Former Republican Senators back Obama

Yesterday it was Larry Pressler from South Dakota. Very VERY interesting that a Republican US Senator would back Obama. The old boy network runs deep in the Senate. Pressler served on the Commerce Committee with McCain. I suspect Pressler learned a thing or two about McCain during that period, and he was none too impressed. The people who know McCain the best are turning on him. This really is remarkable.

Today, Maryland's Charles Mathias, who also has known McCain for a long time, weighed in for Obama:

I have known John McCain for many years, even before he was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1982. And like so many other television viewers, I have come to know Barack Obama as he has made his spirited quest for the highest office in the land through this long and unprecedented campaign.

Sens. Obama and McCain have vastly different backgrounds and strikingly different visions of how America should navigate these tumultuous times. For me, the decision on who should be the next president transcends private friendship or political affiliation. My decision is based on the long-range needs of our country and which of these two candidates I feel is better suited to recharge America's economic health, restore its prestige abroad and inspire anew all people who cherish freedom and equality. For me, that person is Barack Obama.

Again, I ask, other than Lady de Redneck, what other prominent Democrats have turned on Obama? None. Read More......

Yes We Can

I happened to watch this video again today. The damn thing gave me chills. Still.

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AP Liz "Donuts" Sidoti's latest paean to McCain and his "gritty determination"

My god, the devotion to McCain just oozes out of the latest piece by AP's Liz Sidoti. The title alone is beyond the pale, "McCain shows gritty determination in final week."

The article is a typically obsequious piece from Sidoti. I'm not even going to bother including any of the text. Watch a McCain ad or check his website. Same thing.

One of our readers wrote "I don't think she knows how to quit McCain." It is that painfully obvious.

In case you're wondering about the "donuts" reference, check this.

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McCain allies worry Palin is using McCain, then will discard him

Joe cited some passages from Jake Tapper's Palin piece earlier, but I had to share a few more juicy paragraphs:

McCain campaign sources say, Palin has developed quite a reputation on the campaign trail for shopping.

During this controversy, McCain insiders were appalled to read a blog account from Nevada noting that the day before Palin held an event in Reno, “Palin's assistant stopped in at the Ann Taylor at the Summit Sierra Mall and bought the skirt suit that she wore during to her speech Tuesday at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. ‘She bought a short, three-quarter sleeve jacket, a skirt and a couple other items,’ store manager Suzette Ludden said.”

....some Republicans are starting to now say they should have seen this coming, since Palin has a reputation for making friends who can help her and then screwing them over.

....all I can tell you is that some McCain allies are now quite suspect of Palin and worried that Sen. McCain is going to become just the latest Palin ally whom she uses – and then discards -- in her rapid ascendance to power.

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Latest Arizona poll shows McCain up by two. Yes, in Arizona

46% - 44%:

[Arizona State University's Bruce] Merrill's brand new poll, taken from sampling over the weekend and Monday, in it's entirety, is to be released tonight at 7:00 pm local Arizona time and has McCain up by two little itty bitty points: McCain 46% Obama 44% and Obama still seen as closing with a full week left and undecideds still expected to break significantly Obama!!!!!

Bruce Merrill is a native Arizonan, has been teaching at Arizona State since 1971, and has been doing the absolute finest and most accurate polling of Arizona races for many decades. He really is the gold standard here.

If those Arizonans aren't voting for McCain by now, they're probably never voting for him.

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Crist sticks it to McCain - extends early voting hours

There are so many people voting early in Florida that Governor Charlie Crist has flip flopped and declared a state of emergency in Florida to extend voting hours. From the Miami Herald:

Declaring a state of emergency in Florida because of long voting lines, Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday extended early voting hours across the state to 12 hours a day.

The executive order comes after record early voting turnout has contributed to long lines at polling sites.

Current Florida law allows for early voting to be conducted eight hours a day each weekday and for a total of eight hours during the weekends. With Crist's order, early voting sites will be open the rest of this week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. They will be open a total of 12 hours on Saturday and Sunday, the last day of early voting.

''It's not a political decision,'' Crist said moments after signing the order. ``It's a people decision.''

Crist said he made the decision after seeing numerous news reports about long lines and after he had a conversation with state House Democratic leader Dan Gelber of Miami Beach. Crist's appointed secretary of state, Kurt Browning, had rejected the idea of extending the early voting hours earlier this week.
...
The polls in Miami-Dade opened at 11 a.m. Tuesday with an all-too-familiar story: lines that wrapped around buildings, and even blocks.

Not good for McCain - Democrats have the advantage in early voting according to George Mason University's United States Election Project. Read More......

