Morning Reaction: "I'm not sure right now that McCain can carry seven states" by Kula2316 Sun Oct 12, 2008 at 01:49:58 AM PDT
Rise and shine! For the record, a Republican said the title quote and admitted he is facing an "Obama tide" in his district that may threaten his hopes for reelection. We have several reports this morning that focus on the potential Obama landslide in the making. Also, several newspapers endorse Obama today and a new poll out of Colorado has Obama up big. Kula2316's diary :: :: As election day gets closer, Obama continues to make inroads in areas where McCain should have no problems. Several reports out this morning focus on Obama's gains. The Los Angeles Times has a great piece this morning on McCain's problems in traditionally conservative areas: Rep. Mark Souder, an Indiana Republican, said he was looking at an "Obama tide" in his district and wondering about his own reelection: "Can I withstand a firestorm?" "The impression of McCain on the economy is that he wanted more deregulation than Bush" at a time that voters are demanding more help from the government, he said. "I'm not sure right now that McCain can carry seven states," added Souder, whose home state has not picked a Democrat for president since 1964. "In the end I think McCain will carry Indiana. But if you are fighting for Indiana, you are in trouble." And problems in Florida as well: In conservative Naples, Fla. -- a heavily white, Republican area -- retirees and other residents have been hard hit by plummeting property values, rising tax bills and skyrocketing insurance premiums -- and McCain advisors, citing internal campaign polling, concede that the GOP nominee is "underperforming" there. :::::: The Miami Herald is reporting this morning that some Florida Republicans are beginning to slowly distance themselves from McCain, including top surrogate Charlie Crist: Even Gov. Charlie Crist, who helped deliver Florida for McCain during the primary, said he will spend the final weeks before Election Day minding the state's weak economy rather than campaigning for the Arizona senator. ''When I have time to help, I'll try to do that,'' Crist said last week, after he flew around the state with McCain running mate Sarah Palin. Saturday, he skipped a McCain football rally and instead went to Disney World. I guess Crist is another one who disagrees with the current direction of the McCain campaign: Crist has stressed the need to focus on the economy and, close allies say, has grown troubled with the negative direction of the McCain campaign as it focuses more on Obama's connections to 1960s radical William Ayers, rather than on pocketbook issues. Seems funny, doesn't it, that McCain's top surrogate in Florida won't be doing much campaigning for him in the final few weeks? The New York Times also takes a look at Republican hand-wringing this morning in Concern in GOP after rough week for McCain. :::::: What are they smoking? McCain campaign sees Iowa as still in play. :::::: Dahlia Lithwick asks a great question at Slate.com - why is the media differentiating between the "ethical lapses" of Sarah Palin and Alberto Gonzales? How is it that firing folks willy-nilly in last year's U.S. attorney firing scandal, left him disgraced, unemployable, and the subject of ominous future investigations, while Sarah Palin will skate right past Troopergate like a hockey mom in lipstick? How can it be that Gonzales' life is ruined because his subordinates fired their subordinates for selfish partisan reasons, whereas Palin will chug on unaffected, and maybe right on into the vice president's office? Ultimately, Lithwick believes that Palin was smarter in handling her scandal than Gonzales. But this brings up a great point and something I've been thinking about since the Troopergate report was released. If this were any other candidate, I think the Troopergate report would be disqualifying in the minds of the media and the public. But yet, Palin is still running for Vice President and seemingly escaping with no consequences, even after it was found that she violated an ethical statute and abused her power. Why is that? I can't figure it out. :::::: A PPP poll out late last night found Obama +10 in Colorado. :::::: Politico reported last night that McCain will be unveiling new economic plans this week: Among the ideas that have been considered are a bigger tax deduction for middle class mortgages, and more a more robust loan program for small businesses. But officials said the front-burner ideas all dealt specifically with markets. McCain’s new package would amount to a do-over from the hasty introduction of McCain’s mortgage buy-up program, which was widely criticized by conservatives and was seized on by Obama as a fresh target. So top McCain advisers want him to throw more out there, hoping it’ll stick. This is the exact opposite of what he should be doing. Only a few days after introducing his Homeowner "Resurgence" Plan, he's going to unveil something new? My sense is this will only serve to underscore Obama's claim that he is erratic in a crisis. :::::: The Wisconsin State Journal endorses Obama: America is at a pivotal point in its history — a difficult time that demands talented leadership to renew our nation's spirit and pull us together to meet the incredible challenges ahead. The right leader for the time is Barack Obama. Obama is also endorsed today by the SouthCoast Today (MA), the Lehigh Valley Express-Times (PA), the Asheville Citizen Times (NC), the San Bernardino Sun (CA), the Tennessean, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. :::::: Michael Schaffer of the New Republic takes a look at the (huge) differences between Obama and McCain rallies: The mood in the long lines to get into the five blocks in front of the stage is the precise opposite of the surly scenes outside GOP rallies that have made the rounds on YouTube over the past week. It's hard to get anyone to say a nasty word about anything. and I really liked this description: As the audience files away, a retiree named Edith MacDonald stays put in her seat. "This is just such a happy place," she says, watching the crowd stream past. Brooks and Dunn's "Only in America" is playing again, and McDonald shouts over it to tell me that she's the last one left from her generation, born in South Carolina before migrating north. "I told my family, God left me here for a reason," she says. "So when I go up to heaven and see my family, I tell them" that the country had a black president. :::::: I loved that last article. I'm so proud to be associated with a candidate who inspires hope, respect and tolerance rather than hatred and fear. So are you convinced of an Obama landslide yet? No one is getting complacent (at least I'm not), but I agree with Kos on this one - this is the time to completely destroy the GOP. I am somewhat surprised at the muted reaction to the Troopergate findings, at least in the print media. Since I can't watch American news, is it getting bigger play on TV? http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/12/1144/9284/437/628071 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "WebTV Dawgs/Dittos" group. 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