As I'm typing, the Dow is down more than 489 points, and has fallen below 10,000 for the first time in four years.

I'm not one for magical thinking, but who can say what subterranean societal forces are ever at play? It is almost as if the markets are saying: John we are not going to let you turn the page.

It just went below 9800. Maybe McCain will claim that Rev. Wright has been praying it down.

the unemployment rate where i live was 7.3 percent in august. sure thing voters here believe 'we've turned a page' on the economy. we want to talk about bill ayers some more. or lipstick on a pig. or how sarah and john are mavericks (whatever that means).

I'm beginning to think that Karl's Orcs are ruining John McCain's chances on purpose. These guys were sent into destroy McCain for good -- Bush has never liked this guy and now really must want to ratfuck his campaign from the inside. I can not think of another reason for such absolutely incompetent management.

The thing is, the McCain campaign has been doing this all along. It's a strange Media that presents a narrative that McCain is suddenly just now starting to go negative.

Beyond that, I do hope Obama fights fire with 10 times as much fire. As in, if Palin wants to talk about character, make some ads showing the witchdoctor on stage with her, casting out demons. Talk about Palin not paying taxes on her per diems. Talk about her 2008 video message to the Alaskan secessionist party and her husband's membership therein.

In fact, I hope they've downloaded and have copies of her videos, cuz I have a feeling the McCain campaign will pressure Google to remove them from youtube.

Anyone can go to youtube right now, type in Palin AIP, for instance, and see the complete message to AIP. And that's from THIS year.

I'd also make ads about Palin's disgusting call for Alaskans to shoot wolves from planes and helicopters.

If they want to talk about character . . . McCain and Palin have much more to worry about than Obama/Biden.

First, it continues to amaze me that top McCain campaign staffers keep making remarks like these, out loud, to reporters.

These are people thinking about their post-election career paths outside of government, as opposed to which White House office they're [not] getting.

On the other hand, McCain is going to lose if he doesn't talk about the economic crisis. He should get serious, and at least attempt to end this race with at least a scrap of dignity left (assuming it's not too late).

yam said:

I'm beginning to think that Karl's Orcs are ruining John McCain's chances on purpose.

There is a part of me that thinks the Republicans are deliberately tanking this election cycle. They know just how bad things are and they know there is no way to avoid the pain that is coming (the last couple of weeks have just been the prelude, the main story (hedge funds collapse) is still to come).

They want to tank this cycle and spend the next four years blaming the Democrats for all the pain they inflicted on the country and then ride back in as the saviors in 2012.

Roger Cohen has quite a poignant op-ed essay in the NYT today: 'Kiplin' versus Palin".

(That's 'Kiplin' because Palin is so keen on dropping her g's.).

Yep--words DO matter.

I too felt a tightening in my stomach when Palin glibly inserted the harrowing phrase: "Never Again". Right up next to superficial and silly phrases like Joe Six Pack and Hockey Mom.

Because it's so clear she hasn't an inkling what this phrase really means, where it comes from.

It's so clear that the wolf from Wasilla is in full speed aeriel hunting mode. This attention seeking, power-hungry frenzied mission of hers has no filter and no limits. Make no mistake: she will say or do anything to win.

At tomorrow's debate, I sort of expect McCain to scream, "If Senator Obama keeps scaring people about the economy, we could face the worst crisis since the potato famine." Then with his odd smile, he continues calmly, "My friends, my bigger concern is that Senator Obama is a terrorist."

Today the Paris Cac40 was down 9% (this is the biggest drop in its history) and it is the same all over Europe. Moscow was down 18% and Asia is also tanking. If McCain has nothing better to say than to portray Obama as a terrorist loving libural, that's his choice; but I think people will be pissed and they will make him pay a very high price for that.

WaPo reports on this morning's Palin rally, and the sentiment in parts of the crowd...

"Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers," Palin said.

"Boooo!" said the crowd.

"And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,'" she continued.

"Boooo!" the crowd repeated.

"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.

link

Could that be why the campaign isn't letting the media talk to the people in attendance?

Constantly under the watchful eyes of security, the media wasn't permitted to wander around inside Coachman Park to talk to Sarah Palin supporters. When reporters tried to leave the designated press area and head toward the bleachers where the crowd was seated, an escort would dart out of nowhere and confront him or her and say, "Can I help you?'' and turn the person around.

When one reporter asked an escort, who would not give her name, why the press wasn't allowed to mingle, she said that in the past, negative things had been written. The campaign wanted to avoid that possibility Monday.

link.

Desperate campaign, indeed.

Let's just say for the sake of argument that Obama stays above the fray and concentrates only on the issues. If American's buy the clap trap lemming-like smears then why would Obama want to become leader of a country so bigoted and stupid that the buy this crap as dogma? I'd say, "Bye-bye knuckle-heads. I'm off to Hawaii then back to Chicago for the remainder of my term as senator and then so-long and good luck with the witch doctor and her ailing low-brow boss". If I were John McAce, I'd hire a food taster...

