Support NeoGAF

[kkaabboomm]

PA shouldn't even be a problem. This sucks! God dammit!

Obama MUST get what Kerry got or he loses. Kerry only won the state by 2.2% or so. Anything less is basically failure and a good chance of losing the election.

I really hope he can do some interesting things with the electoral map, since both PA and OH are in a position to possibly slip away from Obama.

http://www.pollster.com/polls/pa/08-pa-pres-ge-mvo.php
pollster avg 48.6 v 41.6 in pa?

i can understand getting worried about ohio, which kerry lost, and which obama can lose and still win if he picks up just nevada, alaska +?, just colorado, or just virginia, as well as his 'expected pickups from 04 iowa and new mexico'. but not PA, where the poll avg is still +7 in his favor.

heck, even ohio is still 45.6-43.9 in O's favor, which is a switch from 51-49 bush over kerry, per the pollster avg
http://www.pollster.com/polls/oh/08-oh-pres-ge-mvo.php

all i'm saying is if you want to be worried, be worried about ohio, not PA

 

[GhaleonEB]

Video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycIq8GeDxfo

I said know, I have plenty of cousins that I have met on occassion but I don't know them. Their is a big difference between a family member you grew up with as oppose to someone you didn't and only met a few times, hence the word "know".

I wasn't contradicting you - just adding to your point.

 

[gcubed]

PA shouldn't even be a problem. This sucks! God dammit!

Obama MUST get what Kerry got or he loses. Kerry only won the state by 2.2% or so. Anything less is basically failure and a good chance of losing the election.

I really hope he can do some interesting things with the electoral map, since both PA and OH are in a position to possibly slip away from Obama.

pa will not slip away from obama, not matter what some moron said in some article. Idiocy is rampant in this country. The media is doing a good job finding it, but its nothing new.

 

[mckmas8808]

There's a new thread?

BTW, I didn't see it, but Obama uncorked on McCain today. Hopefully he's going to stick to this narrative.


http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/08/people-who-live.html

YES!!!!! Obama has found a narrative. Now the only way it can work is for Obama and his people to repeat this at least 20,000 times.

 

[gcubed]

YES!!!!! Obama has found a narrative. Now the only way it can work is for Obama and his people to repeat this at least 20,000 times.

...

 

[Tamanon]

I dunno what the McCain camp was aiming for in their response, looked like just flailing, especially since unlike Cindy McCain, Obama actually had to work for his wealth.:lol

 

[Kildace]

YES!!!!! Obama has found a narrative. Now the only way it can work is for Obama and his people to repeat this at least 20,000 times.

Way ahead of you :

Barack Obama's campaign, moving rapidly to exploit what they see as a major opportunity, is deploying high-profile surrogates in 16 states across the country today to highlight John McCain's uncertainty yesterday about how many houses he owns, the Democrat's campaign tells Politico.

Governors, members of Congress and state legislators will hold conference calls and press conferences in front of homes to draw attention to the issue. Party leaders such as Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, on the stump in Ohio and Iowa respectively, wil move to incorporate the matter into their remarks on the campaign trail today in an effort to draw local media attention to the story.

Further, some state parties will hold contests in which Democrats seek out real voters who don't know how many houses they own.

And in other states, ordinary citizens who have been victim of the mortgage crunch will hold press availabilities to contrast their plight with McCain's wealth.

The aggressive move on Obama's part is in keeping with a shift in campaign tactics since his vacation. Obama and his campaign aides have both ramped up their rhetoric in recent days. This latest effort reflects a willingness to hit McCain much harder and to veer from conventional issue-based attacks to the sort of character assaults that have marked the GOP's campaign against Obama as well as their effort against John Kerry in 2004.

 

[GhaleonEB]

I dunno what the McCain camp was aiming for in their response, looked like just flailing, especially since unlike Cindy McCain, Obama actually had to work for his wealth.:lol

The hilarious part is, according to McCain's own definition of rich - $5m in income - Obama doesn't count. Whoops!

