Patriotism

A reader of Andrew Sullivan's "Daily Dish" blog comments on the patriotism of the Obama campaign.

I'd like to add a thought to your post "The Winner," about the Will.I.Am video. You mentioned that it resonated because of eight long years of shame and drift and failure - and no one could disagree with that. But I would add to that reason another - one that may seem hokey to some, but one that is central to the success of this campaign: patriotism.

The McCain campaign and far right detractors have questioned the patriotism of Obama and his supporters from the very beginning, when in fact, patriotism is the very basis for his success.

Obama's campaign simply could not function without an abiding, strident belief in the American people, the American dream, the American way. With two ongoing wars and a coming economic crisis that rivals the Great Depression, what can explain this fervor, this pure optimism, if not patriotism?

Without patriotism, where is the passion, the determination, the conviction that we, in fact, can? Without patriotism, we are left with only fear and cynicism. That video resonated because millions of people (young, disadvantaged - those with more reasons for despair and cynicism than hope and optimism) believe strongly enough in what their country stands for to stand up for it.

Well put.

Clint Still Rules

Brief break from politics today so that I can state that Clint Eastwood is still bad ass.

I'd go see Gran Torino just based on this poster alone:



But now the trailer has been released and I'm even more excited.

Anti-American Update - Part 2

Michele Bachmann has been cut off by the RNC!

Two sources aware of ad buys in Minnesota say that the National Republican Congressional Committee is pulling its media purchases from Bachmann's race.

Ouch.

Anti-American Update

Michele Bachmann, who I featured a couple of posts ago expressing her fear that Obama is "anti-American" is now trying to deny that she said what she said. Man, it's tough to deny things in the internet age.



In other Bachmann news, her appearance on Hardball a few days back has resulted in a flood of donations to her opponent.

McCain's Independent Appeal

With Republicans feeling so disaffected this year and with the generic Republican brand in the sewer, McCain was the smartest choice to be their presidential nominee. Well...the McCain of a few years ago, I should say. McCain has always had a strong following among independents, and he should have been able to attract a significant amount of them in this campaign.

And then...he pivoted hard towards the base by choosing a hopelessly unqualified and extremely right-wing running mate.

How's that working out for him with independents?

Not great.

They were and are the core base of his appeal. As a "maverick" Republican, his fundamental gamble was that he could appeal to enough of them and win over enough Clinton Democrats to beat the odds this year. And yet, no group has responded more negatively to McCain these past seven weeks than independents. McCain's unfavorables among independents have soared from 24 percent to 44 percent in seven weeks. Palin has also turned them off, after a promising start. Her unfavorables among independents have jumped 14 points since she started campaigning.

Why I Can't Help But Love Chris Matthews

I can't help it. I love me some Chris Matthews. Sure, he's imperfect. Sure, he's insecure. Sure, he runs off at the mouth. But his passion for politics and for this country is unrivaled. And, most importantly, his B.S. detector is finely tuned. He really cuts through the crap here as clearly nutty Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann waxes nostalgic for the quaint days of Joe McCarthy.

Powell Endorses Obama

For those who missed this, Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama was surprisingly poignant and thoughtful.



My favorite quote:

I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say, and it is permitted to be said. Such things as, 'Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.' Well, the correct answer is he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the association: he's a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

Wow. General Powell has earned my respect.

Ugly Times

Let me start out by saying that I don't think that all Republicans are racist lunatics. Both sides of the political spectrum get nutty when you stray too far from center. However, McCain and Palin's new "All Negative, All The Time" strategy has really started to draw those fringe folks that might have had the good sense to keep to themselves earlier in the race.

Just in the last 36 hours:

• At a rally, John McCain asks the crowd, "Who is the real Barack Obama?". The first and loudest responder can be heard shouting, "TERRORIST!"
  
  
• The Washington Post reports that "Palin's routine attacks on the media have begun to spill into ugliness. In Clearwater, arriving reporters were greeted with shouts and taunts by the crowd of about 3,000. Palin then went on to blame Katie Couric's questions for her "less-than-successful interview with kinda mainstream media." At that, Palin supporters turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse. Others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, 'Sit down, boy.'"
  
