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[EMBee99]

And for another fun exercise, give the remaining toss-ups to whoever is ahead right now.

That makes it Obama 353, McCain 185.

McCain can't win the state-by-state race, so he's trying to tear down Obama nationally.

I hope that holds and I can start celebrating before 9pm.

 

[Barrett2]

She would get booed. I don't think they'd risk it. Or maybe she wouldn't. I don't know...

For Palin to go on, it would be so tightly controlled, I doubt it would even be funny. I think the Republicans are so paranoid about protecting her image, they would demand 100% control of the skit. In other words, it would suck.

I don't doubt that Palin wants to do it, but I doubt her handlers would let it happen unless they could control every last detail.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

With Obama, though? Dude is virtually gaffe-free. The worst he can possibly do and has done at a debate is simply not to stand out. He's exceptionally steady and consistent with the points he makes, and he's learned over the numerous debates to convey them more effectively. Even in his worst debate performances, I don't think he's ever come close to embarrassing himself.

Yeah, so long as he doesn't get bombarded with idiotic questions from Nash McCabe-type voters, he's not going to be caught offguard and embarrass himself.

 

[ZealousD]

And for another fun exercise, give the remaining toss-ups to whoever is ahead right now.

That makes it Obama 353, McCain 185.

McCain can't win the state-by-state race, so he's trying to tear down Obama nationally.

Hell, for an even more fun exercise, let's give the remaining toss-ups to McCain.

That makes it Obama 320, McCain 218

 

[Zeliard]

I want to disagree and say it will help Palin connect with people to show she's in on the joke. It didn't save Hilary, however, so who knows.

There was a big difference with Hillary, which is that the likes of Tina Fey and Poehler were actually supporting her and this was also conveyed in the impersonations and comments most of the time ("bitch is the new black", etc). They clearly don't support Palin, and that's even clearer. Palin embarrassed herself after that first Fey imitation when she said that she watched it with the sound off and thought Fey was funny or whatever, and that was mocked on the Daily Show in the vein of "hello? don't you realize that Fey is insulting the shit out of you?" It would be like that, but worse, in my view.

 

[GhaleonEB]

http://www.pollster.com/blogs/in_mccain_46_obama_46_r2k92910.php

Research 2000 (not for Daily Kos): Indiana tied.

 

[Fatalah]

Yeah, so long as he doesn't get bombarded with idiotic questions from Nash McCabe-type voters, he's not going to be caught offguard and embarrass himself.

Can you imagine McCain pulls out a picture of Obama shaking hands with like, the Brewer's German sausage mascot.

"My friends, Obama's shaking hands with the enemy!"

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

There was a big difference with Hillary, which is that the likes of Tina Fey and Poehler were actually supporting her and this was also conveyed in the impersonations and comments most of the time ("bitch is the new black", etc). They clearly don't support Palin, and that's even clearer. Palin embarrassed herself after that first Fey imitation when she said that she watched it with the sound off and thought Fey was funny or whatever, and that was mocked on the Daily Show in the vein of "hello? don't you realize that Fey is insulting the shit out of you?" It would be like that, but worse, in my view.

There's only one way it could work.

Fey: Well, this is kind of awkward.
Palin: Yeah....

 

[Steve Youngblood]

"My friends, Obama's shaking hands with the enemy!"

"That's not the change we need."

 

[Saint Gregory]

I'm a little stunned right now that all the repub talking heads are making the rounds this morning trying to paint Obama as an "unaccomplished state senator". Maybe it's just a cultural thing but I think the Harvard educated constitutional proffesor is more accomplished than a life-long senator who graduated 3rd from last in the naval academy and a woman who had to attend 5 colleges to get an undergrad in sports journalism :/

 

[bob_arctor]

I'm a little stunned right now that all the repub talking heads are making the rounds this morning trying to paint Obama as an "unaccomplished state senator". Maybe it's just a cultural thing but I think the Harvard educated constitutional proffesor is more accomplished than a life-long senator who graduated 3rd from last in the naval academy and a woman who had to attend 5 colleges to get an undergrad in sports journalism :/

But.....POW!