Way ahead of you :

Further, some state parties will hold contests in which Democrats seek out real voters who don't know how many houses they own.

Oh. Snap. Talk about grabbing the bull by the horns.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

The more I see Obama on the attack the more I feel wait this is more of the same... I feel confused since I start seeing him as a politician more and more than this hope and change guy I loved... its just me I guess. I'm not saying those attacks are baseless but its like someone picking on a retard, you can't help but feel sorry for McCain.

will this really work come november? I am so nervous about this.

 

[speculawyer]

Barack Obama's campaign, moving rapidly to exploit what they see as a major opportunity, is deploying high-profile surrogates in 16 states across the country today to highlight John McCain's uncertainty yesterday about how many houses he owns,

Combine that with his statement to Pastor Warren how you need to make $5Million per year to be considered rich = Mega-elitist.


Seriously . . . McCain doesn't have a clue what the world is like for some Wal*Mart worker making minimum wage.

 

[Azih]

Either Obama goes on the attack or he gets SwiftBoated. Simple as that.

 

[grandjedi6]

I actually don't mind Obama going after McCain on economic terms like this. Obama may have found an attack line that won't ruin his "no attack" image.

 

[speculawyer]

Either Obama goes on the attack or he gets SwiftBoated. Simple as that.

Yeah . . . they have to get dirty to some degree. They can still have various lines that they won't cross. For example, you haven't seen any official Obama folk bringing up the fact that McCain cheated on his wife and that he's lost 5 US aircraft in his career as a pilot.

 

[Diablos]

I totally understand that there are idiots everywhere and the media is looking for stupid people probably like never before.

However, as someone who actually lives in western PA, I have noticed -- even in my own family -- there are a lot of people who do not want to like Obama. They either believe the Muslim BS or are unsure about it, spread the chain letters around, etc. By "family" I don't mean immediate family, but other relatives, a lot more than usual.

The problem with western PA is -- and John King of all people actually got this one right on CNN during the primary here -- that the Democratic stronghold here is mostly white Catholics who REALLY wanted to see Hillary get the nomination. These are the same people that rejected Dukakis, who was not only perceived as weak but is Greek Orthodox. Many of the Catholics here are not that fond of black people, I can tell you that just from living here, and it sucks.

Anyway, feel free to come up with something different, but this is the worst Obama can do while still pulling out a win, I would think.

 

[GhaleonEB]

I actually don't mind Obama going after McCain on economic terms like this. Obama may have found an attack line that won't ruin his "no attack" image.

Part of the trick is that he's using McCain's own words against him. Just quote McCain, and put it in context of his economic policy and the state of the economy, then contrast it with Obama's plans. He doesn't need to stretch anything, just keep quoting McCain.

 

[The Librarian]

Part of the trick is that he's using McCain's own words against him. Just quote McCain, and put it in context of his economic policy and the state of the economy, then contrast it with Obama's plans. He doesn't need to stretch anything, just keep quoting McCain.

And this isn't that hard to do.:lol

 

[grandjedi6]

Last debate is on foreign policy.

http://www.debates.org/pages/news_111907.html

False: http://thepage.time.com/obama-mccain-statement-on-presidential-debates/

 

[Crisis]

I tend to agree with you Smiles. I don't really like it but the Republicans have got to be the nastiest cheap-shotters I've ever seen this year. The more McCain does this kind of thing unanswered it keeps the focus on Obama in a negative light. Simply diffusing it as it comes is only beneficial if it doesn't happen often. I have never seen more absurd attacks on someone's character than what the McCain camp is doing to Obama.

 

[StoOgE]

I think this may have been McCains Dukakis in a tank Kerry on a wind board moment.

I think they should hammer Mccain 24/7 on this. Play the you have to make 5 million a year to be rich, I dont know how many houses I own till the cows come home. Dont let up, run it into the ground until Nov 4th, run his "economy is good" "its all in your heads" stuff too.

