Florida- a graph that's worth a thousand words.

But Palin and

McCain needs to explain this to Florida seniors, poor families and the disabled. It won't be lost on Florida seniors who have lots of time to read WSJ.

Well, "You can't vote for war and disown the results"

Sarah Palin is a walking abomination.  She reminds me of the nazi element in American politics.  She is a Republican, what else does one expect from such miserable and unhappy people?

Suppose you scrub your ethical skin until it shines, but inside there is no music, then what? Kabir

There's also the video of McCain talking the same sewage and someone from his crowd calls out 'terrorist' referring to Obama, and McCain smiles his demented little smile, just like he did last spring when a woman called out 'how do we beat the bitch' referring to Hillary.

...and don't tell me there is any real counter attack to the McCain'Palin smear going on. Just some weak protestations and promises to attack in the future.

My concern is that the Obama campaign seems to be blindly following the failed campaign strategies of Gore and Kerry. The Obama campaign, like those two previous proven failures, seems not to understand the nature of what a modern presidential campaign is all about. They conceptualize campaigning as some sort of glorified college debate which it most certainly is not. Modern presidential campaigns are not about abstractly droning on and on about issues. They are not about taking some sort of high road while the other side is negatively defining what you are all about in the media. What they are about is image.

Already the Obama campaign's ignoring of the media cycle and sole concentration
on grass roots endeavors has allowed Steve Schmidt (McCain's new Rove) to steal the Obama campaign motto of "change." The Obama campaign seems not to understand what they are up against. Obama is always deferring to McCain as an honorable man. In debate, Obama is always pointing out how right McCain is and won't answer personal attacks. Biden, who as VP running mate, is supposed to be an attack dog,
also keeps going on about what a great guy McCain is.

This allowance of the other side to demonize you with no effective response is the same weak and passive strategy that has doomed the last two Democratic attempts for the White House. The only reason Obama is only a few points ahead of McCain  is because of the recent economic collapse. Obama should be way up in the polls. Why is he not? Because his strategy is weak and passive and he refuses to go on  the attack.

And attack is the name of the game!!!Negative campaigning is the most effective strategy there is. It's been the lesson of the last eight years. Negative campaigning could be especially effective for Obama because his attacks would be factual unlike the other side. There is so much ammunition. It is a crime not to use it.

First of all, McCain should be shown to be in the pocket of the lobbyists who caused the Wall Street fiasco. McCain's role in the Keating scandal - his trying to silence the regulators should be demonstrated in attack ads using video clips. Show video of McCain and Gramm. McCain should be shown to be completely inept at foreign policy - all you have to do is show the video of Lieberman whispering in McCain's ear that McCain had mixed up Sunni and Shia. Show video of McCain's wife talking about the jet she bought for him. A constant barrage of video clips would destroy  the "maverick" image of McCain/Palin.

Instead, the McCain campaign knows it can attack Obama with impunity. They can attack his character and smear with him Ayers, etc. They know the Obama campaign is weak and clueless and won't really smear back. Just a few weak threats. This doesn't have to be. There is so much ammunition to use against McCain - it is criminal not to use it.

There are only a couple of weeks left. Please convey to Obama campaign higher-ups that now is the time for Obama to take his gloves off. The American people will  respond to a candidate who fights with his bare knuckles for what he believes. This aloof business has got to be put on hold. If my concerns are not heeded, Obama will soon join Dukakis, Gore, and Kerry in the ash-bin of failed presidential contenders.

The most defining moment of the last presidential campaign was when Kerry was on the stump during the Swift Boat smear, a little old lady spoke up at  a Kerry rally and asked Kerry why he wasn't standing up for himself and attacking back. Kerry just looked at her cluelessly and mumbled some gibberish. Please don't let this happen this year. This campaign is bigger than Obama or any of us. He has got to act now.

McCain and Palin ought to be more careful with those rocks they're throwing, given that they both live in glass houses.

Read somewhere that both campaigns internal polling put Obama with nearly 270 Electoral votes. The writing is on the wall for McCain-Palin, I'm waiting for John McCain to suspend his campaign again, because the economic crisis is not over.

Palin had to much make-up on this morning in FLA. I wonder what that was all about, maybe she's trying to hide something.

Am I a bad person to nourish the fervent hope that McCain will treat us all to a viewing of that foul temper he's known for?  Preferably during the debate.

After that, I don't feel like joking about "my" Sarah anymore.


Recommended by Hideo Kojima

What Bill Ayers and other Weathermen did was evil and counterproductive, but it was  over 35 years ago. He served time and has not been warranted for arrest since.
When does the sin of association for legal activities come off those who know Mr. Ayers, even those like Sen. Obama who see him on only a few widely spaced occasions? Should those who associate with Gordon Liddy be condemned also?  Is it OK for Mr. Ayers to have friends and colleagues now or his he to be shunned for life? I once worked at a state university as a janitor and came into contact with ex cons because government janitor jobs are a traditional placement for those who might not be welcomed by other employers. I haven't been arrested once or even ticketed but do I bear an onus because I tried to get along with those guys?

The Ownership Society: $62 trillion in CDOs based on a $10 trillion mortgage market

How do we protect him? America's best leaders never make it.

Correct strategy and attack balance will win this election for the campaign that achieves it. The Obama campaign is working hard to achieve this balance as they recognize that the American voter is angry and has a low tolerance for the candidates not concentrating on the issues, especially in the current pre-depression economic state of the nation.

It is definitely a fine tightrope that the Obama campaign must walk in its use of attack ads, and this is essentially independent of what the Mccain camp decides to do. Not responding effectively to Mccain attacks carries the problem of allowing the theme of each and every attack ad to be endlessly echoed throughout the national media channels. Under these conditions you face the danger of losing control over your public image, abandoning it to your opposition.
On the other hand too many attack ad sours your image in the eyes of the public and you will be seen as irrelevant to the problems of the nation.

John Mccain has made a decision to use Palin as the super nasty attack dog, and she will not be talking about the issues whatsoever. Meanwhile Mccain's speeches will attack Obama from higher level which will be mixed with Mccain's positions on the national issues.

My suggestion for the Obama campaign is to try and exploit this use of Palin in the current Mccain strategy; because in the days to come she will be acting more and more like she is at the top of the ticket and Mccain is the VP. The Obama campaign should try to exploit every slip she makes in this regard and use it to drive a wedge between the two. Methinks with Mccain's short temper, he will not tolerate Palin flexing her ego in public in regards to who is actually the big cheese of the campaign. In the upcoming days Palin will be hitting the big rally circuits across the country, and I think that the "smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd" will start to blow her mind and she will become more and more critical of Mccain and the way he is running his campaign.  

Palin probably has a full Secret service detail, who are sworn to take a bullet to protect her from wackos.  

I wonder how they feel about her making their job of protecting candidates that much harder?  They can't walk off the job.  But can whomever leads her detail sit her down in a corner and explain exceedingly graphically what happens in an assassination and why promoting it is a Bad Idea?

The Palins support a terrorist separatist organization whose leader (a crazy old coot named Vogler) died buying plastic explosives.  The AKIP is willing to destroy to further its aims.  What is she willing to do to get her hands on power?

Lady MacBeth was smarter.  And we saw how well that turned out.  Ambition alone is not enough.  Ambition with sex appeal doesn't work either.