 

[Steve Youngblood]

I'm a little stunned right now that all the repub talking heads are making the rounds this morning trying to paint Obama as an "unaccomplished state senator". Maybe it's just a cultural thing but I think the Harvard educated constitutional proffesor is more accomplished than a life-long senator who graduated 3rd from last in the naval academy and a woman who had to attend 5 colleges to get an undergrad in sports journalism :/

Well, when it comes to small town values, attacking him as an ivy league elitist is even more damaging than painting him as an unaccomplished state senator. Be glad they're sticking with that.

 

[electricpirate]

And for another fun exercise, give the remaining toss-ups to whoever is ahead right now.

That makes it Obama 353, McCain 185.

McCain can't win the state-by-state race, so he's trying to tear down Obama nationally.

In the 2006 races pollster was scary accurate. like, +- .01 accurate. It got both the MO and the VA senate races right. They weren't as good at the primaries because the polls were all over the map, but this race should be fine.

 

[Poona]

well, he's an idiot if he doesnt think this would affect the whole world.

I'm Australian and I very much hope Obama wins (I worry for the US and rest of the world if he doesn't win). According to this so does the rest of the world too:

http://news.sbs.com.au/worldnewsaustralia/aussies_39for_obama39_559333

Aussies 'for Obama'
Tuesday, 7 October, 2008

If Australians could vote for US president, Democrat Barack Obama would win by a landslide, according to a survey that was part of a global poll.

In fact if the whole world could vote, Obama would win by a landslide in all but one of the 17 countries polled by Reader's Digest magazine.

The odd one out was the United States where Republican John McCain was preferred by a narrow margin, the magazine said in an article posted on its website.

However, the surveys - with about 1,000 participants in each country - were conducted from June 2 to July 7 and since then Obama has been leading in opinion polls.

Ten percent for McCain

In Australia, 76 per cent of respondents said they would vote for Obama, to McCain's 10 per cent.

When asked if they were paying attention to the campaign, 85 per cent of Australians said they were, with 24 per cent of claiming a high level of interest.

But a resounding 71 per cent said they would not want to live in the United States.

Of the global picture, the magazine's polling director John Fredricks said: "It's Obama by a landslide - except in the country in which he's actually running for president".

"What is most striking is the margin of his support."

Obama was preferred by more than 90 per cent in the Netherlands, by 85 per cent in Germany and by similar margins on all six continents, the magazine said.

Diverse opinions

Polling was conducted in Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United States.

An interactive reader survey by The Economist delivered another resounding victory for Obama.

The Economist has created a "Global Electoral College" in which readers in all of the world's 195 countries can cast votes on its website.

Mirroring the US system, each country is allocated a number of votes in proportion to its population.

In the US electoral college, a candidate needs to win 270 of a total 538 votes to win the White House. US voters cast ballots to decide who wins their state's electoral college votes, rather than voting for president directly.

"With over 6.5 billion people (worldwide) enfranchised, the result is a much larger electoral college of 9,875 votes," the Economist said of its global version.

"But rally your countrymen - a nation must have at least 10 individual votes in order to have its electoral college votes counted," it said.
​

 

[mckmas8808]

http://www.pollster.com/blogs/in_mccain_46_obama_46_r2k92910.php

Research 2000 (not for Daily Kos): Indiana tied.

WOW!!

O_O He's losing it all in one week!

 

[Fragamemnon]

I can see the GOP putting Palin on SNL. I mean, all she has to do is read the teleprompter. No big deal, I just don't see how it helps them improve her base problem-that voters consider her unfit for the office-very much.

It's interesting to see how most of the pundits in the press today are mentioning some of the off-color and digusting remarks that the crowds for McCain and Palin were shouting yesterday, and then blaming McCain's campaign for bringing this race to a point where this kind of stuff is to be expected. Definitely not the sort of spin that the big "he's not one of us" offensive was supposed to bring, and now we get two days of debate hype and spin, and then a couple of more days at the end of the week for someone to set in a weekend narrative.