Also, guys this isnt dirty. This is showing McCain is out of touch with voters. Dirty is swiftboating or calling into question McCains patriotism.

 

[scorcho]

False: http://thepage.time.com/obama-mccain-statement-on-presidential-debates/

whoa. rejoice! i initially read that Schieffer was hosting the foreign policy debate. whew.

 

[TDG]

To be honest, Obama going on the attack was long overdue. It's all well and good to have the moral high ground, but that's not going to win elections. McCain is a fucking moron when it comes to the economy, and it's about time Obama's campaign starts pointing this out.

Does it tarnish Obama's "new kind of politician" image? Maybe, who knows. Considering the candidates and the state of the country, it's a lot more important for Obama to win than for Obama to have a nice image. Besides, if Obama is attacking, he's at least campaigning like a new kind of democrat, considering most democrats have been talking vaginas in suits these last few elections.

 

[Tamanon]

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/08/mccain_camp_responds_on_houses.php

The McCain campaign is road-testing a new argument in responding to Obama's criticism of his number-of-houses gaffe, an approach the McCain camp has never tried before: The houses gaffe doesn't matter because ... he was a POW!

"This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years -- in prison," spokesman Brian Rogers told the Washington Post.

For those of you who haven't kept track, the McCain campaign just recently cited McCain's POW years in explaining away the Miss Buffalo Chip gaffe, and in dealing with the allegation that he broke the rules and listened in on Barack Obama during the Rick Warren forum.

Also, Rogers made sure to play the anti-intellectual card: "In terms of who's an elitist, I think people have made a judgment that John McCain is not an arugula-eating, pointy headed professor-type based on his life story."

The POW defense works for everything!

And now I want them to ask "Is McCain saying that teachers are bad?"

 

[Diablos]

POW defense is REALLY GETTING ANNOYING.

"McCain can scratch his ass on stage if he wants, he was a POW for 5 years!"

It's like no one is allowed to treat him like an opponent because he was a POW.

 

[speculawyer]

Also, Rogers made sure to play the anti-intellectual card: "In terms of who's an elitist, I think people have made a judgment that John McCain is not an arugula-eating, pointy headed professor-type based on his life story.""

This kind of thing still drives me nuts. Why is not being intelligent viewed as a plus? Obama was a professor . . . he taught Constitutional Law. But you never hear that because in this country, that is somehow a negative. Being ignorant is better hence George Bush.

 

[The Librarian]

Obama should get an ad out about McCain denouncing the Corsi book on Kerry back in 2004, but supporting another Corsi book in 2008 when he is in the election.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

what the hell is arugula?

ah oh well if everyone here feels Obama should stay on the attack so be it. As long as the media does not spin it into something that hurts him in the long run

 

[maximum360]

The more I see Obama on the attack the more I feel wait this is more of the same... I feel confused since I start seeing him as a politician more and more than this hope and change guy I loved... its just me I guess. I'm not saying those attacks are baseless but its like someone picking on a retard, you can't help but feel sorry for McCain.

will this really work come november? I am so nervous about this.

Unfortunately he has to be this aggressive to have a chance at winning. He still has a uphill battle with many older voters and those "Reagan democrats" primarily due to the inconvenience of his skin color.

As I said before, this was probably the tactic they were going to take post his vacation where Obama will be increasingly aggressive up to the election.

 

[Mandark]

The format of that first debate sounds awesome.

Focusing on just foreign policy? Lehrer moderating? Nine minute chunks for each subject? The primary debates should have been so sane.

 

[maximum360]

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/08/mccain_camp_responds_on_houses.php



The POW defense works for everything!

And now I want them to ask "Is McCain saying that teachers are bad?"

I wonder how many times McCain can cash the POW check until people get sick and tired and of hearing it.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

debates, when is the first one?