Vote Vets on the air against Chambliss in Georgia. That state is in play.

Think back six years. It was a bad time to be a Democrat. Bush was on the warpath against Iraq and against Democratic Senators. He aimed his fire at Max Cleland, a triple amputee from his service in Vietnam. Cleland's opponent, Saxby Chambliss, ran a nasty campaign against him. It was vintage Karl Rove, replete with attacks on Cleland's patriotism and images of bin Laden. Here's a link to the despicable ad.

Two sayings come to mind in 2008: The first is "revenge is best served cold." The other is "payback is a bitch." It's been six years -- and it's payback time for Chambliss who is running scared this year. His opponent, Jim Martin, has closed the gap and needs all the help he can get.

Here's the latest ad from VoteVets, which should help:


Georgia is in play. Pollster.com rates it a "toss up" at the presidential level. Look at the Senate race trend, which is also a "toss up."



Defeating Saxby Chambliss is within reach. Obama winning Georgia is, too. Read More......

Senator Feinstein on the air: "Proposition 8 would be a terrible mistake for California"

I'll admit that I don't always love Senator Dianne Feinstein. She's too centrist and conservative for me. But, that also makes Feinstein a powerful spokesperson for the campaign against Proposition 8 in California. She did an ad strongly urging people to vote no. It's good.



If you haven't contributed yet, remember, the right wingers think Prop 8 is more important than the presidential race. That's how much they hate the gays. Give here via ActBlue. It's easy. It's secure. And, it keeps ad like this one on the air. Read More......

Stephanopoulos: "There is no question that there is a rift between Sarah Palin's camp and that of John McCain." Tapper weighs in with more.

From Stephanopoulos at ABC:

The McCain campaign is definitely demoralized right now. The blame game has begun.

There is no question that there is a rift between Sarah Palin's camp and that of John McCain inside the Republican campaign, sources tell ABC News.

And you are seeing people within the McCain campaign starting to look to the future.

Not only Palin, but many of the McCain staffers, as well, are circulating their resumes and pointing the finger.

Whenever people in the campaign are starting to worry more about their own reputations rather than whether they're going to win in seven days, there is a significant problem.

More from Jake Tapper's post titled, Ooooooh, Barracuda!

Allies of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin are now trying to throw McCain aide Nicolle Wallace under the proverbial bus, and as they do so those in McCain’s circle are wary of the impact on Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., himself.

Since becoming McCain's running mate, there have been a host of issues where Palin publicly challenged decisions made by McCain – withdrawing from competition in Michigan, for instance, or for not attacking Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for his longtime relationship with the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

But nothing has seemed so resonant as $150,000 in clothes purchased for Palin and her family by the Republican National Committee.

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Bush campaigns for McCain at RNC HQ

George Bush was out on the campaign trail for John McCain today. The Republicans finally found a place where George Bush could show up -- the headquarters of the RNC. But, it's also a dangerous place these days. There's not a lot of love among the Republicans these days and the daggers are flying. Palin is mad at the RNC. The RNC is mad at McCain and Palin. A McCain aide thinks Palin is a "whack job." And, just about everyone, including Republicans, blame George Bush.

But, Bush traveled all the way (maybe 1.5 miles) from the White House to the RNC anyway:

President Bush paid a visit to the Republican National Committee’s headquarters Tuesday morning to thank aides for their hard work and also to rally them for the last week of campaigning.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said the president would outline his view of the GOP, a party that is facing a toxic political environment largely because of the policies of the Bush administration.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel, who traveled with the president to RNC headquarters, said the president encouraged staffers there to “work hard for John McCain and keep turning out the vote until the final ballot is cast next week.”

This should be even more inspiration to do everything possible to end the Bush era by soundly defeating Republicans up and down the ticket.
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McCain campaign admits its health care plan basically sucks

A startling admission from McCain's top economic adviser to CNNMoney.com:

Younger, healthier workers likely wouldn't abandon their company-sponsored plans, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain's senior economic policy adviser.

"Why would they leave?" said Holtz-Eakin. "What they are getting from their employer is way better than what they could get with the credit."

Here's the reaction:

Time's Swampland: McCain Campaign Says Your Health Care Plan Is Better Than Theirs

Health Care for American Now (HCAN): MCCAIN CAMPAIGN: OUR HEALTH PLAN DOESN'T WORK

The Obama campaign:

“This morning, the McCain campaign’s top economic policy advisor unleashed an October Surprise of straight talk when he finally admitted that the health insurance people currently get from their employer is ‘way better’ than the health care they would get if John McCain becomes President. Independent studies have shown that under John McCain’s health care plan, at least 20 million Americans will lose the insurance they rely on and be forced to buy health care coverage on the individual market that costs more than $12,000 with a tax credit of just $5,000. Senator McCain has been trying to cover this up for months, but his advisor’s brutal honesty today is certainly better late than never, and it should give every American pause about electing a candidate who has proposed such radical and dangerous changes to our health care system,” said Obama-Biden Spokesman Bill Burton.

