Erratic McCain says he's ready to fight the Cuban Missile Crisis

Dear Lord, he thinks it's 1962. Maybe we can get Joe Lieberman to whisper in McCain's ear that the Cuban Missile Crisis is over. We won (more or less).

The LA Times tells us more about McCain's military experience during that era:

John McCain was training in his AD-6 Skyraider on an overcast Texas morning in 1960 when he slammed into Corpus Christi Bay and sheared the skin off his plane's wings.

McCain recounted the accident decades later in his autobiography. "The engine quit while I was practicing landings," he wrote. But an investigation board at the Naval Aviation Safety Center found no evidence of engine failure.

The 23-year-old junior lieutenant wasn't paying attention and erred in using "a power setting too low to maintain level flight in a turn," investigators concluded.

The crash was one of three early in McCain's aviation career in which his flying skills and judgment were faulted or questioned by Navy officials.

In his most serious lapse, McCain was "clowning" around in a Skyraider over southern Spain about December 1961 and flew into electrical wires, causing a blackout, according to McCain's own account as well as those of naval officers and enlistees aboard the carrier Intrepid. In another incident, in 1965, McCain crashed a T-2 trainer jet in Virginia.

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CNN Poll: 75% say things going badly in US

Polls like this are not good for McCain who has been joined at the hip with Bush, voting with him 90% of the time. Americans are fed up with business as usual.

Seventy-five percent of those surveyed in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Tuesday said things are going badly in the United States.

An equal portion of those polled said they are angry about the way things are going. Two-thirds of those questioned said they're scared about the way things are going and three in four said the current conditions in the country are stressing them out.

"It's scary how many Americans admit they are scared," said Keating Holland, CNN's polling director. "Americans tend to downplay the amount of fear they have when facing tough times. The fact that more than six in 10 say that they are scared shows how bad things are getting."

The 25 percent who said things are going well in the country is another indicator of the negative mood among Americans.

"Prior to 2008, we have seen that level of dissatisfaction only three times in the past four decades -- during Watergate, the Iranian hostage crisis and the recession of 1992," Holland added.

The survey also suggests that most Americans are not happy with President Bush. Seventy-two percent of those questioned disapprove of the president's handling of his job.

The war in Iraq also continues to be unpopular with Americans, with 32 percent of those questioned favoring the war.

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McCain, Palin to spend weekend in Iowa, where's he down by 12 -- and just yesterday a McCain aide said Iowa was "gone"

Yesterday, we learned, via CNN's ace reporter, John King, that Iowa was one of three states, along with Colorado and New Mexico, which a McCain insider said was "gone."

As if to prove that report wrong (and it does seem like the McCain/Palin campaign does things out of spite even if it's not in its best interests), McCain and Palin are going to spend the weekend in Iowa according to the Des Moines Register:

Republican presidential nominee John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin were making plans to campaign across Iowa this weekend, staying engaged in a state where polls show the GOP ticket trailing.

Palin, the governor of Alaska, planned to headline a noon rally at Sioux City West High School Saturday. The event would be Palin’s first solo campaign event in Iowa joining the ticket in August.

Palin was then expected to meet up with McCain Saturday afternoon for a joint rally at Hy Vee Hall in Des Moines.

McCain was planning to host a rally Sunday with his wife, Cindy, in Cedar Falls at University of Northern Iowa’s West Gym. The McCain campaign had not yet confirmed the schedule today.

Whoever is doing the strategy at the McCain/Palin should just keep doing it. Send them to Illinois next. Then, Massachusetts and New York.

To get a sense of just how desperate things are for the McCain/Palin ticket, take a look at the trend in Iowa from Pollster.com. This is the state where McCain and Palin will be campaigning 10 days out:

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McCain thinks western Pennsylvania is racist

Actually, he just got very, terribly confused on camera. It's a very disturbing moment, my fellow prisoners.

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Sarah Palin spent on clothes in one month what the average American household spends on clothes in 80 years.

Sarah Palin spent on clothes in one month, $150,000, what the average American household spends on clothes in 50 years 80 years.

Good God.

The Republican National Committee appears to have spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August.

According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74.

The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September.

The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August.

Gee, Marshalls and Target are too good for Mrs. Joe Six Pack?

Hey, at least she spent less on make-up than McCain did. Maybe McCain could give Palin some beauty tips. And what's next, are they giving Joe the Plumber facials and chest waxes? Read More......