 

[Y2Kev]

So the University of Iowa is selling presidential election futures. The price of an obama contract with a payout of $1 is .76 and the McCain is .24. Our economics class is buying a shitton of contracts and I said we should buy the Obama contracts. Some people disagreed based on the potential reward of the McCain contract, but I showed them 538's simulations and we bought like 2,000 obama contracts.

edit: I bet Tina Fey won't do SNL with Palin. She hates her.

 

[Zabka]

Why would she leave The View? She's just doing her job. You have to assume the producers put her up to it. I'm not saying she doesn't believe this stuff, but I guarantee they are behind the couch poking her with a stick

She doesn't need any poking. Besides speaking at the RNC this year...

Spoiler

I just wanted an excuse to post this picture

 

[mckmas8808]

Well, when it comes to small town values, attacking him as an ivy league elitist is even more damaging than painting him as an unaccomplished state senator. Be glad they're sticking with that.

How can one group of people (small town dwellers) look down on another group (ivy league college grads) and call them elists?

I mean logically would the first group (small town dwellers) be the elist ones? Aren't they the ones that think they are better than the 2nd group?

How does that work?

 

[snacknuts]

Just got an email from my stepmom. She and my dad have been canvassing for Obama and were offered some "preferred passes" to go see him at his rally at the state fairgrounds tomorrow. They can't go and I was planning to blow off work anyway, so my sister and I are getting the passes.

 

[Tobor]

How can one group of people (small town dwellers) look down on another group (ivy league college grads) and call them elists?

I mean logically would the first group (small town dwellers) be the elist ones? Aren't they the ones that think they are better than the 2nd group?

How does that work?

They don't understand what the word elitist means.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

It's interesting to see how most of the pundits in the press today are mentioning some of the off-color and digusting remarks that the crowds for McCain and Palin were shouting yesterday, and then blaming McCain's campaign for bringing this race to a point where this kind of stuff is to be expected. Definitely not the sort of spin that the big "he's not one of us" offensive was supposed to bring, and now we get two days of debate hype and spin, and then a couple of more days at the end of the week for someone to set in a weekend narrative.

They've got their work cut out for them in explaining what any of these associations have to do with anything. If there wasn't a hot-button issue like the economy tanking going on, I think these attacks might get more play. As it stands, it reeks of desperation and distractionary fear-mongering. Especially coming from Palin, who inspires no confidence in her knowledge of substantive issues even IF she didn't want to be in attack dog mode.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Tonight might be a touch more interesting than expected. From Ben Smith:

Lynn Sweet reported yesterday that the two campaigns had reached an agreement under which, among other things, moderator Tom Brokaw wouldn't ask follow-up questions tonight.

But Brokaw wasn't a party to the deal, I'm told, and hasn't agreed to it, so the campaigns are expecting follow-up questions, a senior campaign official said.

 

[Sharp]

How can one group of people (small town dwellers) look down on another group (ivy league college grads) and call them elists?

I mean logically would the first group (small town dwellers) be the elist ones? Aren't they the ones that think they are better than the 2nd group?

How does that work?

Don't try to understand it. The whole concept that education is bad is inherently flawed.

 

[Saint Gregory]

Well, when it comes to small town values, attacking him as an ivy league elitist is even more damaging than painting him as an unaccomplished state senator. Be glad they're sticking with that.

My family's not from this country and I've lived my whole life on the east coast so can someone from middle America explain why being well educated is a bad thing? Why would you not want the very best (elite) to run the country?

Also, will both candidates get the same questions tonight or will Obama get tough questions while McCain gets his usual "How awesome are you?" townhall questions?

 

[MassiveAttack]

I'm a little stunned right now that all the repub talking heads are making the rounds this morning trying to paint Obama as an "unaccomplished state senator". Maybe it's just a cultural thing but I think the Harvard educated constitutional proffesor is more accomplished than a life-long senator who graduated 3rd from last in the naval academy and a woman who had to attend 5 colleges to get an undergrad in sports journalism :/

5 colleges in 5 years...???!!!

She began college at Hawaii Pacific University [1], a private, nonsectarian school in Honolulu. She attended only as a freshman during the fall of 1982, school spokeswoman Crystale Lopez said.