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GOP Senator: Palin not qualified to be president, "thinnest-résumé candidate for Vice-President in the history of America"

New Yorker:

Hagel may be the only senior Republican elected official who has publicly criticized McCain’s choice of Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. “I don’t believe she’s qualified to be President of the United States,” Hagel told me. “The first judgment a potential President makes is who their running mate is—and I don’t think John made a very good selection.” He scoffed at McCain’s attempts to portray her as an experienced politician. “To try to make the excuse that she looks out her window and sees Russia—and that she’s commander of the Alaska National Guard.” He added, “There is no question that this candidate is arguably the thinnest-résumé candidate for Vice-President in the history of America.” Hagel’s criticisms have prompted protests from Republicans, including Senator Orrin Hatch, of Utah, who said in an e-mail statement to me, “Senator Hagel knows that decades of foreign-policy experience in the Senate did not stop countless Democrats and some Republicans from declaring the surge a failure before it started and recommending instead a disastrous policy of withdrawal and retreat in Iraq.”

Hagel also makes an interesting point about the Republicans constantly playing the "it's good to be stupid!" card:

For Hagel, almost as disturbing as Palin’s lack of experience is her willingness—in disparaging remarks about Joe Biden’s long Senate career, for example—to belittle the notion that experience is important. “There’s no question, she knows her market,” Hagel said. “She knows her audience, and she’s going right after them. And I’ll tell you why that’s dangerous. It’s dangerous because you don’t want to define down the standards in any institution, ever, in life. You want to always strive to define standards up. If you start defining standards down—‘Well, I don’t have a big education, I don’t have experience’—yes, there’s a point to be made that not all the smartest people come out of Yale or Harvard. But to intentionally define down in some kind of wild populism, that those things don’t count in a complicated, dangerous world—that’s dangerous in itself.

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RNC blames McCain for Palin $150,000 shopping spree

Sarah Palin says the RNC paid for the clothes, but the RNC now says the McCain campaign asked the RNC to pay for the clothes. Oh the lies, oh the intrigue! Read More......

Are McCain and Palin at odds over Ted Stevens?

While McCain is busy running from George Bush, it seems that Palin is busy running from John McCain.

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One week to go: Don't get cocky or over-confident

A message from the Obama campaign to all Obama supporters:



This is it. One more week. Want to help out? If you can travel, check out "Drive for Change." You can also help closer to home by making calls from home.

The Democrats are pulling out every stop. The DNC took out a $10 million line of credit to help Senate and House candidates.

This is shaping up to be a great year, but only if we all do everything we can until every poll closes. Read More......

PEW Poll: "McCain support continues downward spiral"

It's never good news when they start comparing your campaign to a plane crash. From PEW:

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McCain aide calls Palin a "whack job"

Okay, it's getting super nasty in the McCain/Palin campaign. Mike Allen at the Politico has the latest attack on Palin from the McCain camp:

***In convo with Playbook, a top McCain adviser one-ups the priceless “diva” description, calling her “a whack job.”

Nasty. Probably true, but nasty. Just glad the Republicans are putting so much time into hating each other. Read More......

Lieberman lies about McCain health outlook

Benedict Arnold Lieberman is now saying that he's "talked to doctors," and their conclusion is that John McCain will live to 85, at least.

Huh?

That's absurd. I've read a lot about this issue, and I've seen no one - NO ONE - willing to go on the record and guarantee that McCain will make it to 85. In fact, there's been a lot of talk about the percentage chance of McCain dying during a second term (AP says 25% chance). That's because McCain has had 4 bouts of cancer, one quite serious and deadly. And he's not out of the woods yet. But McCain won't release his medical records so we can find out, once and for all, if he is expected to live to 85.

And one more thing. Lieberman reiterated the McCain campaign canard that McCain's mother is 96 (so apparently we're to believe that he'll be 96 some day too). What they don't tell you is how old McCain's dad is. That's because he died at the age of 70 of a heart attack. And McCain's grandfather died at the age of 61 of a heart attack. McCain is 72. Read More......

State GOP parties at war with McCain. In Ohio, it's over gambling.

