, of course.
Onar is baggy. ONAR = On Narcotics and Reefer.
Posted by Judith at November 1, 2008 09:51 AMHey Baggy/Onar, your going down and I am going to enjoy watching you cockroaches scramble.
Posted by Judith at November 1, 2008 09:54 AMJust got an interesting prerecorded call from the Westchester County Board of Elections. Seems they mailed out an informational brochure about the election a few days back. It was bi-lingul, english and spanish. Great, right? Only problem? They somehow managed to print the wrong date for the election on the spanish language version.
Things that make you go hmmmmm.
Posted by snark at November 1, 2008 10:05 AMGallup:
52-42 likely voters (both models). Obama dominating in early voting.
Posted by Anonny at November 1, 2008 10:16 AM"Palin couldn't find her way out of a paper bag, much less lead the Party."
Obviously. However, one of the trademark characteristics of a narcissist like Palin is grandiosity and ambition that has nothing to do with ability.
Posted by Shirin at November 1, 2008 10:27 AM>>Sharkbabe, when I hear McCain call Joe the Plumber "a hero and my model," he is not addressing an intelligent and politically savvy crowd.
But what you don't know is that McCain is about to appoint Joe the Plumber to be his main economic advisor! Face it, libs, it's OVER!!! How can anyone compete with this twosome! They have so much in common! Neither one has hair or a clue how much he's worth (McCain can't remember how many houses he has, $40K-a-year Joe claims to be on the verge of buying a $250K+ business,) both hate taxes so much that Joe won't even pay his, preferring to let his less noble neighbors pay for his share of roads and schools, and both have their heads stuck down a toilet!
Posted by fmg at November 1, 2008 11:53 AMI think onar is bendito. The same idiotic, run on sentences.
Posted by Seven of Six at November 1, 2008 12:17 PMIf Joe the bummer is McCain's "role model", does that mean that he wants to lose his Az driver's license and not pay the fines too?
Sheriff Joe should get a warrant out on that bald ass hole and put him in tent city to show that he is non-partisan.
"When I was a kid watching Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Green Jeans, I was addressed at a more mature level than McPOW treats his crowds. (Then again, at age five I probably was more mature than his crowds.)"
...great observation, Sharkbabe. I honestly had the same thought watching them "perform", complete with "Howdy Doody" flashbacks. McCain looks like Phineas T. Bluster, the puppet mayor of Doodyville, and Palin is Princess Summerfall Winterspring.
And sadly yes, the peeps at their events, like onar, have the intellect of the prepubescent "peanut gallery".
Howdy Doody patriotic trivia:
"The new Howdy, who premiered in March 1948 was an all-American boy with red hair, forty-eight freckles (one for each state in the Union), and a permanent smile. Howdy's face symbolized the youthful energy of the new medium and appeared on the NBC color test pattern beginning in 1954."
Thanks TIKI, you just brought back wonderful childhood memories.
Posted by Judith at November 1, 2008 04:41 PM7 of 6, your right. Probably Benito the Sniper.
Posted by Judith at November 1, 2008 04:43 PMHi ya, Judith, hi ya, hi ya, hi ya!
I'll be good, I will, I will.