Danp: LOFL! You should be writing speeches for the McLame campaign. Dude, that cuts! Three weeks of that kind of biting rhetoric and we'll be facing four more years of hair-pulling stupidity!

Anyone noticed gas prices lately? Oil is about $90 a barrel. About $3.45 a gallon in my home town.

Given the recent slate of catastrophic financial news, you'd think the oil companies would be maximizing their profits in any way they can. What's the deal?

Could it be we are nearing an election and Big Oil wants to do the GOP (guaranteed oil profits) a favor, as was the case in '04?

There has been plenty of news out there about the shady associates long before McCain began talking about it. I haven't trusted Obama because his political career was birthed and nurtured in Chicago, where corruption has long been inherent to the political culture. That's just the way it is, and the evidence is that Obama rose to the top with that as a factor.

But that's not all there is to why a person chooses one candidate or the other. They all have dirt on them - in that, other than the degree of dirt, there are no differences. (And how many of the general public can honestly claim they have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in their life?)

What is different about the candidates is the issues. And face, it that's what the majority of the people - all but the undecided's - really are voting on.

As for me and my house - we like the Palins. They are conservative on the issues and we are too. This is what’s great about America. We all have one vote.

WhiteTrashVote.blogspot.com

then ride back in as the saviors in 2012.

Rrright

By then the bastards won't be able to buy a bus ticket let alone a vote.

Danp on October 6, 2008 at 1:05 PM

At tomorrow's debate, I sort of expect McCain to scream, "If Senator Obama keeps scaring people about the economy, we could face the worst crisis since the potato famine." Then with his odd smile, he continues calmly, "My friends, my bigger concern is that Senator Obama is a terrorist."

And in his next breath, call for an end to partisanship and character attacks...

Trying... not... to... underestimate... ability... of... American... people... to... be ... distracted... by... triv.............

And now they've brought up the "M" word---Medicare. That's a sure 10 more points for team Obama.

Our man is doing us proud:

Exclusive: Obama to hit McCain on Keating Five
By MIKE ALLEN | 10/6/08 8:49 AM EDT

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14302.html

I was waiting and hoping for him to twist it in on the K5 affair. Go for it! And meanwhile, keep Alaskan Independence Party handy in the chum bucket ...

It's campaign 101. If you don't know shit about the economy talk about what you do know: smearing people with BS.

Stick to your strong suit. Don't keep the subject on things you have no hope of grappling with in office.

The McCain campaign seems to take the political tradition of bringing your message to news outlets for the free publicity & raising it to potentially backfiring new heights. Telling the media that the campaign's in trouble is a dog-whistle designed to make the die-hard Republicans work that much harder, make that much more noise, and of course donate that much more money, then they currently are.

The other possible explanation, and one I've bandied about as have so many others, is that at least some people in the GOP want to lose in 08, in the hopes of being able to regroup for 2012. It's why mcCain was "allowed" to win the nomination. It's why he was forced to accept the unacceptable Palin. It's why their eff-ups are on such a grand, almost-ludicrous scale. Even when you're desperate, this kind of scorched-earth campaign is more indicative of how to lose an election than how to try to win one by any means necessary.

Stranger, that sort of press stifling and handling by "minders" etc is of course like old and new communist nations, Iran, Syria, etc.
BTW your links didn't work, please reenter (I suggest just dumping the whole link itself.)

"looking forward to turning a page on this financial crisis."

I certainly hope the Obama campaign has that statement fired up and loaded into an ad. I hope Obama, himself, throws it in McCain's face tomorrow night.

My gut feeling is that McCain and Palin's antics will blow up in their faces. McCain will finish this campaign with his reputation in tatters, and Palin will be remembered as a national joke. I doubt either will show much grace in defeat.

There is a part of me that thinks the Republicans are deliberately tanking this election cycle.

I don't think so. Lot of these guys are looking at prison time if there's not a friendly Justice Dept. to keep investigations at bay.

I tend to agree with the notions presented that Rove's operatives in the McCain campaign are on some level deliberately messing up. I think many of them have their roots in the corporate and religious wings of the party.

I've long suspected that McCain wasn't the corporate wing of the Republican Party's first choice (I figured that to be Romney), and this is their chance to get back at the foreign policy hawks (where McCain's support in the party I think largely comes from, plus the religious conservatives taking a pass due to not liking Romney, and not seeing Huckabee getting broad support).

I think after the election and Obama is sworn in as President, the Republican Party is largely going to break down between these three areas (military foreign-policy hawks, corporations/lobbyists, and religious/social conservatives) and much in-fighting is going to happen.

Sorry, Steve, it's gone waay beyond fantasyland. These people are in urgent need of psychiatric help.

So Lisa - are you the same one that hangs out over on Adam Brickley's blog? Some of the posts over there are really funny!