Obama up by 10 in latest NBC/WSJ poll. Palin is now biggest concern voters have about McCain.

NBC just released the results of its latest poll. Obama is opening up a big lead. More importantly, Palin is the biggest concern voters have about McCain:





NOTE FROM JOHN: Palin's negatives have soared, but more importantly, she has now become John McCain's greatest liability - greater than voters' concern that McCain will be another Bush term. Normally, voters don't care about the VP choice. In this instance they do. I think this means that the number one voter concern is John McCain's health. Earlier today, I was watching some footage of McCain in the Republican debates in May. He was good. He looked years younger - YEARS younger. He was smart, quick, funny - he was a younger man. McCain has aged a lot in the past six months, and that's troublesome. It shows when he talks, it shows in how he thinks and how acts/reacts to crises like the recent Wall Street meltdown. That is what, in my view, is underlying these polls. People think, people see with their own eyes, that there is a real chance that John McCain won't make it through his presidency, and that Sarah Palin will be forced to take over. And real Americans know that Sarah Palin is not, and never will be, ready to be president of the United States of America.

From MSNBC:

That doesn’t appear to be the case with McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin. Fifty-five percent of respondents say she’s not qualified to serve as president if the need arises, up five points from the previous poll.

In addition, for the first time, more voters have a negative opinion of her than a positive one. In the survey, 47 percent view her negatively, versus 38 percent who see her in a positive light.

That’s a striking shift since McCain chose Palin as his running mate in early September, when she held a 47 to 27 percent positive rating.

Now, Palin’s qualifications to be president rank as voters’ top concern about McCain’s candidacy - ahead of continuing President Bush’s policies, enacting economic policies that only benefit the rich and keeping too high of a troop presence in Iraq.

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McCain rally: Liberals hate America

John McCain's Hate Talk Express continues. And the best part, the neanderthal Republican congressman who made the comments, Robin Hayes, now saying he never said any such thing. Yeah, too bad it was caught on tape, liar:

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Florida GOP governor Charlie Crist says McCain's "socialist" comments are BS

Maybe the McCain campaign can send Lindsey Graham to cheer Crist up in his special way. All jokes aside, it's a very very very bad sign for McCain that the Republican governor of Florida is basically in a public sniping match with him and his campaign. This is yet another sign that a lot of leading Republicans have given up on McCain, and are now staking out the "I told you so" territory for after McCain loses. More from Politico.

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Annette Taddeo is within striking distance of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in Florida's 18th Cong. District

Just got some great news from South Florida via press release. Democratic challenger Annette Taddeo has cut 18-year incumbent Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's lead from 31 points in June to 7 points now. A number of polls have shown steady progress for Annette. Not only is the incumbent under 50% -- an astounding 56% of voters in the district would replace her. Annette clearly has the momentum and there's a wave building in Florida. In fact, Obama is doing a huge rally in Miami tonight. From the release:

Recent polling in the 18th Congressional District shows that Annette Taddeo (D) is now within striking distance of the incumbent Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R). Taddeo has significantly cut Ros-Lehtinen’s lead since the benchmark polling in June. Currently, Taddeo trails by 7 points (48% to 41%) while in June, Ros-Lehtinen led by 31 points (58% to 27%). Ros-Lehtinen’s re-elect numbers have also dropped, with a majority (56%) of the voters now planning on replacing or considering replacing her.

Taddeo’s gains reflect aggressive campaigning since June, resulting in an increase in Taddeo’s name recognition from 14% to 63%. Moreover, the climate in the district has become more favorable to a Democrat for a number of reasons. First, Barack Obama now leads John McCain 47% to 45%, coming back from a 10-point deficit in June. Second, Democrats are making historic gains in voter registration throughout south Florida, and in the 18th Congressional District in particular. In just two years, the Republican advantage over the Democrats in the 18th CD has dropped from 22,000 to less than 2,000, making this area a prime spot for a Democratic takeover.

The poll was conducted by Lake Research and has a margin of error of +/-4.6%.

After I met Annette in June, I wrote this:

Keep an eye on this race. Ileana is running from Bush, so she's running scared. Annette Taddeo can win this race -- and she should.