This just keeps getting better. Today, the Moonie Times, which is basically a mouthpiece for the right wing, reports on more intra-GOP strife. State party chairs in Virginia, Florida, Michigan and Ohio all lash out at the McCain operation. Not like those states are important to McCain. He only needs to win Virginia, Florida and Ohio to become president.

The article is a fun read, but I was struck by the reason for the battle between McCain and the Ohio Republicans. It's over gambling. McCain is on the pro-gambling side:

In Ohio, long-boiling friction between the McCain campaign and the state Republican Party on a variety of issues reached a new intensity over a complicated local gambling question. The state Republican Party's central committee had voted to oppose a proposed state constitutional amendment to permit a casino in Clinton County. The state party included its "vote no" view on the "slate card" of recommendations it sends to early voters.

The McCain campaign unilaterally removed that recommendation from the mailer, overriding Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett and threatening to block funds to pay for the printing and distribution. Mr. McCain favors legalized gambling, and his campaign did not want to appear to support it some states and oppose it in others.

The state party worked with the opponents of the amendment to send another mailing, using the pictures of U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted and Mr. Bennett, along with their words of opposition on the gambling question.

"Why in the world would anyone want to amend the Constitution of Ohio and put a monopoly in for one individual to build one casino in the state of Ohio?" Mr. Voinovich asks in his statement.

Why in the world would John McCain support that? John McCain has a long history with the gambling industry. That should make all those Ohio evangelicals really happy. Read More......

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

7 days. Just one week.

The McCain/Palin campaign is flailing. Flailing. He's still trying to explain his own economic policies by attacking Obama. Not working. And, she's already moved on. Palin is campaigning for 2012. But, they're both trying to undermine Obama as much as possible before next Tuesday -- as are the GOP aligned 527s. That crowd has moved on from destroying Obama's campaign. They want to destroy his presidency.

Part of that GOP plan involves lowering Obama's vote totals. They're trying to knock off a few states from the Obama column and prevent the Democrats from winning big. They want to stop Obama from claiming any kind of mandate. That crowds puts themselves first, not the country. And, they must be vanquished.

One more week.

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Bailout money now being used to fund bank mergers

This is a terrible idea and I say this as someone who supported the rescue plan. The last thing we need is more consolidation in the American banking system and having more "too big to fail" institutions. Taxpayers should not be funding business acquisitions which of course also means massive commissions for Wall Street to match businesses together. Unless someone in Congress has made sure that Wall Street will not make a windfall profit on such transactions, they need to step in right away.

Now the Treasury is pouring another $125 billion into small and medium-sized banks, but some analysts contend the program has been transformed to a much more grandiose undertaking that will essentially weed out the weak banks from the strong.

Several of the banks that have received preliminary approval from the Treasury for investments have said they plan to use some of the money for acquisitions, including SunTrust and Regions Financial Corp., both of which expect to receive about $3.5 billion apiece. Even smaller institutions, like Seattle-based Washington Federal Inc., which announced a $200 million commitment from the government, plan to deploy some of the money to expand its retail franchise through acquisitions.

Many analysts believe the investments are being doled out to the strongest financial institutions, with the aim of spurring consolidation among banks and protecting the government from having to salvage some of the industry's weakest players.

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Merrill Lynch sales people "insulted" with retention plan

I think America sheds a tear for these folks as well. I'm willing to bet that every last person who was just kicked aside and sent to the unemployment line feels their pain. Just because Merrill Lynch and the rest of Wall Street made a killing selling garbage and everything has now crumbled and sent the world into recession doesn't matter. We're all pretty broken up about those retention plans and wish there was something - anything - that we could do to help. Stand firm brave Merrill Lynch sales people and just say "no" to that lousy retention offer. We're with you!

How do some Merrill Lynch financial advisors feel about the retention packages being offered by Bank of America? "Insulted."

That's the claim from a recruiting firm heavily courting those advisors. Darin Manis, CEO of RJ & Makay, told me he's heard from "dozens" of Merrill FA's over the weekend who are so unhappy they may leave, something Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis has wanted to avoid.

The problem isn't with high-flying producers bringing in at least $1.75 million in annual revenues. Those employees will most likely get 100 percent of their annual revenue as a retention bonus, spread out over seven years. The bad feelings are among those making less. A financial advisor producing $700,000 in revenues is being offered $175,000 in cash over seven years and a 25% growth bonus over three years. Manis says that same producer could get a lot more defecting to a competitor—"around $850,000 in cash on about a 9 year deal plus another $700,000 or so back end bonuses (after one to two years)."

Well, whether to stay or go would seemingly be a no-brainer. Except, is anyone really hiring? "Everybody's hiring," Manis claims (what do you expect him to say? He's a recruiter!). Manis says it would be very easy for a Merrill advisor with a "decent book" to get a new job, and he expects to see many of them do just that before the current retention offer expires November 14th.