 

[Steve Youngblood]

The more I see Obama on the attack the more I feel wait this is more of the same... I feel confused since I start seeing him as a politician more and more than this hope and change guy I loved... its just me I guess. I'm not saying those attacks are baseless but its like someone picking on a retard, you can't help but feel sorry for McCain.

will this really work come november? I am so nervous about this.

Personally, I don't care what he does so long as he campaigns effectively. Would it be nice to see the power of hopium guide him into the White House practically unchallenged? Yes, yes it would. But if that's not going to work, then he needs to do something. Does that have to mean attacking with the same old tricks of old Washington? Not necessarily. However, those tricks have worked in the past.

All I know is that I diverge from popular opinion here in the fact that I'm not going to blame America if Obama loses. McCain is doing what Republicans always do. If Obama's "new politics" were unprepared to combat that, then he deserves to lose, and the Democrats deserve to have their reputation tarnished as a party that is unparalleled in being able to clench defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

[Eric P]

"This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years -- in prison," spokesman Brian Rogers told the Washington Post.

amazingly shameless

 

[VanMardigan]

If Obama loses both Ohio and Pennsylvania, I don't see how he wins Indiana. Whatever caused him to lose the other two will likely carry over.

 

[TDG]

If Obama loses both Ohio and Pennsylvania, I don't see how he wins Indiana. Whatever caused him to lose the other two will likely carry over.

His first name's Evan, his last name's Bayh. When talking about veeps, he's your guy.

 

[masud]

The only problem I see with Obama going negative is that not one gives a shit about McCain at all. I don't see this narrative getting any traction in the media at all simply because it's about McCain and not Obama. For better or worse this election is only about Obama and these attacks imo will only hurt his image as crazy as that sounds.

 

[Incognito]

Nice to see Hillary Clinton campaigning in earnest for Obama in Florida today.

 

[Tamanon]

The only problem I see with Obama going negative is that not one gives a shit about McCain at all. I don't see this narrative getting any traction in the media at all simply because it's about McCain and not Obama. For better or worse this election is only about Obama and these attacks imo will only hurt his image as crazy as that sounds.

Nah, the media loves a good attack and gaffe. It'll get today and part of tomorrow, then the Veep/convention and it'll be part of the stump.

It especially helps that the McCain camp hasn't even attempted to damage control, instead trying to deflect attention.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

The only problem I see with Obama going negative is that not one gives a shit about McCain at all. I don't see this narrative getting any traction in the media at all simply because it's about McCain and not Obama. For better or worse this election is only about Obama and these attacks imo will only hurt his image as crazy as that sounds.

Well, that's true for the moment. But it should be a primary objective for Obama to shift this back into a contest between John McCain and Barack Obama, and not simply a referendum for or against Obama. The former is a much more winnable fight, and McCain's shift in campaigning is him embracing the fact that this election isn't really about him right now.

 

[Frank the Great]

I totally understand that there are idiots everywhere and the media is looking for stupid people probably like never before.

However, as someone who actually lives in western PA, I have noticed -- even in my own family -- there are a lot of people who do not want to like Obama. They either believe the Muslim BS or are unsure about it, spread the chain letters around, etc. By "family" I don't mean immediate family, but other relatives, a lot more than usual.

The problem with western PA is -- and John King of all people actually got this one right on CNN during the primary here -- that the Democratic stronghold here is mostly white Catholics who REALLY wanted to see Hillary get the nomination. These are the same people that rejected Dukakis, who was not only perceived as weak but is Greek Orthodox. Many of the Catholics here are not that fond of black people, I can tell you that just from living here, and it sucks.

Anyway, feel free to come up with something different, but this is the worst Obama can do while still pulling out a win, I would think.

Obama has a much better chance in Florida than he does in Indiana.

Part of me wants Obama to pick Clinton at this point. I'm not liking where this is going.

 

[maximum360]

If Obama loses both Ohio and Pennsylvania, I don't see how he wins Indiana. Whatever caused him to lose the other two will likely carry over.