We set up an ActBlue page for Taddeo. I have a feeling this campaign is going to be a fun one. The district runs from South Beach, through Miami to Key West -- it will be a key battleground in the Presidential race. I'm thinking it would be a good place to do get-out-the-vote in the fall, too.

Annette Taddeo can win this race. She's really shaken things up in South Florida. Watch her in action when she finally got to debate Ros-Lehtinen. Ileana doesn't know how to deal with a real opponent. As my friend, Chris, would say, Annette ATE her:



14 days. A new president. More Senators. A lot more House members.

Annette's ActBlue page is here. Read More......

McCain: I'd let Osama bin Laden go free

Wow. Probably the biggest gaffe McCain has ever made, saying that he'd refuse to catch Osama bin Laden if he had him in his sights. Specifically, McCain and Palin have said that if they knew where bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan, and the Pakistani government refused to go in and get him for us, McCain and Palin would let bin Laden go free rather than going in and getting him ourselves.

Let me repeat: McCain and Palin would refuse to grab Osama bin Laden if he were in their sights because it would offend Pakistan, a sovereign nation. (Talk about being beholden to the UN crowd!)



Barack Obama has said that he would grab bin Laden. This infuriated McCain and Palin (though Palin, to be fair, agreed with Obama, twice, a month ago - she's just catching up on her bin Laden lessons at McCain University). McCain is all worried about hurting Pakistan's feelings, or something. (He's such a sensitive guy now that he wears $8,000 worth of make-up.) It's really quite astounding, McCain would let a mass murdering terrorist go free. Good luck justifying that one to the American people.

I can't understand why the Obama people haven't jumped on this more strongly (sic Biden on it). I can see Obama or Biden now, saying something like this:

My opponent and I have a fundamental disagreement. If I had Osama bin Laden in my sights, I would grab him. John McCain and Sarah Palin have said, vehemently, that they would let Osama bin Laden go free. We just fundamentally disagree on this point. John McCain and Sarah Palin are more worried about hurting a foreign government's feelings than catching the man who mass-murdered nearly 3,000 Americans. When McCain and Palin told us they were putting country first, we should have asked them which country. Talk about erratic.

The media needs to ask McCain and Palin, point blank, would you or would you not let Osama bin Laden go if you had him in your sights? Don't let them worm out of it - they've said quite clearly that they would let him go if the Pakistanis said "no." Ask them again and make them defend this horrendous admission.

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Has McCain's cancer metastasized?

There's been speculation for years that McCain's cancer may have metastasized, and yesterday, the NYT's medical expert echoed the same concerns. Why does it matter? Because if McCain's serious bout of melanoma in 2000 was a metastasis, then his chances of living through his entire presidency plummet drastically.

And that means, President Palin.

It isn't pretty, and it isn't nice, to talk about whether John McCain will die in office. But ignoring the prospect, and ending up with another president who is a blithering idiot (Palin, like Bush), is not an acceptable option. America went that route once. Never again.

Here are some choice excerpts from the Times piece:

Last May, his campaign and his doctors released nearly 1,200 pages of medical information, far more than the three other nominees. But the documents were released in a restricted way that leaves questions, even confusion, about his cancer.

A critical question concerns inconsistencies in medical opinions about the severity of his melanoma; if the classification of his melanoma is more severe, it would increase the statistical likelihood of death from a recurrence of the cancer....

By not allowing reporters to interview him or his doctors extensively about his entire medical history, he has made it impossible to get a complete picture of his diagnoses and treatment....

In early August 2000, just as Mr. McCain’s rival George W. Bush was about to receive the Republican presidential nomination, Dr. John F. Eisold, the attending physician at the United States Capitol, detected two more melanomas, Mr. McCain’s second and third.

One on Mr. McCain’s left arm was determined to be the least risky type, in situ. But the one on his left temple was dangerous.

A few days after detection of the melanomas, Mr. McCain sought care for them at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. Mr. McCain’s campaign said this year that the left-temple melanoma was 2.2 millimeters at its thickest part and graded as Stage IIA on a scale in which Stage IV is the worst. Stage II meant that the melanoma had not spread into the lymph nodes. The number of melanomas is less significant than the thickness measured in the pathology assessment of any one of them....

The doctors said that a fourth melanoma they detected on the left side of his nose in 2002 was also in situ, the least dangerous type. All four melanomas that Mr. McCain experienced were primary, or new, and there was no evidence that any of them had spread, the doctors said.

