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[Snaku]

Seems like McCain is sabotaging his own campaign from the inside. He calls a meeting in Washington, but proceeds to stay quiet during the meeting while partisan bickering breaks out all around him? He didn't end up looking good.

What was he supposed to say? He admittedly knows jack shit about the economy, and opening his mouth would only embarrass him.

 

[CharlieDigital]

McCain left DC? Where did you see this?

Well, at least for the night. He went back to his condo in VA.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

It's because of the good news that McCain left DC and got his hand out of the negotiations :lol

Did he officially leave DC? For reals?

 

[VanMardigan]

It would be too much to assume, for example, that he might take the common sense, rational approach of contacting Reid FIRST and asking what Reid might have had in mind when he asked for McCain's involvement. Got it.

Yeah, you got it. At this point, calling for McCain's involvement in ANYTHING is a mistake if you're a Dem. He's shown he'll do anything. He's shown he's desperate. Go ask Harry Reid if he'd go back and call John McCain out or ask for his input.

If the answer is no, you know it was a mistake.

 

[Deleted member 20415]

I love that McCain tried to give himself a backdoor as a saving grace last night...

Wednesday: "I won't take part in these debates unless there is a deal"

Thursday: "I won't take part in these debates unless there is a reasonable deal"

He'll call whatever they have at 3 p.m. "reasonable" and jet off to Mississippi and try to pretend that he didn't make himself look like a fool mid-week.

 

[Cheebs]

Obama/Biden 49%
McCain/Palin 42%

today's hotline-diago numbers

 

[CharlieDigital]

Yeah, you got it. At this point, calling for McCain's involvement in ANYTHING is a mistake if you're a Dem. He's shown he'll do anything. He's shown he's desperate. Go ask Harry Reid if he'd go back and call John McCain out or ask for his input.

If the answer is no, you know it was a mistake.

I don't think, at any point, Reid called for his input. If anything, he called to ask McCain to get the Republicans in line for a vote, not for his input on the bill.

 

[Sharp]

Also: I suppose it's good that McCain is giving off the impression that he could be worse than Bush if it gets Democrats fired up against him as well as for Obama, but TBH unless he died and Palin took office I don't see him being a worse president than Bush. He wouldn't be doing the crazy things he is if it weren't because he was behind in the polls, and if he were elected he wouldn't have to. My main concern with his presidency would be the inanity of some of his advisers and staff (and anyone who says with a straight face that everyone is insured because everyone has access to an emergency room), not the man himself--and at the very least I believe he is capable of making rational decisions on his own, whereas I have no such confidence in Bush.

 

[blahness]

Well, at least for the night. He went back to his condo in VA.

probably in northern VA which is in the DC/Metro area...

 

[GhaleonEB]

Obama/Biden 49%
McCain/Palin 42%

today's hotline-diago numbers

Up three from yesterday, when it was 47% - 43%.

So far, Rasmussen is up two, Hotline/Diago is up three, Research 2000 is down one.

Your turn, Gallups.

And Obama got some really good state polling already today.

 

[Evlar]

Question then: what if she has a legitimate reason to be removed from the ticket? Can she still bow out now?

I don't think so. If (God forbid) one of the candidates is incapacitated for some reason, or killed, they still stay on the ballot. Then the electoral college is supposed to do its job. At this point things get a little fuzzy for me: Some states let their electoral delegates vote for whomever they wish (nothing legally binds them to vote for the persons they were delegated to... though it's still 99.99% certain they will). Other states, by law, bind their delegates to vote for the person they were delegated to for a certain number of ballots in the Electoral College- the first three attempts, for instance. I do not know whether any of these states have exceptions for extraordinary circumstances such as a death or incapacitation.

Ideally the Electoral College will recognize that they have someone selected who can't serve and will act independently to choose another person. It can be anyone whosoever who meets the basic qualifications- 35 years old, natural citizen, not a felon, not already President two consecutive terms, not from the same state as the other half of the ticket. It doesn't even have to be someone who's active in the campaign. It doesn't have to be someone that any American citizen voted for.

So, if Palin (for example) wasn't able to serve the Electoral College could, in theory, pick most anyone else to fill her spot: Biden, Obama, Hillary Clinton, even you or me if you fill the requirements. The party that won the election would undoubtedly be pushing hard to let the other half of the ticket (McCain in this case) select their VP. If McCain were disabled they could select Palin as President if they wished, and pick someone else as VP.

