Tuesday’s campaign round-up

August 19, 2008

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own

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, but may be of interest to political observers:

* According to the National Review’s Rich Lowry, the McCain campaign “has been calling key state GOP officials around the country the last couple of days and sounding them out about the consequences of a pro-choice VP pick.”

* Will Obama’s drive to stretch the map stretch the campaign too thin? “The McCain campaign has outspent the Obama camp by hundreds of thousands of dollars

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, and in some cases by as much as a million dollars or more, in virtually all of the nearly dozen battleground states where both campaigns are up on the air, according to a firm that tracks national advertising…. McCain is advertising heavily in 11 traditional battlegrounds; Obama is advertising in those same 11 plus roughly seven more; and McCain holds a heavy advantage in virtually all the 11 shared states.”

* A new Quinnipiac poll shows Obama leading McCain nationally by five

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, 47% to 41%.

* Interesting: “Recognizing an opportunity, Obama has opened more offices in rural areas than any other Democratic presidential candidate in years, pushing a message focused on job creation. Neighborhood campaign teams have been going door to door talking about Obama and his economic policies. In Ohio

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, his campaign recently announced a “Barns for Obama” effort, in which farmers are encouraged to paint their barn with Obama’s logo.”

* As expected, the United Auto Workers officially endorsed Obama yesterday.

* Hillary Clinton hopes to use the Democratic convention to raise money she can use to pay off her campaign debts.

* Rasmussen shows McCain leading Obama in Georgia by seven, 50% to 43%.

* Rasmussen shows Obama leading McCain in Illinois by 15, 53% to 38%.

* A Siena poll shows Obama leading McCain in New York by eight, 47% to 39%.
47-39

* It’s safe to assume, at this point, that Wesley Clark won’t be Obama’s running mate.

* This might matter in Virgina, but it’s unclear which candidate will benefit more: “On Friday, under the radar, the Independent Green Party of Virginia successfully gathered enough signatures to put New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s name on the presidential ballot. They did it all without the mayor’s knowledge or consent. Moreover, they wrote in as his number two Texas Rep. Ron Paul.”

* Al Franken (D) is still trailing Sen. Norm Coleman (R) in Minnesota’s Senate race, but a new Rasmussen poll shows the gap narrowing a bit.

* And speaking of Coleman, the incumbent Republican senator said he’d skip the Republican National Convention this year, if it weren’t being held in his home state.

People forget that Obama has invested heavily in his ground game these past few months, he’s setting up the grond then he’ll take to the air after the olympics, McCain has almost no ground game by comparison, McCain has invested everything into playing the airwaves, so yeah he’s outspending Obama in ads now, but that will change in the fall as Obama won’t have to build an infrastructure, since it’ll already be there, and he can focus on the ads

  • Err – that national poll should be 47-42.

    But you’re correct that the different is five.

  • Err – that national poll should be 47-42.

    But you’re correct that the difference is five.

  • I just want to say that Al Franken doesn’t have a prayer in Minnesota. We made the mistake once of electing an underqualified governor. I don’t think we’re going to do the same for a Senator. Al Franken is just as underqualified to be Senator, as Junior Senator Obama is underqualified to be President.

  • “* It’s safe to assume, at this point, that Wesley Clark won’t be Obama’s running mate.”

    It may be just wishful thinking on my part, but I’m hoping that this is only misdirection from the Obama campaign. Why else would they be going out of their way to snub Gen. Clark?

  • It’s safe to assume, at this point, that Wesley Clark won’t be Obama’s running mate.

    That’s too bad. I’ve always liked Clark. I know that Clark is a Clintonista, but beyond that, I wonder what Obama thinks is the downside of Clark as a running mate?

  • McCain is outspending now because he’s got all that PAC-loot that can’t be carried into the general election. He also needs to inflict as much damage as he can now, because it looks like the media might start to turn against him. If THAT happens, kiss the free airtime for messages good-bye. He’ll have to pay his own way this time around, and Doc Dean’s 50-State Strategy will begin to outflank McCain at every turn, and from every direction.

    John McCain—meet your Appomattox!!!

  • Does anyone else find it wierd that the Independent Green Party of Virginia picked Bloomberg and Paul?

    And snubbing Wes Clark also seems like a strange move.