However, the reporters’ summary cited a report dated Aug. 9, 2000, from two pathologists at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington who examined a biopsy of the melanoma taken from Mr. McCain’s left temple a few days earlier.

The Armed Forces pathologists suggested that the left-temple melanoma had spread from another melanoma, known as a metastasis or satellite lesion. “The vertical orientation of this lesion,” the report said, “with only focal epidermal involvement above it is highly suggestive of a metastasis of malignant melanoma and may represent a satellite metastasis of S00-9572-A,” which is the “skin, left temple, lateral” biopsy....

The Armed Forces pathologists did not speak in the teleconference in May 2008, and questions raised by their report have remained unanswered. The selected reporters did not ask about that report, and the Mayo Clinic doctors did not discuss it. A complete Mayo pathology report was apparently not included in the pool summary.

In interviews, several melanoma experts questioned why the Mayo Clinic doctors had performed such extensive surgery, because the operation was usually reserved for treatment of Stage III melanoma, not Stage IIA....

If Mr. McCain’s 2000 left-temple melanoma was a metastasis, as the Armed Forces pathologists’ report suggested, it would be classified as Stage III. The reclassification would change his statistical odds for survival at 10 years from about 60 percent to 36 percent, according to a published study.

The greatest risk of recurrence of melanoma is in the first few years after detection. His age, his sex and the presence of the melanoma on his face increase the risk.

The fact that Mr. McCain has had no recurrence for eight years is in his favor. But cancer experts see the 10th anniversary as an important statistical benchmark, and that would not occur until 2010....

Melanomas can spread to various areas in the body, including the skin and any internal organ. In general, such spreading means the melanoma would not be curable. Treatment would depend in part on what organ or tissues are involved and could include additional surgery, chemotherapy, biologics, vaccines and radiation.

Many such treatments can be debilitating and impair an individual’s physical and mental stamina. If the patient was the president, the location of a recurrence and its treatment could raise the need to invoke the 25th Amendment, elevating the vice president to president, at least temporarily.

On the trail, Mr. McCain has played down concerns about his age by pointing to the vigor of his mother and her twin sister at age 96. Mr. McCain’s father died in 1981 at age 70 after a heart attack.

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McCain spent $8,672.55 on make-up in September

Finally a president who wears more make-up than his wife. Now that's what I call breaking a glass ceiling, you trollop.

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BREAKING: McCain campaign disrespects American flag, drags it on the ground

It matters to us because it matters to them. That huge American flag is dragging along the ground in Missouri, yesterday, following a John McCain rally. Let's all recall that John McCain and the Republicans tried to use a phony "flag desecration" story to damage the Democrats following our convention. So, my friends in the media, John McCain has made this story relevant.

If John McCain, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman and the rest of the Republicans are going to walk around boasting about how they're better Americans than Democrats, better Americans than Barack Obama, then their party needs to stop treating the American flag like a used Kleenex. Had Obama done this, there'd be hell to pay. Once again, the Republicans talk a good talk about patriotism, about the flag, but when it comes to their actions, they're always somewhat wanting.

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McCain to go on hate-jock Don Imus's radio show tomorrow morning

Ambinder's Twitter feed says McCain is going on Don Imus' radio show tomorrow. No hate is too great for John McCain. In fact, the hate-ier the better, now that McCain has decided he's going to run as a far-right neanderthal in order to win the far-right neanderthal vote.

Time to ask John McCain his views on calling black women and Jews:

- Hos
- Black bitches
- Boner-nosed, beanie-wearing Jew boys

McCain's embrace of anti-Semitism has followed a very disturbing pattern.

Then there's this, all from one show:

- Beating up faggots.
- Knocking over Jewish tombstones.
- Setting homeless bums on fire.
- Anderson Cooper taking it in the poop chute.
- Obama as a colored man.
- Homos.
- Wishing that some "sissy" on American Idol be the victim of a vicious hate crime.
- Shaving Rosie O'Donnell's bush, you'd need a weed wacker.

Time to revisit John Lewis? Read More......

Obama's favorables rise as more see him as a better leader

As we get closer to the election, more voters seem to see Barack Obama as our next president. It's not just the horse race aspect of the polls, but some of the other numbers, which show that the American people are growing more comfortable with that concept.