If it gets out of the Electoral College and there's still no acceptable selection for either position it falls to the House (for the President) or Senate (for the Veep). One way or another two people will be sworn in by January.

 

[Barrett2]

Also: I suppose it's good that McCain is giving off the impression that he could be worse than Bush if it gets Democrats fired up against him as well as for Obama, but TBH unless he died and Palin took office I don't see him being a worse president than Bush. He wouldn't be doing the crazy things he is if it weren't because he was behind in the polls, and if he were elected he wouldn't have to. My main concern with his presidency would be the inanity of some of his advisers and staff (and anyone who says with a straight face that everyone is insured because everyone has access to an emergency room), not the man himself--and at the very least I believe he is capable of making rational decisions on his own, whereas I have no such confidence in Bush.

I agree that McCain wouldn't be any worse than Bush. Would he be much better? meh...

 

[Stoney Mason]

There's no way she will drop out. I think Palin really is a greedy little shit and wants this position just as much as the crazy fundies want her.

She doesn't "blink" so there's no way she will ever step down. The only bad thing about focusing on Mccain's grandstanding on Capitol Hill has been the lack of coverage focused on Palin's meltdown.

 

[Cheebs]

Huckabee doesn't like McCain's recent moves:

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Thursday that Sen. John McCain made a “huge mistake” by even discussing canceling the presidential debate with Sen. Barack Obama.

McCain’s campaign has said the Republican wouldn’t participate in the Mississippi debate Friday unless there was a consensus on the financial crisis, but Obama still wants the debate to go on.

Huckabee defeated McCain in the Alabama GOP primary in February.

Huckabee said Thursday in Mobile that the people need to hear both candidates. He said that’s “far better than heading to Washington” to huddle with senators.

He said the candidates should level with the people about the financial crisis and say the “heart of this is greed.”

Huckabee said he still backs McCain’s candidacy, but said the Arizona senator should not have put his campaign on hold to deal with the financial crisis on Wall Street. He said a president must be prepared to “deal with the unexpected.”

“You can’t just say, ‘World stop for a moment. I’m going to cancel everything,”‘ Huckabee said.

 

[VanMardigan]

I don't think, at any point, Reid called for his input. If anything, he called to ask McCain to get the Republicans in line for a vote, not for his input on the bill.

I should've said involvement. I haven't suggested that Reid needed McCain's input on the bill itself.

 

[Keylime]

She doesn't "blink" so there's no way she will ever step down. The only bad thing about focusing on Mccain's grandstanding on Capitol Hill has been the lack of coverage focused on Palin's meltdown.

Depends on when you talk to her.

To Charlie Gibson: I didn't blink! I said yes immediately without any hesitation.

To Hannity: We had a family meeting to discuss it...everyone said "Yes Mommy, you should do this, we're behind you 110%!"...and then I accepted.

 

[CharlieDigital]

If it gets out of the Electoral College and there's still no acceptable selection for either position it falls to the House (for the President) or Senate (for the Veep). One way or another two people will be sworn in by January.

Thanks for the detail. Then the funny thing is that the Republicans were swirling around a rumor that Biden was going to bow out for Hilary :lol

 

[Kildace]

Depends on when you talk to her.

To Charlie Gibson: I didn't blink! I said yes immediately without any hesitation.

To Hannity: We had a family meeting to discuss it...everyone said "Yes Mommy, you should do this, we're behind you 110%!"...and then I accepted.

Maybe she didn't blink at all throughout the family meeting!

 

[Deleted member 20415]

Maybe she didn't blink at all throughout the family meeting!

Touche.

I can't believe that for the first time in basically my life (26 years), the Republicans are actually fractured... and it doesn't seem like the Whip can get everyone in line. That's pretty incredible when you consider it.

These are people that take their flouride pills and get in line.

 

[gkryhewy]

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Thursday that Sen. John McCain made a “huge mistake” by even discussing canceling the presidential debate with Sen. Barack Obama.

McCain’s campaign has said the Republican wouldn’t participate in the Mississippi debate Friday unless there was a consensus on the financial crisis, but Obama still wants the debate to go on.

Huckabee defeated McCain in the Alabama GOP primary in February.

Huckabee said Thursday in Mobile that the people need to hear both candidates. He said that’s “far better than heading to Washington” to huddle with senators.

He said the candidates should level with the people about the financial crisis and say the “heart of this is greed.”

Huckabee said he still backs McCain’s candidacy, but said the Arizona senator should not have put his campaign on hold to deal with the financial crisis on Wall Street. He said a president must be prepared to “deal with the unexpected.”

