Looking for irony is pretty easy when someone has a stragegy of looking in the mirror to find his opponent's greatest faults.

The drop also coincided with the first Palin interviews.

Steve, has the Official McCain Flip-Flop List been updated with this kind of stuff? Or is there now a new list for "Weathervane McCain: Just Blowing in the Wind"?

When E.F. McSame talks, nobody listens. (Nobody with any sense). Again, you attack and accuse someone or something else of having the defects that you yourself possess, Mr. J. "Erratic" McSame.

Irony rewatch

Investors are always responsible for their investment decisions, but the hard earned savings of Americans should not be penalized by the erratic behavior of politicians.

Sen. McCain, could you please tell me about those private social security accounts again if you would please...

I have a different take. I think McCain has a strong self-destructive streak, and that by highlighting his own weaknesses he is helping torpedo his chances.

"The conventional wisdom has been that McCain dropped in the polls after the crisis began in earnest because voters' attention shifted to the economy, which is McCain's weakest point. That's largely true, but it's incomplete. McCain dropped because his response to the crisis has been ridiculous. This was an opportunity for McCain to not only show some leadership and a "steady hand," but also that he knows what he's talking about when it comes to the economy. He's failed miserably."

Exactly!

1.
People realized that having McCain in Washington meant more gridlock in a time when its a luxury. We had a deal before he got there and no deal after.

2.
He lied to David Letterman about why he had to cancel. That clip of him getting his make up touched up while Dave screamed "Hey John, can I give you a ride to the airport?" could not have helped. Even the LIV understands dishonesty on video. I think Letterman took him down alot amongst his own supporters.

3.
Palin's answer on the Couric's bailout question with respect to the middle class was horrendous.

Great point. It's not just the economy, stupid. It's utterly clueless, inconsistent, and contradictory reactions to the economic crisis, stupid.

It's one of the strange but, in a way, enlightening aspects of this campaign. We had a full-blown crisis happen a month and a half before the election. The two candidates had a real-time opportunity to demonstrate how they can lead when they the moment called for it.

McCain panicked. Obama reacted calmly and clearly. That's most of the difference we're seeing in the polls today.

(Fwiw, I was a late Obama supporter and have always thought he's too cautious. I still do. But in comparison to McCain, he shines. I am more enthusiastic than I was before, and I hope he can be a great president. He's capable, and we really need some greatness right now.)

"McCain dropped in the polls after the crisis began in earnest because voters' attention shifted to the economy, which is McCain's weakest point. That's largely true, but it's incomplete. McCain dropped because his response to the crisis has been ridiculous." writer formerly known as the Carpetbagger

I agree, but I also think that the American public is just not buying the Republican ideology anymore. Too many years of the Bu$h family. Too many years of divisive wedge issues. Too many Stock Market scandals. And now we are seeing the real right wing whackos come out of the woodwork, and I think they even scares traditional conservatives.

Yes, McCain has been floundering in the mud for quite some time now, his judgment has shown to be lacking. Some say well, if he'd picked a different running mate things would be different, or, if the economy didn't tank, etc. etc.

I don't see it that way. I think, I sincerely hope, we are witnessing a new American epoch, where decades of conservatism has run it's course and proven itself to be a failure.

America has always stood up to it's challenges, we the people have always found a way to rebound after catastrophe. Let's hope we can do it one more time by repudiating right wing foolishness once and for all. If the poll #'s are any indication, we're heading in that direction.

McCain is erradical. His actions speak louder than his opponents' words. People notice.

That's Just What I Said

John McCain is working undercover to dismantle the neocon branch and the conservative white christian extremist wing of the GOP. His intent all along has been to save the nation from these nuts. He has sacrificed himself and his reputation to insure the demise of these factions. He personally has made it his task to covertly formulate this erratic appearance to the sole purpose of saving America.
His new economic plan is the second to last nail on this political movement coffin, the last nail will be on the debate; which he intends to highlight with preposterous histrionics and equally ridiculous display of erratic justifications.
I salute Senator John McCain for his endeavors.
Thank you sir.

Off thread, but had to mention. Crooks and Liars has a story about McCain's new stump speech which is actually a regurgitation of a speech he made in SUPPORT of George Bu$h.

http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/comeback-mccain-recycles-2004-convention-

Think about it; Obama has been painting McCain as 4 more years of Bu$h, and McCain has the inanity to give Obama that kind of ammunition?

McCain's slide is due to the fact that people are paying attention now. The closer people look at McCain, the less they like him. He is not losing for tactical reasons.

If it were not for the extreme political polarization of the country, McCain would be at 25% support now.

He meant erotic--Barney Frank doing that guy that something or other.

Can't we count for and against the AIG bailout as two? And supporting and killing the Paulson bailout? And of course the now-you-see-it-now-you-don't-now-you-do economic proposal. And, somewhere in there, didn't he claim that eliminating all $12 billion of earmarks would do the trick? Or maybe not... it's hard to keep track.

Change We Can Believe In.

The amount of "change" coming from McCain has been almost continuous. On any day, we can believe that he is going to change something about his thought processes or his speaking.

Vascular dementia.

The MSM is confused about what's going on with this man's thinking. When the brain has suffered mini-strokes it's hard to pinpoint what has happened to the individual affected.

McCain himself will be the first one to tell you that he acts (gambles!) impulsivley and then "deals" with the consequences as they arise.

I may be wrong about vascular dementia but his gambling habits are not a secret.

Even his campaign shows signs of an impulsive gambler.

The Rove playbook is to attack your opponent's strength from your own weakness. Hence the attack on Kerry's military service. McCain's people, however, are like a poor piano player trying to play a tune from sheet music. It must be driving Rove nuts. Ha!

I'm a gardener, not a sailor, and I couldn't figure out why McCain kept referencing a gardening tool at the last debate.

Hopefully he'll have plenty of free time for gardening next spring...

His behavior has been erratic, nonsensical and 'typical Republican' responses. He's also been John McCain and it was only a matter of time before people learned a bit more about Mr. POW.

What do you do when you're a POW? You probably respond fitfully to kicks & prods from your captors and you grab at every little chance to survive. So much of this campaign has reflected him to the core -- he was shaped by over 5 years as a POW.

It's hard to know precisely where his POW identity ends and his pandering typical Republican identity begins. But, he's managed to throw in little bits of both in all the worst ways.

At time of an economic crisis, focused largely on banks and Wall Street, how does he come up with the idea of reducing the capital gains tax?

If that isn't a knee-jerk reaction on the issue of taxes, then I don't know what it would be. But, this isn't an ordinary time and I can't imagine people wanting to give tax breaks to rich Wall Street guys.

John McCain had a choice early-on in this campaign: he could be the straight-talking Maverick he appeared to be in 2000 or he could be the candidate we're seeing now. It might not matter one way or the other in terms of his chances of winning. But, it shows a bit about his character and how he relates to the Republican party establishment. It's not appealing and his choice of Sarah Palin might have been the one note which signaled the end. The interviews with Palin merely fleshed out what his decision meant and the Tina Fey impressions showed us where we would be with that choice.

There's an old saying that when you're going to die and all you have left is falling down, then the only thing that matters is how you fall down. John McCain might have felt he was going to lose no matter what, but he's chosen how and it isn't fun to watch. Where's the honor?

Tax cuts for the rich? Fuggedaboutit.