Two very recent polls provide some good insights. In the NY Times, we learn that voters are liking Obama more. His favorables are increasing while McCain's unfavorables are also rising. Also, for the first time in its polling, Rasmussen finds that more voters views Obama as a "better leader." These are, of course, very subjective, but people vote for president with their guts, too. It's a visceral decision, not always cerebral. This new information says to me that Americans are accepting the idea of Barack Obama will be the next president. They're preparing themselves for our next leader -- and liking what they see.

New York Times:

As voters have gotten to know Senator Barack Obama, they have warmed up to him, with more than half, 53 percent, now saying they have a favorable impression of him and 33 percent saying they have an unfavorable view. But as voters have gotten to know Senator John McCain, they have not warmed, with only 36 percent of voters saying they view him favorably while 45 percent view him unfavorably....

...In contrast, favorable opinion of Mr. McCain remained stable, and unfavorable opinion rose to 45 percent now from 35 percent in September. Mrs. Palin’s negatives are up, to 41 percent now from 29 percent in September.

Mr. Obama’s favorability is the highest for a presidential candidate running for a first term in the last 28 years of Times/CBS polls. Mrs. Palin’s negative rating is the highest for a vice-presidential candidate as measured by The Times and CBS News. Even Dan Quayle, with whom Mrs. Palin is often compared because of her age and inexperience on the national scene, was not viewed as negatively in the 1988 campaign.

Rasmussen:

Forty-eight percent (48%) of voters now say that Obama is a better leader than McCain while 42% hold the opposite view. That’s the first time all year that Obama has held the advantage on this question.

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Liddy Dole, homophobe, has to go

Republicans are in trouble, so it's time to bash the gays. As I wrote last night, now that McCain is in serious danger of losing, he and Palin are going for broke and doing everything to they can to move far to the right. When Republicans are cornered, they revert to their old ugly selves:

Bigotry.

Intolerance.

Divisiveness.

Hate.

Fear.

The GOP has embraced a base that is, well, pretty base. John McCain and the party leadership in Washington seem to think that the die-hard voters of the party, the 23 percenters who still think George Bush is doing a chipper job, respond well to a message based on blatant lies and seething hatred. What does that say about the GOP base? What does it say about McCain's impression of them?

McCain's campaign of hate has now seeped into the lower races (probably by intent). First up: Liddy Dole. Elizabeth Dole is a hater. And, she doesn't deserve to be in the United States Senate. Kay Hagan can beat her - Kay Hagan IS beating her.

But with two weeks ago, we can still lose this race - you'd better believe the GOP doesn't want a "Dole" to lose. Please click the box to the left and donate to Dole's opponent, Kay Hagan. We've set a modest goal of $10,000. I know you guys can do it - we did it two years ago for a number of candidates. Let's open our hearts and our pocketbooks and help crush the Republicans, especially the homophobes like Liddy Dole.

Last week, Dole was blasted by the Fayetteville Observer in an editorial titled, "Dole’s new ads set the low mark in negative political campaigning." Now, in this election climate, you have to go pretty damn low to set the low mark. This excerpt gives a taste of where Liddy went:

Her ads are not only an attack on Hagan but on homosexuals, suggesting that homosexuals are predatory. Imagine if she had said all heterosexuals are rapists?

We understand Dole’s desperation. The polls show she’s trailing Hagan, and she’s dipping into her own pocket to support her campaign. But jumping into the deep end of the slime pool is no way to catch up.

Dole’s ad ends by saying that Hagan can’t be trusted to defend North Carolina values.

Sen. Dole seems to have forgotten that one of the things we value here in North Carolina is civil behavior toward our neighbors, no matter their race, religion, gender, political or sexual preference.

Okay, I wouldn't have used the terms "homosexual" and "sexual preference," but, this is Fayetteville and you get the drift.

Kay Hagan is leading in the polls right now. But, she's facing an onslaught of negative attack ads from Dole and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which Liddy used to run. Hagan needs to raise some extra funds to run her new ad during Liddy's favorite t.v. show, Law and Order. We've set up an ActBlue page for Hagan. Let's help Hagan fund the new ad -- and send a message to Liddy Dole that hate doesn't work. Read More......

McCain still scamming public finance system

This is rich. The McCain campaign has been relentless in its criticism of Obama for not using the public campaign financing system. No one really cares besides the McCain campaign and McCain-loving pundits like David Broder.