“You can’t just say, ‘World stop for a moment. I’m going to cancel everything,”‘ Huckabee said.

Huckabee continues to legitimize himself. Wow.

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

When John McCain Came To The Rescue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT-XgrrXADo

 

[mclem]

Huckabee has been sooo in the tank for a while now

But is Dukakis in the tank for Obama?

 

[GhaleonEB]

For any other poll junkies out there, Pollster.com is doing one epic upgrade to their graphs.

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

 

[Sharp]

She doesn't "blink" so there's no way she will ever step down. The only bad thing about focusing on Mccain's grandstanding on Capitol Hill has been the lack of coverage focused on Palin's meltdown.

The thing about Palin's meltdown is that (a) it's the sort of thing that speaks for itself and will have long legs, and (b) it's clearly not an irreproducible performance; anything nonscripted that she participates in just will not go well.

Huckabee continues to position himself as the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. Wow.

Probably fixed.

 

[Barrett2]

So I assume everyone else on this thread isn't getting a damn thing done today? I have been sitting at my desk for the last hour, but I haven't even begun to look at any actual work.... This election is crippling me. I barely even played the Little Big Planet beta yesterday because I was F5ing so much and watching non-stop news. :lol

 

[mckmas8808]

Not sure if Ed Schultz has any credibility, but


Capitol Hill sources are telling me that senior McCain people
are more than concerned about Palin. The campaign has held
a mock debate and a mock press conference; both are being described as "disastrous." One senior McCain aide was quoted as saying, "What are we going to do?" The McCain people want to move this first debate to some later, undetermined date, possibly never. People on the inside are saying the Alaska Governor is "clueless."

This is horrible. I feel bad for the lady a little bit. Why didn't they vet her some more before picking her?

 

[Imm0rt4l]

"Well, there is a danger in allowing some obsessive partisanship to get into the issue that we're talking about today. And that's something that John McCain, too, his track record, proving that he can work both sides of the aisle, he can surpass the partisanship that must be surpassed to deal with an issue like this."

redundant much?

 

[Keylime]

Huckabee continues to legitimize himself. Wow.

Maybe we'll forget how CRAZY he is policy-wise if he keeps being a "good guy"!

If he gets elected someday...my God...

 

[Branduil]

Huckabee is pretty much setting himself up to be the new face of the GOP after McCain finishes going down in flames with the old one.

 

[gkryhewy]

Maybe we'll forget how CRAZY he is policy-wise if he keeps being a "good guy"!

If he gets elected someday...my God...

I know, I know - if only he believed in gravity. Let him be a senator somewhere.

 

[CharlieDigital]

This is horrible. I feel bad for the lady a little bit. Why didn't they vet her some more before picking her?

One day, I really, really, really want to read a tell all, behind the scenes book on how all of this went down.

 

[GhaleonEB]

This is horrible. I feel bad for the lady a little bit. Why didn't they vet her some more before picking her?

Because Obama got a convention bounce and McCain couldn't stand up to his own advisors to pick the person he really wanted, and he panicked.

Sort of like what he's doing now.

 

[DrEvil]

This is horrible. I feel bad for the lady a little bit. Why didn't they vet her some more before picking her?

Thought process of McCain camp when choosing VP runningmate:

Step 1: List all Women who are working governors
Step 2: Eliminate women without families
Step 3: Eliminate women who look like men
Step 4: Ask Tyra
Step 5: Select Sarah Palin
Step 6: Campaign Meltdown

 

[Cheebs]

Probably fixed.

Huckabee is trying to set himself up in 2012 to be the savior of the party, he is starting to hint that he thinks the republican party has become selfish and corrupt. He is doing a good job to set in appeal for independents. He is doing the smart thing by doing all he can to separate himself from the McCain/Palin ticket. He has scary ideals but the more he goes on about how much he hates what the republicans are doing..the better off he is politically.

 

[Macam]

Huckabee doesn't like McCain's recent moves:

Speaking of Huckabee, apparently he has a new show on Fox now.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Heeeere's Huckabee.

Former Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee announced on his Web site that he has a new show debuting 8 p.m. EDT Saturday and Sunday on the Fox News Channel.
The show is simply titled "Huckabee," he said.

"I'm sure the name will make it easy for all of you to find it," Huckabee wrote on his political action committee's blog.

Fox News Channel spokesman Richard White said that Huckabee's new show would air on the channel but referred all questions about the show to Huckabee's agent.