  
• Palin whips a crowd into a frenzy, talking about Bill Ayers, former member of the Weather Underground. In the middle of her speech, one man shouts, "Kill him!"
  
  
• This morning, Palin accused Obama of criticizing the troops (untrue, of course) and soon after, someone in the crowd shouts, "Treason!"

Stay classy, San Diego. Remember, this was the man who promised a respectful campaign.

Again, it's too early to tell if McCain's new last-ditch scorched Earth strategy will work or not. Keep an eye on the daily tracking polls over the next week or so. I think we'll see a tightening.

Desperate Empty Embarrassment

Joe Klein, author and Time Magazine columnist continues his fascinating transformation from McCain supporter to McCain critic.

His latest entry is powerful.

As I said, I'm of two minds about this. I don't want to give currency to this sewage, so it will remain below the fold. And I'll try to devote the lion's share of my time to the issues--the war, the economic crisis, the fraying health insurance system, the environment--that should define this campaign. But what a desperate empty embarrassment the McCain campaign has become.

Negativity!

The political news today is all about McCain's terrible poll position (hey, great arcade game...). With only 4 weeks left, McCain has an enormous hill to climb if he is to win this election. The number one issue with voters today is the economy, and Obama holds a significant advantage in the public's mind on this issue.

As McCain sees it, he has only one choice. Go all negative, all the time. His surrogates (and even his vice presidential candidate) have come right out and said it. They are planning to launch serious character attacks until the election.

The question is, will these Rove-style politics still work? You can hardly blame them. They worked in both 2000 and 2004. It's a little surprising to previous McCain fans, like myself. Several months back, Jon Stewart mentioned that a race between Obama and McCain would probably be "a tonic to this country". He was assuming that it would be extra civil. Of course, losing can do things to your psyche.

Lately on the stump, Palin has been saying that Obama "pals around with terrorists". Ah, that's class.

Interesting link round-up:

• John "seething rage" McCain suggests that Barack "no drama" Obama gets angry and touchy when questioned on credentials or policy. This statement is outrageous for a few reasons, but primarily because Obama has been calm and unruffled throughout this entire campaign, while McCain has been perpetually ready to pop a vein. Talking Points Memo uses the Des Moines Register Editorial Board interview as evidence that McCain is the touchy one, and our very own Rekha Basu chimes in as well.
  Late Update: Andrew Sullivan cuts through the hypocrisy on this issue.
  
  
• Mike Murphy, a frank and honest Republican operative seen frequently on Meet The Press laments the new negative McCain turn and argues that McCain should go positive.
  
  
• FiveThirtyEight.com today has a very interesting break-down of how very slight improvements in black voter participation can make a huge difference in Georgia.
  

Daily Tracking

Not a good sign for McCain. Gallup's Daily Tracking poll (released daily around noon) indicates that Obama is holding, and maybe even increasing his lead. These numbers are significant because they are beginning to take the Biden/Palin debate into account.

The other daily tracking polls show much the same:

Hotline/Diageo: Obama 48%, McCain 41%
Rasmussen: Obama 51%, McCain 45%

Obama's Steady Climb

Yesterday's state-by-state polls continue to indicate that Obama is continuing his "tortoise and the hare"-like slow and steady climb. FiveThirtyEight.com shows good news in all of yesterday's state-level polls with the exception of Minnesota.

The idea that Minnesota would go McCain is a little surprising, but there are two points to consider here. One, McCain has been outspending Obama in Minnesota in terms of ad buys. Two, This is a SurveyUSA poll. They are frequently the "outliers", and their numbers in the primaries weren't always so dead on. Nonetheless, it's interesting to see Iowa consistently put into the "strong Obama" category and Minnesota put into the "lean Obama" category time and time again.

Now it gets interesting. Over the next couple of days, the poll numbers will start to reflect the impact of the veep debate, if there is any impact.

