The CW this morning seems to anticipate fireworks (any one see today’s cover of the New York Daily News?) in the last presidential debate tonight: another Hail Mary pass from John McCain, though in exactly what form is anybody’s guess. As Maureen Dowd noted on GMA: McCain needs a big rabbit out of a small hat.
The Obama campaign is …
I was doing some cable TV duty last night and had the bad luck to follow a segment about a focus group of voters being dial tested during the debate. Dial groups are bad enough, but actually putting this madness on television as a verdict of some kind is reckless. I said as much at the beginning of my segment. First, the sample from …
Lots of process talk on the political tom-toms right now about McCain pulling out of Michigan and re-deploying resources to other states. This moving forces around the map like Gen. Rommel in the desert stuff may be catnip to the media and a huge pre-occupation of the campaign staffs, but it can obscure the big picture. McCain is in …
Here’s my take of the passage of the bailout bill. Everyone, have a great weekend. JNS
Here’s the latest from me on the financial crisis. An interesting aside: both Gallegly and Murphy were angry at the role politics, particularly presidential politics, played in process so far. When asked if they meant John McCain’s involvement, both were quick to praise McCain for standing up for House Republicans. But nor were …
No game-changer; the debate essentially a tie. Maybe a slight edge on points to McCain as he did put Obama on the defensive quite a few times although at the price of a crusty tone. Both campaigns will now employ first-rate funhouse mirror logic to claim smashing victories. McCain will say this puts him back in the race. They won’t …
Things to watch for tonight:
1.) Will McCain project a sense of steadiness and cool control. His operatic campaign of the last two weeks has undercut this and he needs to undo the damage.
2.) Will Obama speak in the clear, direct sentences of man ready to be in command.
3.) Will McCain emerge from the debate with a clear and crisp …
Congress is now racing against the clock. The deadline? The opening bell at 9:30am Monday morning. Many members have lamented that Paulson and Bernanke’s warnings of doom-and-gloom are self-fulfilling prophecies: there is little chance that a collapse wouldn’t happen in Congress doesn’t pass something. Here’s the latest from me …
This morning you would’ve been hard pressed to find a Republican member of Congress supporting the bail out despite five days of heavy pressure from the likes of Dick Cheney, Henry Paulson, Jim Nussle and Josh Bolten. The caucus was in a virtual revolt over being forced to vote for a bill that pretty much stands against much of their own …
Breaking news from Reuters:
McCain says he will suspend campaign to return to Washingon Thursday to help with bailout negotiations, asks that Friday debate with Obama be postponed so bailout negotiations can continue.
From TIME’s Amy Sullivan:
Like Jon Chait, I grew up in a Michigan family that has only every purchased cars from American automakers. When Chrysler was in serious trouble in the 1980s, my mom declared that it was our family duty to help out Lee Iacocca, and by God, over the next ten years we bought a string of identically crappy …
They were never really going to compete in 50 states, but the changes also whittle down the number of swing states where Obama’s playing. Back in June, when Plouffe laid out his strategy they said they would compete in as many as 25 states – given their advertising priorities that list has dwindled to 17 at best. Almost uniformly, …
Putting aside the political nature of McCain’s statements, our colleague Justin Fox has an excellent analysis of McCain’s Fannie/Freddie arguement here.