Everyone is hiring! Go ahead and quit! Read More......

Bank of England estimates global loss of $2.8 trillion this autumn

Another strong case for handing out tens of billions in annual bonuses. To be fair, $70 billion in bonuses - for Wall Street alone, London has their own pile of cash - is such a small amount to pay to keep these folks happy. If we don't keep Wall Street bankers happy, then what happens? You wouldn't want them to connect failure with less money, would you?

Autumn's market mayhem has left the world's financial institutions nursing losses of $2.8tn, the Bank of England said today, as it called for fundamental reform of the global banking system to prevent a repeat of turmoil "arguably" unprecedented since the outbreak of the first world war.

In its half-yearly health check of the City, the Bank said tougher regulation and constraints on lending would be needed as policymakers sought to learn lessons from the mistakes that have led to a systemic crisis unfolding over the past 15 months.

The Bank's Financial Stability Report, which will be sent to every bank director in Britain, more than doubled the previous estimate of the potential losses faced by all financial institutions since the spring, but said that given time the actual losses could be pared by between a third and a half.

The £50bn pledged by the government had helped underpin the system, the Bank said, and would provide a breathing space for UK banks so that they did not have to sell assets at cut-price values immediately. The report also expressed cautious optimism about the effectiveness of the recent global bail-out plan.

That Bank of England is always so Marxist. Commie pinko lefties. Read More......

If John McCain can't control Palin now, what's going to happen if he becomes president?

With all the news of the past few days, that the McCain campaign is at wit's end with Sarah Palin, that she's a "rogue elephant" who won't listen to McCain or his advisers, that she does what she wants and to hell with McCain and the campaign, what does this bode for a McCain presidency? It means that we'd have another Dick Cheney on our hands, but one that's a heck of a lot dumber. And that's dangerous. It's been bad enough having an evil genius pulling Pinocchio's strings the past eight years, but can American really afford an evil idiot in his place?

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Missouri Secretary of State expects 76% turnout with huge influx of new, young voters

Missouri is one of the battleground states that doesn't have early voting. This year, Missouri is a true toss-up.

Today, the Secretary of State, Robin Carnahan, released new voting information -- and predicted turnout will be 76%. There are 340,000 new voters in the state -- and a big chunk of them are young. From Robin Carnahan's press release:

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced today that 76 percent of Missouri’s registered voters are predicted to vote in the November 4, 2008 general election. This estimate is a compilation of local turnout estimates submitted to the Secretary of State’s office by the 116 election authorities around the state. If the 76 percent prediction is met, more than 3.2 million votes will be cast in the election.

“Missouri voters should have confidence in their election system,” said Carnahan. “Local election officials around the state have been working tirelessly to make preparations for a busy election day. This year, we have increased security checks on voting machines, raised the number of poll workers statewide, and invested in more training for Election Day workers.”

In addition to the estimated turnout, Secretary Carnahan also released the statewide voter registration total for the upcoming election. There are a record-setting 4,205,774 Missourians currently registered to vote, which includes over 340,000 first time voters.

A large portion of the new voters are younger Missourians. Nearly 150,000 of the first time registrants are 18-24 years old, which is more than double any other age group. In both Kansas City and St. Louis City, over 50 percent of the new registrants are 18-24 years old.

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Sarah Palin has been palling around with a convicted felon

Sarah Palin was the one who set the standard for associations. She's pals around with a convicted felon -- a felon who can't even vote for her or himself. And, apparently, Palin has no problem with a felon serving in the Senate:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has crafted a corruption-busting image as part of her Republican vice presidential campaign, wasn't talking tough Monday after Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted in a corruption case.

Palin did not call on Stevens to resign or drop out of his tight re-election race.

"I'm confident Senator Stevens will do what's right for the people of Alaska," Palin said in a statement.

Sarah and her felon pal:



The Senate Republican's campaign committee did throw Stevens under the bus:

In a strongly worded statement, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said Stevens's conviction marked the end of his career and signaled that the GOP would not try to mount an effort to hold onto the seat he has occupied for 40 years.

"Ted Stevens served his constituents for over 40 years and I am disappointed to see his career end in disgrace," Ensign said. "Sen. Stevens had his day in court and the jury found he violated the public’s trust - as a result he is properly being held accountable. This is a reminder that no one is above the law."

Ensign's statement was the strongest yet by a high-ranking GOP official since the verdict was announced Monday afternoon. And it seemed to undercut any hope from Stevens's allies that he could defeat Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) in next week's election.

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