    I don’t know….just really odd news.

  • I hope that Chad is underqualified as both prognosticator, and wanna-be pundit.

    It’s judgement, Chad. Obama’s got good judgement, McCain is hugging Bush, bombing Iran, and loving the Iraq war.

    You’re wrong about Obama, Chad. And anything can happen in a state that elected Jesse Ventura. Oh, BTW, Jesse had more political experience than Jeb Bush did when he ran for governor of Florida. Bush sucked, how did Jessee do?

  • AK Liberal @ #7– the downside of Clark is the Bob Schieffer interview from a few months back. Clark dared to (gasp!) declare that McCain’s experience as a (cue the heavenly choir) P.O.W. did not qualify him to be President. The media freaked out, and the GOP immediately impugned Clark’s character, which then tainted him as a VP choice.

    Granted, it would be great if Obama’s VP– whomever it may be– can get out there and attack McCain. That’s one of the main responsibilities of a VP candidate. But that candidate will be required to do so in a way that is clever, memorable, and sly, much the same way that Biden referred to Giuliani’s entire platform as “a noun, a verb, and 9/11.” Clark was too direct, which didn’t go over well with the media.

  • Hillary Clinton hopes to use the Democratic convention to raise money she can use to pay off her campaign debts.

    Ah, so that’s what ‘cathartic’ means. I was wondering.

    It’s safe to assume, at this point, that Wesley Clark won’t be Obama’s running mate.

    Boo. Double boo for the fact that they are practically shunning him. Not cool, Obama.

    I just want to say that Al Franken doesn’t have a prayer in Minnesota. We made the mistake once of electing an underqualified governor. -Chad

    Say “Hi,” to Larry Craig on his next layover for us.

  • Buzz Man, You say Obama has good judgement? That is the biggest load of B.S. I’ve read on these boards. How can you say that someone who is/was friends with an American hating radical in Willie Ayers, a black liberationist theologian (sic) in Rev. Wright, and known communist Frank Davis has good judgement? That’s rich. Obama has good judgement like he does credibility, which is none.

  • Oh, one more thing Buzz Man, I didn’t know McCain was bombing Iran. When did he start doing that? I’ve never seen it in the newspapers or on the news. It must be the right wing media bias keeping it out of the news huh? Oh, and does he really love the war in Iraq? I’ve never heard him say that he loves war. He of all people should know what war is like and I’m sure he has the experience to know that war is not good, but it is necessary. Besides, he has children fighting over there and I bet he’s just as worried about them as he is all the troops, and he wants to see them win before accepting defeat.

  • Chad,

    What about someone who used to hang around with the rest of the Keating Five? Or how about the son and grandson of a Nazi? Or someone who diddles underage pages? Or trolls Minnesota bathrooms for gay sex?

    Are you really sure you want to play the association game? Because you will lose.

    I mean, c’mon, we’re all friends with you, but we’re not short-sighted and ignorant by proxy.

  • Like Comment #1states, Obama has been steadily building his ground game as McCain has outspent him on advertising. Such a move has given him a current voter contact ration of 35-1 versus McCain, which fivethirtyeight.com calls absurd (in our favor). I’d much rather see him do that rather than focus more on advertising, because come October, he can’t go back in time and build an organization, but he can purchase more advertising time. Of course, this assumes that instead of spending X dollars in Y states, he’s spending X dollars minus money spent on his ground game in Y states.

    It’s also important to remember that this may be more costly than simply advertising in traditional swing states. In places like Indiana, Georgia, and North Dakota, there’s probably not nearly the level of infrastructure that there is in Ohio and Minnesota. But this will pay off down the road, because assuming his campaign doesn’t strip all of those states of their resources in the middle of September, it’ll help him and other Democrats when running for re-election or election.

  • Doubtful, don’t feed the trolls. -The Caped Composer

    I’m so sorry. Sometimes I can’t help it; they’re just so amusing.

    Plus I like their colorful hair.

  • Perhaps Obama would be more qualified if on his recent trip to Iraq his jet was shot down and he was taken prisoner by the Iranian trained Al-Qaeda? And he was subsequently released by the Czechoslavakian army, but only after Germany’s president V. Putin arranged the scheme.