Then known as Sarah Louise Heath, she was in the business administration program as a full-time student, Lopez said.

"We're trying to track down someone who knew her," Lopez added.

From Hawaii Pacific, Palin transferred to North Idaho College [2], a two-year school in Coeur d'Alene, about 30 miles east of Spokane. She attended the college as a general studies major for two semesters, in spring 1983 and fall 1983, spokeswoman Stacy Hudson said.

"We were not able to track down club affiliations or anything," Hudson said.

The school identified one of her professors but he did not remember her, Hudson said.

Prior to her selection by McCain, the North Idaho College Alumni Association notified Palin in June she would be the recipient of its 2008-2009 Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award.

From North Idaho College, Palin transferred 70 miles south to the University of Idaho [3], the state's flagship institution. She majored in journalism with an emphasis in broadcast news. She attended Idaho, whose mascot is the Vandals, from fall 1984 to spring 1985.

She then returned to Alaska to attend Matanuska-Susitna College [4] in Palmer in fall 1985.

Then she returned to the University of Idaho [5], for spring 1986, fall 1986 and spring 1987, when she graduated. Despite her journalism degree, she does not appear to have worked for the college newspaper or campus television station, school officials said. She worked briefly as a sportscaster for KTUU in Anchorage after she graduated college.

 

[ghibli99]

I can see the GOP putting Palin on SNL. I mean, all she has to do is read the teleprompter. No big deal, I just don't see how it helps them improve her base problem-that voters consider her unfit for the office-very much.

Funny thing is that what most people remember clearly about Bill Clinton's campaign was him playing the saxaphone on Arsenio Hall. What did this have to do with anything? Nothing, but it was a strong visual, youthful and cultural moment that was in stark contrast to what anyone's notion was of politics and politicians. His Q&A on MTV was very smart in reeling in young voters and tapping into my generation. I don't see Palin doing anything like this, however, since so much damage has been done already. Her biggest win was at the RNC, and it's been downhill ever since. I noticed she tried to lessen her Fargo accent a bit at the beginning of the debate (she sounded eerily like Hillary for a little while there), but it crept back in full-force before too long... I can barely listen to her without cringing.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

My family's not from this country and I've lived my whole life on the east coast so can someone from middle America explain why being well educated is a bad thing? Why would you not want the very best (elite) to run the country?

It's really very difficult to dissect. But you could see this narrative being pushed even in the debate when Palin was pushing for some good old fashioned horse sense from Wasilla Main St. The idea is just to paint a clear "us vs. them" picture among the base so that they favor completely ambiguous value systems -- the kind that you only get when you deal with the salt of the earth on a daily basis -- over pie-in-the-sky book knowledge that has no bearing on the REAL world.

 

[soul creator]

How can one group of people (small town dwellers) look down on another group (ivy league college grads) and call them elists?

I mean logically would the first group (small town dwellers) be the elist ones? Aren't they the ones that think they are better than the 2nd group?

How does that work?

doesn't apply in this situation

 

[Crayon Shinchan]

I'm Australian and I very much hope Obama wins (I worry for the US and rest of the world if he doesn't win). According to this so does the rest of the world too:

http://news.sbs.com.au/worldnewsaustralia/aussies_39for_obama39_559333

Aussies 'for Obama'
Tuesday, 7 October, 2008

If Australians could vote for US president, Democrat Barack Obama would win by a landslide, according to a survey that was part of a global poll.

In fact if the whole world could vote, Obama would win by a landslide in all but one of the 17 countries polled by Reader's Digest magazine.

The odd one out was the United States where Republican John McCain was preferred by a narrow margin, the magazine said in an article posted on its website.

However, the surveys - with about 1,000 participants in each country - were conducted from June 2 to July 7 and since then Obama has been leading in opinion polls.

Ten percent for McCain

In Australia, 76 per cent of respondents said they would vote for Obama, to McCain's 10 per cent.

When asked if they were paying attention to the campaign, 85 per cent of Australians said they were, with 24 per cent of claiming a high level of interest.

But a resounding 71 per cent said they would not want to live in the United States.