Sarah Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor's daughter and head of his political action committee, said the same show will air both nights. She said his guest on the show will be Elisabeth Hasselbeck, the conservative co-host of ABC's "The View."

Huckabee, who dropped of the race for the Republican presidential nomination in March, joined Fox in June as a political commentator and has been working with the cable channel on a television show.

Huckabee left the presidential race after John McCain won enough delegates to secure the party's nomination. The ordained Baptist minister was a regular on late-night talk shows during his campaign.

Since exiting the race, Huckabee has started a political action committee to raise money for other Republicans and is writing a book about his failed presidential bid. That book is scheduled to be released in November.

 

[Freedom = $1.05]

So I assume everyone else on this thread isn't getting a damn thing done today? I have been sitting at my desk for the last hour, but I haven't even begun to look at any actual work.... This election is crippling me. I barely even played the Little Big Planet beta yesterday because I was F5ing so much and watching non-stop news. :lol

I just used up my last sick day today. MM9, Wipeout HD, LBP Beta AND the debate. It's just too much.

 

[CharlieDigital]

Speaking of Huckabee, apparently he has a new show on Fox now.

He's a very personable, witty, intelligent, and -- at least this cycle -- evenhanded guy.

His work as governor ain't bad either.

If he'd tame the fundie bit a little more and mainstream his religious beliefs, he's a conservative I'd have respect for and would even consider voting for.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2008/09/this_looks_bad.cfm

SINCE I'm a politically-minded fellow, that was my first thought after reading the New York Times report (which is similar to reports in other papers) on the breakdown of financial-bailout talks last night. Specifically, it looks bad for John McCain, whose campaign-suspension gambit is looking more and more like a pointless political stunt.

As the sun went down yesterday and the negotiations imploded, a funny thing happened: Democrats and administration officials came together to cast blame on the Republicans. "It’s not me blowing this up, it’s the Republicans," said Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker. "I know. I know," replied Hank Paulson. According to the White House, Mr Paulson and Ben Bernanke had already considered the Republicans' competing bailout plan, and rejected its major ideas.

But the Republicans fired back, accusing Democrats of politicising the negotiations. From the Times report:

[A] top aide to [John] Boehner said it was Democrats who had done the political posturing. The aide, Kevin Smith, said Republicans revolted, in part, because they were chafing at what they saw as an attempt by Democrats to jam through an agreement on the bailout early Thursday and deny Mr. McCain an opportunity to participate in the agreement.
Fair enough, Mr McCain obviously had something substantive to add to the debate. But at the White House negotiating session...

Participants said Mr. Obama peppered [Hank] Paulson with questions, while Mr. McCain said little...
Okay, no questions, but surely he contributed something.

Mr. Boehner pressed an alternative that involved a smaller role for the government, and Mr. McCain, whose support of the deal is critical if fellow Republicans are to sign on, declined to take a stand.
Remind me again why he suspended his campaign? By doing so Mr McCain inflated his importance to the negotiating process. Yesterday, though, he looked like an ineffectual leader at best, an obstructionist at worst. Perhaps he's setting himself up for some heroic bipartisanship today.

 

[VanMardigan]

So I assume everyone else on this thread isn't getting a damn thing done today? I have been sitting at my desk for the last hour, but I haven't even begun to look at any actual work.... This election is crippling me. I barely even played the Little Big Planet beta yesterday because I was F5ing so much and watching non-stop news. :lol

Maybe you should be more like Obama and be able to do more than one thing at once.

 

[Cheebs]

He's a very personable, witty, intelligent, and -- at least this cycle -- evenhanded guy.

His work as governor ain't bad either.

If he'd tame the fundie bit a little more and mainstream his religious beliefs, he's a conservative I'd have respect for and would even consider voting for.

His views scare the shit out of me but his attitude and personality make him sooooo much more likeable than McCain. He is a wacko, but one I don't think his irrational and selfish intentions.

 

[Stoney Mason]

This is horrible. I feel bad for the lady a little bit. Why didn't they vet her some more before picking her?

She's been nothing but arrogant and dishonest since her selection. There is nothing to feel bad about at all.

 

[worldrunover]

Huckabee doesn't like McCain's recent moves:

Huckabee is like the McCain of 2000. I can't wait until 8 years from now when he becomes a partisan GOP hack.

 

[artredis1980]

Great Article on how Obama 1uped McCain at WH meeting yesterday

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13918.html

The political breakdown came as the collapse of Washington Mutual Inc. — the largest bank failure in US history — marked another low point in the financial crisis. And angry Democrats warned that Treasury’s whole initiative could collapse unless President Bush gets House Republicans to come to the table.