  • Don’t bother with Chad; he obviously isn’t a Minnesotan.

    Minnesotans don’t refer to electing Jesse Ventura Governor as a “mistake.” We listened to what he said, and gave him a shot knowing what we were getting into: that he was least of the three evils and we’re glad he only was there for 1 term…

    As for Franken, he’ll get the same shot, difference is he is running on issues, Ventura was not.

  • Will Obama’s drive to stretch the map stretch the campaign too thin?

    No. The conventions are coming up and the money situation will change dramatically after that. McCain is spending all of his money now because he has to, and it isn’t helping him to pull ahead. The ground game advantage looks to be heavily in Obama’s favor, he already has the infrastructure in place and he will have more money for the general to implement his strategy.

  • Wow. Kudos to Chad 13 @ for resurrecting “known Communist”. But I guess, with McCain’s only hope a return to the Cold War, I guess this makes sense…

    McCain and McCain supporters can only argue from association, because their guy’s claim to judgment is undercut by his own words whenever he opens his mouth. And they have to run on “character”, because their guy gets whumped on every issue.

  • Doubtful (#17), there’s a difference between associations and deep friendships. We’re all associates with other people whom we know by proxy, it’s quite another thing to befriend someone who bombed American institutions, someone who spewed hate for America for 20+ years who you call your spiritual mentor, and someone who’s a known communist. Those aren’t associations, those are friendships.

    Oh, and it’s so darn easy to be a troll when you’re constantly fishing for them.

  • I'[m sorry Bernard (#25), would you prefer I just call him a socialist or a marxist? I guess ‘known communist’ is kind of McCarthy-ish. From here on out, I’ll just cover all my bases and call him a Commie/Socialist/Marxist. That should work.

  • This might matter in Virgina, but it’s unclear which candidate will benefit more: “On Friday, under the radar, the Independent Green Party of Virginia successfully gathered enough signatures to put New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s name on the presidential ballot. They did it all without the mayor’s knowledge or consent. Moreover, they wrote in as his number two Texas Rep. Ron Paul.”

    I wonder how much GOP money these morons took to do this one? Remember the “independent” Green in Pennsylvania who was completely financed by Republicans???

    The Greens are the worst thing that ever happened to the left – as one can see in the campaign of Cynthia McKinney.

  • Minnesotans don’t refer to electing Jesse Ventura Governor as a “mistake.”

    Let’s not lump all Minnesotans together, now. The plurality who voted for Ventura aren’t likely to consider having elected him a mistake – surprise – but many of the rest view it differently.

  • You tell ’em Chad. As a Bush supporter you know what it means to be qualified to be a good President. By the way, in case anyone missed my remarks to the press yesterday here is an excerpt:

    “Russia is a state that is unfortunately using the one tool that it has always used whenever it wishes to deliver a message and that’s its military power. That’s not the way to deal in the 21st century.”

    We Republicans know the American people. We know how to promote a big lie-and little ones too.

  • Buzz, we’re already paying taxes for the Iraqi occupation. I do believe that we are taking care of our G.I.s that are coming back. There are these things called VA hospitals and military hospitals which take care of them. You make it sound like we just kick them to the curb when they hit stateside. There are programs out there for every veteran if they want it. Stop making it sound like we’re so damn bad as far as treating our veterans.

  • I have to go, but-

    Chad, as long as you are here why don’t you give these liberals a top ten list of things Bush has done to improve the lives of the American people. Not corporations Chad, American people.

  • @32 Chad, you don’t know WTF you are talking about. Why don’t you join the military so a little stint bringing freedom to the grateful Iraqi people and then come back and utilize the VA and other benefits provided by your grateful government.

    http://www.veteransforpeace.org/

    Read the top essay “To the Captain I saw at Cracker Barrel.”

  • Condi, It’s not Bush’s job to improve the lives of the Americanpeople. That is something the Constitution provides. It’s Life, Liberty, and the PURSUIT of Happiness, not Life, Liberty, and Happiness.

    Don’t ever rely onthe Government to improve your life, you’ll be waiting a long time.

  • And while your visiting the VFP site read some of the stories told in the latest Winter Soldier hearings by returned Iraq War vets.

  • @35

    Chad, Bush did swear an oath to defend the constitution you refer to. Coule you give us five things he has done to defend the constitution?