You may recall that McCain scammed the system during the primaries. Today, both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times provide us insight into how the McCain campaign is pushing the limits of the very laws that McCain claims to champion.

According to the WSJ McCain is using "loopholes" to scrounge up more money:

When he accepted $84.1 million in public funding for his campaign, Sen. McCain agreed to not raise or spend any other money. But the law allows him to create what's called a "compliance fund" to pay for legal fees associated with complying with campaign finance rules.

Both President George W. Bush and John Kerry created similar funds in 2004. But Sen. McCain is using his to an unprecedented degree. In 2004, Messrs. Bush and Kerry each spent about $2 million from their funds before Election Day.

On Monday night, Sen. McCain reported spending $2.4 million in September alone. In September 2004, both candidates spent less than $500,000.

The bulk of Sen. McCain's expenditures were to pick up part of the tab for television and radio ads -- the first time a candidate has been allowed to do that before an election.

Maybe it's technically legal, but isn't John McCain the guy who is supposed to be purer than pure on campaign finance? Can't wait to read the column from Broder chastising McCain for violating the spirit of the law. There's even more. According to the New York Times, McCain is also pushing the limits with large donors:

The joint fund-raising committees have been utilized far more heavily this presidential election than in the past. Mr. Obama’s campaign has leaned on wealthy benefactors to contribute up to $33,100 at a time to complement his army of small donors over the Internet as he bypassed public financing for the general election. More than 600 donors contributed $25,000 or more to him in September alone, roughly three times the number who did the same for Senator John McCain.

And Mr. McCain’s campaign, which had not disclosed most of these donors until last week, has taken the concept to new levels, encouraging deep-pocketed supporters to write checks of more than $70,000, by adding state parties as beneficiaries of his fund-raising.

Next time McCain or one of his spinners whines about Obama and money, they need to be reminded of the way the McCain campaign is abusing the current system. McCain knows the campaign finance laws so well, he's managed to abuse them at a whole new level. Read More......

McCain's association with Bush continues to haunt him

John McCain's campaign is pretty much one big assault on Obama these days. But, there is one other message he's trying to get through: I'm not George Bush, which comes across more like "Stop calling me George Bush, you bastards." The Bush/McCain association is the one association that really seems to matter to voters in this election. Today's Washington Post takes a look at the McCain campaign's desperate strategy to create distance:

Battling George W. Bush for the GOP presidential nomination in 2000, John McCain lashed out at the Texas governor, denouncing his proposed tax cuts as a giveaway to the rich.

Eight years later, this time running as the Republican presidential nominee, the senator from Arizona is again criticizing Bush and his financial policies, as he renews his efforts to demonstrate that he would represent a departure from the current administration.

At virtually every campaign stop, McCain is reprising a line he used last Wednesday in his final debate with Sen. Barack Obama: "I am not George Bush." And in a television ad introduced last week, McCain looks into the camera and says, "The last eight years haven't worked very well, have they?"

We're getting that McCain ad in the D.C. market. I laughed the first time I saw McCain say the past eight years haven't worked well -- like none of it was his fault. (You can see the McCain ad here.)

John McCain's criticism of Bush rings hollow for many reasons. The first two paragraphs of the Post article debunk McCain's attempt at distance. McCain adopted those same Bush's tax cuts, which he criticized in 2000, as the centerpiece of his economic plan for the country. McCain can't say he's not George Bush when he's made Bush's agenda his agenda. People see it:

But with the Republican president's approval ratings languishing, the perceived connection with him is a significant drag on the party's nominee. Nearly half of all voters in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll said McCain would mainly carry on Bush's policies, and among those who would consider a McCain presidency as a continuation of the current administration, 90 percent support Obama. And the prized independent voters who link McCain and Bush also overwhelmingly tilt toward the Democrat.

Over the past eight years, McCain has done almost he could to push the Bush agenda. This attempt at a separation is a craven political ploy -- and is why this is probably one of the best ads from the Obama campaign:

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

14 days. Two weeks from today we'll pick our new president. Finally. Although, in 43 states, voters are voting early or by absentee. So, right now, the change is happening.

Washington Post & ABC News are going to issue a tracking poll every day at 5:00 PM. The first one was released yesterday showing Obama with a 53% - 44% lead.

So, that helps round out the day. For all the junkies who can't get enough info., here's a daily schedule for the next two weeks:

7:30 a.m.: The Daily Kos . Today's is already up: Obama leads 50% - 42%.