I don't see Obama winning Indiana. He has a better shot at some other swing states. I still believe that Obama will roll out at least Hillary Clinton in some of the traditional swing states OH, FL, and then also in PA, MI (and maybe IN and Nevada). If he can keep her focused their while targeting the other swing states himself (IA, AK, NC, VA, NM, CO), he can really take it to McCain.

The one way that the Clinton's did so well is due to the sheer number of campaign events they had, with Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea on the stump just about every day while Obama was mostly solo with Michelle to help out here and there. If Obama can get Hillary and at least Chelsea on the stump in key areas, that will bode will for him.

Edited for missed word.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

how can McCain not look too old for this shit?

can he even last 4 years without major blunders?

 

[Steve Youngblood]

I don't Obama winning Indiana. He has a better shot at some other swing states. I still believe that Obama will roll out at least Hillary Clinton in some of the traditional swing states OH, FL, and then also in PA, MI (and maybe IN and Nevada). If he can keep her focused their while targeting the other swing states himself (IA, AK, NC, VA, NM, CO), he can really take it to McCain.

The one way that the Clinton's did so well is due to the sheer number of campaign events they had, with Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea on the stump just about every day while Obama was mostly solo with Michelle to help out here and there. If Obama can get Hillary and at least Chelsea on the stump in key areas, that will bode will for him.

What if he can't get them, and just takes a page from their book? I'm sure Obama can campaign a couple of times from the back of a pickup truck, adopting a southern accent, and make NASCAR metaphors.

 

[grandjedi6]

debates, when is the first one?

First Presidential Debate:
Date: September 26
Site: University of Mississippi
Topic: Foreign Policy & National Security
Moderator: Jim Lehrer
Staging: Podium debate
Answer Format: The debate will be broken into nine, 9-minute segments. The moderator will introduce a topic and allow each candidate 2 minutes to comment. After these initial answers, the moderator will facilitate an open discussion of the topic for the remaining 5 minutes, ensuring that both candidates receive an equal amount of time to comment

 

[TDG]

The format of the first debate sounds terrific.

Obama has a much better chance in Florida than he does in Indiana.

I don't Obama winning Indiana.

What about Bayh?

 

[Diablos]

His first name's Evan, his last name's Bayh. When talking about veeps, he's your guy.

That's what I was thinking, yes.

If Biden really is gonna be the VP... is he really that great of a choice?
Bayh will help Obama greatly in the "rust belt".

 

[GhaleonEB]

The format of the first debate sounds terrific.

What about Bayh?

What about him?

 

[Skiptastic]

What about Bayh?

He'll make it close, but it will be tough to overcome a 40 year trend of voting Republican for president.

According to that map, Obama wins Virginia. Does Obama win Virginia without Tim Kaine as VP? I haven't seen stats on Virginia, but I remember Bush winning it pretty handily last time.

 

[GashPrex]

I actually don't mind Obama going after McCain on economic terms like this. Obama may have found an attack line that won't ruin his "no attack" image.

really? because to me this is the strangest attack yet...Though you never know what will stick in the public. Seems the same people who argued that his pastor's statements were irrelevant are now trying to tell me how many houses McCain has is relevant.

 

[TDG]

What about him?

Polls are already closer than most elections in Indiana. Evan Bayh is from Indiana. Hoosiers love Bayh, and Bayh appeals to rust belt voters in general. Bayh COULD make Indiana close/blue, and he would definitely help out in places like Michigan and Ohio.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

First Presidential Debate:
Date: September 26
Site: University of Mississippi
Topic: Foreign Policy & National Security
Moderator: Jim Lehrer
Staging: Podium debate
Answer Format: The debate will be broken into nine, 9-minute segments. The moderator will introduce a topic and allow each candidate 2 minutes to comment. After these initial answers, the moderator will facilitate an open discussion of the topic for the remaining 5 minutes, ensuring that both candidates receive an equal amount of time to comment

'Ouh... I have no TV at home but I should be in a hotel room in New Orleans that night, lucky!

I won't be able to catch the epic GAF lulz though