Of the global picture, the magazine's polling director John Fredricks said: "It's Obama by a landslide - except in the country in which he's actually running for president".

"What is most striking is the margin of his support."

Obama was preferred by more than 90 per cent in the Netherlands, by 85 per cent in Germany and by similar margins on all six continents, the magazine said.

Diverse opinions

Polling was conducted in Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United States.

An interactive reader survey by The Economist delivered another resounding victory for Obama.

The Economist has created a "Global Electoral College" in which readers in all of the world's 195 countries can cast votes on its website.

Mirroring the US system, each country is allocated a number of votes in proportion to its population.

In the US electoral college, a candidate needs to win 270 of a total 538 votes to win the White House. US voters cast ballots to decide who wins their state's electoral college votes, rather than voting for president directly.

"With over 6.5 billion people (worldwide) enfranchised, the result is a much larger electoral college of 9,875 votes," the Economist said of its global version.

"But rally your countrymen - a nation must have at least 10 individual votes in order to have its electoral college votes counted," it said.
​

Obama, president of the world confirmed.

You give that man a year to run in any country in the world as the head of state, and he'd probably win a good majority of them.

 

[DancingJesus]

Tonight might be a touch more interesting than expected. From Ben Smith:

I really do hope Brokaw breaks the rules, I could see him doing it too...

I guess we'll find out soon enough.

 

[EMBee99]

Everyone see these yet? Pretty good indie ads for Obama from the wonderful world of advertising:

http://thedenveregotist.com/article/2802/jeff-goodby-rich-silverstein-pound-mccain

 

[Tyrone Slothrop]

mccain was more fiery yesterday than i've ever seen him.

i expect quite a show tonight

 

[Zeliard]

My family's not from this country and I've lived my whole life on the east coast so can someone from middle America explain why being well educated is a bad thing? Why would you not want the very best (elite) to run the country?

Tim Robbins on The Daily Show last night said the same thing, as well as Bill Maher at an earlier point. "Wouldn't you want someone who's better than the average person, someone who's elite in the most powerful positions in the country?"

Apparently, no. Half of the country wants someone that they can drink a beer with, so that they can look at the White House and say "I can do that too!", and feel better about themselves. They hate voting for someone who is more intelligent than they are.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

Hot Off The Presses?

FL: Obama 48, McCain 46 (MasonDixon-10/4-6)

Mason-Dixon
10/4-6/08; 625 RV, 4%
Mode: Live Telephone Interviews

Florida
Obama 48, McCain 46

PA: Obama 55, McCain 40 (SurveyUSA-10/5-6)

SurveyUSA
10/5-6/08; 653 LV, 3.9%
Mode: IVR

Pennsylvania
Obama 55, McCain 40

 

[BobTheFork]

Don't try to understand it. The whole concept that education is bad is inherently flawed.

Very true, but "you think you're better than me!?!?!?!?!??!"
is THE lowest common demoninator.

 

[Fragamemnon]

Posted yet?

PA-Pres
Oct 7 SurveyUSA
Obama (D) 55%
McCain (R) 40%

That's a "knockout" poll if there ever was one. PA is gone, done, and any time or money McCain spends there is wasted.

 

[RiskyChris]

Apparently, no. Half of the country wants someone that they can drink a beer with, so that they can look at the White House and say "I can do that too!", and feel better about themselves. They hate voting for someone who is more intelligent than they are.

Could make a laundry list of similar political positions all across the social spectrum, from high school class president to national organizations.

It's a disgusting phenomenon.

 

[Stoney Mason]

Hot Off The Presses?

FL: Obama 48, McCain 46 (MasonDixon-10/4-6)

Mason-Dixon
10/4-6/08; 625 RV, 4%
Mode: Live Telephone Interviews

Florida
Obama 48, McCain 46

PA: Obama 55, McCain 40 (SurveyUSA-10/5-6)

SurveyUSA
10/5-6/08; 653 LV, 3.9%
Mode: IVR

Pennsylvania
Obama 55, McCain 40

The FLA mason dixon poll is nice. They are somewhat conservative in their polling but they are a good outfit so if they say Obama has a lead at the moment in that state he definitely does.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

Apparently, no. Half of the country wants someone that they can drink a beer with, so that they can look at the White House and say "I can do that too!", and feel better about themselves. They hate voting for someone who is more intelligent than they are.