9:30 a.m.: Rasmussen Reports

Mid-morning: Hotline/Diageo

1:00 p.m.: Gallup

5:00 p.m.: Washington Post/ABC News

Intersperse that with frequent visits to Pollster.com and FiveThirtyEight.com. That should help get you through.

UPDATE: Nate Silver has an analysis of the daily tracking polls.

Okay, let's get started. There's work to do. We have a president to elect.... Read More......

Is Dennis Kucinich the only person in Congress asking about Wall Street's $70 billion bonus pool?

You have got to be kidding. Where's Waxman? Where's Schumer? Where's Dodd? I like all of them but really, quit sitting on the sidelines here and show some leadership. I can't think of any industry out there who needed $700 billion (and lots more) from taxpayers and still handed out billions in bonuses. Sorry folks, but Wall Street failed and there's only coal in the stocking this year. Wall Street more than made up for this in recent years by cashing in on trash so to ask American taxpayers (and now European) to fund Wall Street's lifestyle even more is asking for too much.

We all know that the $250 billion for Wall Street banks is only a down payment. C'mon, Europe alone is putting up closer to $3 trillion and it's obvious that if we weren't in the middle of an election, we would not have this drip, drip, drip and would have seen a similar number. It's coming, that much is certain. Only yesterday Bernanke went public with a request for more Wall Street help. It's un-patriotic for Wall Street to squeeze American taxpayers like this and the day we reward so handsomely for failure is the day we ought to just scrap the entire system and start over. How pathetic. Read More......

Lloyds CEO to employees: Don't worry, plenty of bonus cash, few restrictions

And sadly, he's right. As long as Congress (and Parliament in the UK and other governments) rolls over without strings attached, of course this is what the banks are going to do. They are not accountable to anyone, anywhere. The system is so far out of touch and out of reach so it's not surprising that the banking executive would make such a bold statement. He's essentially thumbing his nose at political leaders, telling them they're irrelevant and until someone in London or Washington stands up to them, he's right.

The chief executive of leading UK bank Lloyds TSB has told its staff that they will still get their bonuses this year, reported the Guardian on Tuesday.

The paper says that Eric Daniels told employees in a recorded message that the group faced "very very few restrictions," despite the injection of up to 5.5 billion pounds ($9.58 billion) of taxpayers' money.

The government last Monday agreed to inject up to 37 billion pounds ($64.45 billion) in Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Lloyds TSB in return for a mix of preference and ordinary shares, under certain conditions.

"If you think about it, the first restriction was not to pay bonuses. Well, Lloyds TSB is in fact going to pay bonuses. I think our staff have done a terrific job this year. There is no reason why we shouldn't," the paper cites Daniels as saying.

Heckuva job, old boy. Heckuva job. Read More......

What is "appropriate" or "meaningful" on Wall Street?

I appreciate the difficult climate that Congress had to negotiate the initial rescue plan and it was smart to include wording that allowed room for change, such as directly injecting cash into the banks. I also know that it wasn't easy getting enough Republicans to participate during an election cycle so they had to throw in mushy wording that could mean just about anything. We're now inching closer to the next round of the rescue/bailout and in all likelihood there will be many more.

Where I think Congress is making a mistake is that they assume the American public won't support them in their efforts to dictate - yes, dictate - executive and corporate compensation. US taxpayers are now partial owners and they're angry about having to bailout those who made the most in recent years. This CNNMoney video is a good overview of where the executive compensation story is going (sorry, they don't offer embedding yet on CNNMoney) and what the bigwigs have already received for their failed efforts.

For me, "appropriate" and "meaningful" mean they should receive no bonus money and massively reduced salaries for as long as the US government has ownership. Why should the taxpayers get the short end both coming and going? If that means the execs or big players move on, so be it. The same discussion is underway in London and across Europe and Congress would be smart to coordinate efforts across borders. We're not distant observers here any longer. We're now owners, so let's start acting like it. Read More......

I already saw Christmas decorations at the store

It's going to be a long season this year. On Saturday (18 October) the local hypermarket rolled out the Christmas decorations and now they're ready to start filling the shelves with toys. Every year the date seems to get bumped up earlier and earlier though they are forecasting 2008 to be an especially slow shopping season. When the dust settles from this recession, hopefully everyone will realize that stuff is just stuff and the holidays should be more about getting together with family and/or friends anyway. Read More......