“Unless this fourth leg shows up at some point, this could fall off very quickly,” said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.).

At the White House, in fact, House Minority Leader John Boehner had bluntly warned about the lack of Republican support for the massive government intervention: “I can’t invent votes,” Boehner said. But House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) angrily accused the minority of trying to undercut Paulson by crafting a late-breaking alternative proposal—with the tacit support, Frank said, of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Both McCain and his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, would leave the White House without comment, and the meeting was described as among the wildest in memory. A beleaguered President Bush had to struggle to maintain order and reassert himself. And when Democrats left to caucus in the Roosevelt Room, Paulson pursued them, begging that they not “blow up” the legislation.

The former Goldman Sachs CEO even went down on one knee as if genuflecting, to which Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) is said to have joked, “I didn’t know you were Catholic.”

It was McCain who had urged Bush to call the White House meeting but Democrats made sure Obama had a prominent part. And much as they complained later of being blindsided, the whole event turned out to be something of an ambush on their part—aimed at McCain and House Republicans.

“Speaking professionally,” said one Republican aide, “They did a very good job.”

When Bush yielded early to Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- Nev.) to speak, they yielded to Obama to speak for the assembled Democrats. And it was Obama who raised the subject of the conservative alternative and pressed Paulson on what he thought of the idea.

House Republicans felt trapped—squeezed by Treasury, House Democrats and a bipartisan coalition in the Senate. And while McCain spoke surprisingly little after asking for the meeting, he conceded that it appeared there were not the votes for the core Paulson plan without major changes.

A top adviser to McCain, Mark Salter, said later that the senator had not endorsed the House conservative plan but felt it reflected a desire by lawmakers for more taxpayer protections that would help get the required votes. For example, Salter said, one option would be to make clear that the secretary needn’t be confined to buying up bad debts and could use other routes such as loans or federally-backed insurance to relieve the congestion in mortgage-related assets.

When talks resumed — in Reid’s words — to "put the train back on track,” Paulson came to the Capitol but without Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who appears to want to stand clear of the negotiating session.

The wild White House meeting may have the effect of uniting Democrats more. And only hours before, Dodd, Frank and bipartisan set of prominent senators had reached a bipartisan agreement Thursday on the framework for legislation authorizing the massive government intervention.

But passing the Treasury plan is still an uphill climb, and Pelosi will be reluctant to expose her members if House Republicans are sitting out the process. And the whole sequence of events confirmed Treasury’s fears about the decision by Bush, at the urging of McCain, to allow presidential politics into what were already difficult negotiations.

 

[kaching]

Yeah, you got it. At this point, calling for McCain's involvement in ANYTHING is a mistake if you're a Dem. He's shown he'll do anything. He's shown he's desperate. Go ask Harry Reid if he'd go back and call John McCain out or ask for his input.

If the answer is no, you know it was a mistake.

I'd rather ask you if you really think that Harry Reid's call is what summoned McCain to Washington. Would a lack of a call by Reid have prevented McCain from asserting himself? No, he could have still decided that the razzle-dazzle of grandstanding as the Great Unifier was the best thing for his campaign. You're trying to hold Reid more accountable than McCain here, portraying Reid's action as the singular cause for what McCain did. More than likely the biggest contributor to McCain's decision by far was probably his own realization of how he had so fundamentally screwed up on his approach to the economic crisis in the past two weeks and started to tank his own campaign's polling.

Reid shouldn't be punished in this case for making a perfectly sensible request, just because the other party in question decided to act without sense.

 

[CharlieDigital]

Maybe you should be more like Obama and be able to do more than one thing at once.

:lol http://www.instantrimshot.com/

 

[mernst23]

Anyone else find it hilarious that "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" precedes the debate on Fox tonight. :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

 

[Shinz Kicker]

hey Poligaf, i was at out of town for 2 days and have no idea what this meltdown is, il go back and read some pages later today but i want a summary. stat.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

I think the election may have been decided in that room, when McCain didn't take a stand.

 

[Barrett2]

Maybe you should be more like Obama and be able to do more than one thing at once.

I have a different, more Maverick idea. I would like NeoGAF to SUSPEND its PoliGAF thread until this weekend. That will give me a chance to get caught up on homework and play more LBP and Dragon Quest IV.

 

[lexdysia]

Reid and Dodd making a statement.