The Veep Debate

Phew...the veep debate is over. My very disorganized and truncated thoughts:

Ifill was neutered. Palin was better than expected, but still much too folksy. She devoted perhaps 1-2 sentences in each response to acknowledging the question put to her, and then veered off into factually dubious Obama attacks. Biden started weak and ended strong. His moment of emotion over his hospitalized children was authentic and very powerful. Palin started strong, but her collection of talking points and anecdotes grew thin quickly. Is it elitist to want a veep that speaks in proper English? Has their ever been a veep that says, "you betcha" or "gonna"? Not in their kitchen, but on a national debate? Oh, and Palin seemed to indicate that she thinks that the veep should have MORE power. I'm sure after eight years of Cheney that may not be what America's looking for.

I had a blast reading the journalists who liveblogged during the debate. Here are some great liveblogs:

• Marc Ambinder, of the Atlantic: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
• Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo: Part 1, Part 2
• Andrew Sullivan, of the Atlantic

The snap polls I've seen so far are all giving it to Biden. CBS gives it to Biden, 46% to 21%. CNN's poll gives it to Biden, 51% to 36%. Perhaps most troubling to the McCain camp is that only 46% of CNN's poll subjects thought Sarah Palin was qualified to be president. That's only a 4% gain from before the debate. That's not going to cut it.

I think that Palin did stop the bleeding, however...and McCain's got to be hoping that the tidal wave of criticism he's been facing over his drastically unqualified VP pick may subside for a while.

Ok, I Give Up.

I give up. I've gone silent for quite a while now because I'm absolutely consumed with politics. I didn't want this to be a political blog, and I'm thinking about almost nothing else until after the election, so I decided to shut up.

But I can't shut up anymore. Politics is simply too much of what I care about and too much a part of who I am. So, until the election, I will begin posting my own political commentary, but even more frequently I will be posting the best articles, poll analysis, and political commentary that I've come across. This election cycle seems to be the cycle where the blogosphere has really come into it's own. Not just a place for ranting anymore, blogs are often doing the serious and important journalism that the traditional media doesn't do.

So, if you hate politics or if they bore you, check in again on November 5th. Actually, better make it November 6th. I will likely spend the 5th celebrating or crying.

Today's recommended reads:

• Credit Where It's Due - a great posting from someone reflecting on how Obama has managed to strike the right tone over and over again, even as Democrats try to push him to be "angrier". Angry is just not part of who Obama is, and I think Obama understands that slow and steady wins the race.
  
  Excerpt:

  When you think about it, it's astounding. A first term African-American Senator with an Arabic name who is descended from and still related to Muslims in the post-9/11 era is on the verge of being elected President of the United States. If you submitted this script to Hollywood, they'd laugh you off the lot.

• McCain is pulling out of Michigan. One look at the trend lines for Michigan make it clear that he is losing ground there quickly. This is horrible news for McCain supporters. There are very few scenarios in which McCain can win the presidency and lose Michigan.
  
  
• Of course, tonight's big political news is the V.P. debate. This debate is 100% about Palin. Nobody will care about Biden at all. In fact, I heard someone say, "If people are talking about Biden after the debate tonight, then he messed up big." After Palin's cringe-worthy interviews with Katie Couric over the last week, the country is going to be watching to see if she can redeem herself. This is actually a better format for her than the Couric interviews. There will be fewer follow-up questions (where she really falls apart) and the questions will be more predictable. I don't think Sarah Palin is stupid, I think she just has an astonishing lack of knowledge about the issues our country faces. Until tonight's debate, enjoy her greatest hits.
  
  
• Time magazine's Joe Klein, a long supporter of McCain until recent months has a new column out today called "Anger vs. Steadiness in the Crisis" in which he contrasts the two temperaments of Obama and McCain.
  
  Excerpt:
  

  A few hours before the house of Representatives smacked down the financial-bailout package, I watched John McCain — eyes flashing, jaw clenched, oozing sarcasm and disdain — on the attack in Ohio: "Senator Obama took a very different approach to the crisis our country faced. At first he didn't want to get involved. Then he was 'monitoring the situation.' That's not leadership; that's watching from the sidelines." And I thought of Karl Rove. Back in 2003, at the height of Howard Dean mania, Rove was skeptical about Dean's staying power as a candidate: "When was the last time Americans elected an angry President?"