McCain contractor paid $2m to kill bill regulating Fannie Mae

As Chris reported earlier, yet another McCain confidant is found to have accepted millions to keep Fannie Mae unregulated. The first time was McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis. The second time was the guy McCain hired to run his entire convention. McCain is in so deep with lobbyists, it isn't even funny. These kind of connections would be bad for the image of any politician running for president during an economic crisis, but McCain has made lobby reform and ethics his number one issue. And now we see yet again how in bed McCain really is with Washington lobbyists. Read More......

WSJ: Republicans are "fracturing"

From the Wall Street Journal:

Republican former Secretary of State Colin Powell's endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama is the latest sign that the Republican Party's coalition is fracturing amid the stresses of the campaign....

The endorsement comes after a series of events that have pointed to the fraying of a Republican umbrella that has relied in the past on both moderates and conservatives to bulk up its governing majority.

Late last week, conservative radio talk-show host Michael Smerconish endorsed Sen. Obama, as did conservative columnist Christopher Buckley, the son of National Review founder William F. Buckley. The Chicago Tribune endorsed Sen. Obama last week, the first time the paper has endorsed a Democrat in its 161-year history.

Two Republican senators in the middle of tough re-election fights -- Susan Collins of Maine and Norm Coleman of Minnesota -- have denounced Sen. McCain's automated phone calls attacking Sen. Obama. "These kind of tactics have no place in Maine politics," said Sen. Collins's spokesman, Kevin Kelley. "Sen. Collins urges the McCain campaign to stop these calls immediately."

.... In the past weeks, strains have developed on all fronts. Fiscal conservatives, already angered by the growth in government spending and deficits under Mr. Bush, have been incensed by what they see as government intrusion in the markets with the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan. Sen. McCain voted for the plan, then angered his party's fiscal-conservative wing further by proposing that the government buy $300 billion in mortgages on homes facing foreclosure.

The Palin pick was intended in part to assuage social conservatives who have long been leery of Sen. McCain. While it seems to have succeeded on that score, it may also have driven off moderate Republicans.

"Whether John wins or loses, the party is going to have to go through a period of introspection, and we're going to have to regenerate ourselves," said John Weaver, a former top aide to Sen. McCain.

"The Republican Party is fractured. It is completely, utterly fractured," said Mark Corallo, a conservative Republican political strategist.

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German bank chiefs choose global instability over pay limits

Nice. You have to love the bankers who made millions selling junk which is now failing and being written down. They've made their banks unstable and in the process have brought down the global economy, but why accept responsibility? The German government has set new terms for banks that need state support to stay afloat and the executives are refusing to accept 500,000 euro annual pay limits and instead are opting to risk failure so they can hold on to their precious cash. It's not a surprise, but is very telling.

The German Cabinet on Monday approved terms that banks will have to accept in order to benefit from its euro480 billion ($645 billion) bailout plan — including a salary cap of euro500,000 ($670,200) for top bank managers.

Those managers would also be obliged to forgo bonuses and dividend payments as long as their banks were indebted to the government.

The federal bailout plan approved by parliament Friday includes up to euro400 billion ($538 billion) in lending guarantees for banks, plus as much as euro80 billion ($107 billion) to recapitalize banks and, if necessary, buy up risky assets.

Leaders of Germany's largest commercial banks said this weekend that they would not immediately seek money on those terms.

Josef Ackermann, the chief executive of Germany's biggest private bank, Deutsche Bank AG, has said his company does not need capital from the state.

Martin Blessing, the CEO of Germany's No. 2 bank, Commerzbank AG, was quoted as saying by the Bild on Saturday newspaper that his company would look at the package and see "whether it comes into question for us."

Yet the salary cap approved Monday has to be a major sticking point for some banks.

According to Deutsche Bank's 2007 annual report, Josef Ackermann's total compensation including salary, benefits and shares amounted to almost euro14 million (US$18.9 million) last year.

Commerzbank's annual report said its outgoing CEO Klaus-Peter Mueller received total compensation of euro3.2 million ($4.32 million) in 2007, not including shares and some other benefits. The company's new chief executive since May, Martin Blessing, received compensation of euro2 million ($2.7 million) in 2007, not including shares and some other benefits.

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