Well, you're welcome to your support of Palin (I notice you don't mention McCain. Isn't he the old guy at the top of the ticket? Are you guys really serious about hoping McCain kicks so Pretty Sarah and the First Dude can help usher in the end times?) I find it interesting that you and your fellow travelers seem to think preventing rape and incest victims from getting abortions, gay marriage, and continuing to involve us in endless wars are more important than people having jobs, healthcare, rebuilding our infrastructure, and ending wars that have taken too many lives. But, of course, you are welcome to your vote and your hope for a radical Christian theocracy.

There has been plenty of news out there about McCain's shady associates long before McCain began talking about it. I haven't trusted McCain because his political career was birthed and nurtured in the US Senate GOP, where corruption has long been inherent to the political culture. That's just the way it is, and the evidence is that McCain rose to the top with that as a factor.

But that's not all there is to why a person chooses one Republican or the other. They all have money on them - in that, other than the degree of money, there are no differences. (And how many of the GOP can honestly claim they have absolutely no love for money in their life?)

Just take McCain for instance, how he treated his first wife, his Brazilian girlfriend, his marriage to an ATM, and his dicey work with the Keating Five, his deep love for and support of George W. Bush. He'll tell you he has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in his life.

As for me and my house - we like the Palins. They are conservative on the issues and we are too: conservative teen sex without contraceptives, conservative torture, conservative spying on Americans, conservative preemptive war, conservative bombing of Iran, conservative tax breaks for the wealthiest of the wealthy, conservatively corrupt Justice Department, conservatively fascist Supreme Court AND conservative shotgun weddings! This is what�s great about America. We all have one vote.

For Lisa thank God it's only one.

It doesn't help to keep pointing our the mistakes the McCain campaign is making that is causing them to lose unless of course you are doing that because you know they will not listen or correct themselves but will just continue to do things that make themselves look bad.

It will not work this time. McCain is easily seen through because of what we just went through electing those who only know how to smear and not govern.

The McCain campaign is still doing everything they can to make this country divisive. McCain is really saying "I know how to reach across the isle (to those stupid SOBs who need to learn to shut up and do what I tell them) to work with democrats (at least the 4 or 5 that I can get my lobbyists to buy off) and end all this partisanship (by making dems do what we tell them or we will stage a walk out and filibuster everything). McCain/Palin are cons and 'Keating 5/Troopergate' liars and we've had enough of their hypocrisy and our current disaster. We've got to get rid of all these neocon republican fanatics to restore our democracy.

For the next four weeks, Obama has to force McCain to talk about Medicare, Social Security, the stock market and health care -- the four things that determine whether Americans are secure or teetering on the edge. In every case, McCain wants to make things riskier for people: reduce Medicare, privatize part of Social Security (wouldn't it have been great if Bush and McCain had gotten their way in 04? A lot of your future benefits would have evaporated over the past two weeks), deregulate the financial industry to allow them to play fast and loose with your money, tax your health care and then force you to fend for yourself in the insurance market with a measly $5000.

These are all huge losers for McCain. Ask the average (non koolaid-drinking wingnut) voter what they care more about: taxes, healthcare and retirement, or some guy Obama met a few times who was a radical in the 60's. McCain will have to change the subject again tomorrow, probably by pulling out that picture of Obama in traditional Kenyan garb, or something.

A piece mentioning the man at Palin rally saying of Ayers, "Kill him" is at http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/.

Anyone noticed gas prices lately? Oil is about $90 a barrel... What's the deal?

Can you spell RECESSION? Sure you can.

"Kill him?"

I wonder how McCain and Palin feel knowing that their rallies attract some of the ugliest, most hateful scum this nation can produce.

Ouch! Market down 650 pts!! Can you say "panic"?

Ohhh..down 700 as I speak....

Quick! Turn the page!

I can not think of another reason for such absolutely incompetent management.

I've said it before, + I'll say it again: never ascribe to anything else that which can be explained by human stupidity.

-Z

"...we like the Palins. They are conservative on the issues and we are too. This is what�s great about America. We all have one vote..."

Poor Lisa...fooled by pretense and appearance. She left Wasilla millions in debt, more earmarks than any gov., and increased taxes in Alaska.
Some conservative huh? Some are easily fooled by a couple winks and pretending "I'm just like you yup yup". Maybe you want your kids shooting caribou with automatic weapons for fun. That's not hunting, that's just killing. Fishing with dynamite anyone?? Bush claimed conservative like McCain does yet we have the largest debt ever and government expansion was record setting...borrowed so much that our children will be in debt all their lives to pay it off and their children and their children. Lisa also wants her children gasping for air with hot humid global warming temps and flooding because according to Palin global warming is just science playing "gotcha' yup yup. Are you really that closed minded and stubborn to just refuse truth because you like Palin?? Mom. what the hell was wrong with you. Why couldn't you see what was really going on. It's a bad rationalization to say they all do it. Some are morally bankrupt hypocrites who lie about anything to gain power...how can you just overlook the past 8yrs and vote for more of the same and expect different results?? McCain is no change and Palin is just a distraction. McCain is every lobbyists "pet senator on a leash". Don't get fooled again.