Remember, though, that this message also ties into their feigned love of small government and personal responsibility. "The people on Wasilla Main St. sometimes want the government to get out of the way! The government isn't always the solution; in fact, a lot of the time it's part of the problem!"

Is this vague nonsense a lot of the time? You betcha! But doggawnit, it sure as heck sounds good. You spread the message of small town values, tie it into the dreaded agenda of liberals who want to tax and spend YOUR money, and it's an effective message. It breeds this message of "Hey, we know how to run our lives and manage our money! We don't need big shots with their fancy pants educations and expensive suits stepping in saving us from ourselves! Republicans understand that!"

 

[M3wThr33]

Obama, president of the world confirmed.

You give that man a year to run in any country in the world as the head of state, and he'd probably win a good majority of them.

And I think this is what's the biggest problem with the USA. Not being a part of the world view.

 

[Fatalah]

Everyone see these yet? Pretty good indie ads for Obama from the wonderful world of advertising:

http://thedenveregotist.com/article/2802/jeff-goodby-rich-silverstein-pound-mccain

Very funny, because that's exactly how I would imagine the McCain team meetings are like.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Hot Off The Presses?

FL: Obama 48, McCain 46 (MasonDixon-10/4-6)

Mason-Dixon
10/4-6/08; 625 RV, 4%
Mode: Live Telephone Interviews

Florida
Obama 48, McCain 46

And Mason-Dixon has a pretty stong GOP house effect. When they show Obama ahead, he's ahead for real.

PA is over and done with. The more McCain sinks into it the better.

The FLA mason dixon poll is nice. They are somewhat conservative in their polling but they are a good outfit so if they say Obama has a lead at the moment in that state he definitely does.

Read my mind. :lol

 

[SCReuter]

What is Sherri saying?

Huffington Post has the View segment up:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/07/the-view-gets-uglier-barb_n_132587.html

 

[Crayon Shinchan]

And I think this is what's the biggest problem with the USA. Not being a part of the world view.

Yeah... the most striking thing about America is probably the lack of empathy there...

probably how the rest of the world deals with at least 2 cultural views; their own countries, and America's... where as Americans, living in super power territory, simply haven't needed to deal with many other points of view.

 

[effzee]

 

[Haunted]

I'm Australian and I very much hope Obama wins (I worry for the US and rest of the world if he doesn't win). According to this so does the rest of the world too:

http://news.sbs.com.au/worldnewsaustralia/aussies_39for_obama39_559333

Speaking of a global electoral college, if the world could vote now has a snazzy flash map where you can zoom in and examine the results in detail.

 

[Sharp]

If only the election were held today... McCain is finished either way but if the numbers are anywhere close to this come election day it's going to be a bloodbath.

Yeah... the most striking thing about America is probably the lack of empathy there...

probably how the rest of the world deals with at least 2 cultural views; their own countries, and America's... where as Americans, living in super power territory, simply haven't needed to deal with many other points of view.

Oh, we will soon enough. We already won't do anything China tells us not to, soon it's going to be a bit more than that.

 

[MassiveAttack]

Tim Robbins on The Daily Show last night said the same thing, as well as Bill Maher at an earlier point. "Wouldn't you want someone who's better than the average person, someone who's elite in the most powerful positions in the country?"

Apparently, no. Half of the country wants someone that they can drink a beer with, so that they can look at the White House and say "I can do that too!", and feel better about themselves. They hate voting for someone who is more intelligent than they are.

Historically, this is a deeply anti-American sentiment and something that would stun the Founding Fathers into shock and disbelief. The idea that formal education, travel and knowledge of the world at large is an elitist preoccupation is a very anti-American ideal.

For all of Palin's "country first" exaltations, she is one of the worst examples of an American this country has seen in a very long time. Jefferson, Madison, and Franklin would consider her a heretic.

 

[syllogism]

Gallup 51-42