  • And Chad if you can’t answer #37 perhaps you could tell us what Bush’s job is and give us some examples of how he’s done it well.

  • Based on the idiocy of his remarks, Chad is getting far too much attention. Please don’t feed the trolls.

    Oh – and like Just Bill said at #20: Better trolls, please.

  • Veterans for Peace, I did serve my country when I was eligible, 3 years in the Navy. So you’re saying that the VA and Military hospitals don’t care about the vets, but aren’t they run by the government? And now Obama wants the government to run all healthcare, that sounds like you want all hospitals to treat everybody poorly. Just like the mortgage crisis where a small percentage of people are facing foreclosure, a small number of vets get treated poorly and you want to reflect that as a national crisis. Just like everything, there will always be a few who think they got shafted, it happens, get over it.

  • Uhhh no, Chad, that’s not what I said. Instead of putting words into my mouth why don’t you take a moment and answer this question posted above:

    Chad, Bush did swear an oath to defend the constitution you refer to. Coule you give us five things he has done to defend the constitution?

    OR if you can’t answer that

    perhaps you could tell us what Bush’s job is and give us some examples of how he’s done it well.

  • 27.On August 19th, 2008 at 1:14 pm, Chad said:
    I’[m sorry Bernard (#25), would you prefer I just call him a socialist or a marxist?

    Why would you call Davis anything? The man died more than 20 years ago, and communism itself didn’t survive him very long. Russia and China are both capitalist countries now. What relevance could Frank Davis possibly have to the campaign?

  • Furthermore, if you really think just knowing Davis is some kind of cardinal sin, then you must despise McCain for cheating on his first wife and helping screw the American public out of billions of dollars by keeping bank regulators from investigating Charles Keating.

  • VFP, I’m not sure if you know this, but Bush is not running for President this year. Get over your Bush fixation. Anything he’s done is behind us and we are all looking towards the future. I’m not going to defend or denounce Bush. Sure, he’s made some mistakes, so did Clinton, so did Bush I, so did Reagan, etc…

  • I wonder what Obama thinks is the downside of Clark as a running mate?

    That Clark would make a spectacular SecDef? Don’t burn your star players on plays that don’t fit their strengths. Clark as VP is good, but Clark as Secretary of Defense is better.

  • On August 19th, 2008 at 1:28 pm, Chad said:
    I do believe that we are taking care of our G.I.s that are coming back.

    And I do believe in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. That, unfortunately, does not make them real.

    Stop making it sound like we’re so damn bad as far as treating our veterans.

    “The medical care offered through the Department of Defense (DOD) is some of the most advanced in the world. But some wounded troops are suffering delays in treatment because the military does not use a consistent digital medical records system. Moreover, troops too wounded to continue their service must chaperone complicated paperwork through an arduous and confusing process of medical evaluation. Some veterans’ advocates believe the Army is taking advantage of troops’ confusion to lower disability ratings and save money. According to the Dole-Shalala Commission tasked with addressing the problems faced by troops at Walter Reed, less than 40% of wounded troops say they are satisfied with the disability evaluation system.

    For those who have left military service, the Veterans Affairs system can provide health care and benefits. Unfortunately, the transition from the DOD to the VA is far from seamless. Crucial DOD paperwork, including medical records and military service records, regularly gets lost in the shuffle from DOD to VA. Moreover, the transition from top-echelon military hospitals to a local VA facility can mean a reduced standard of care.”

    Don’t take my word for it, go read it for yourself. And please, get informed. I can’t help you with your political views, but “as far as treating our veterans,” you can learn so much more if you take the time to understand the topic more broadly than what you see on Fox News and hear from Rush and Hannity.

  • McBush has to burn through all the primary dough before he starts to use public financing.

  • Caped Composer, I knew about the interview where Clark smacked down the notion that McCain was any kind of military authority. I don’t watch much TV, so I didn’t know that it had such a negative effect on Clark’s reputation. I guess that’s what telling the truth will get you. And yeah, I’m very happy to see that Begich and Berkowitz are polling well. The GOP brand is taking a hit up here.

  • Polls don’t mean much until after the conventions.

    Pundits claim that the polls show McCain closing in on Obama. I have always considered Obama the underdog, but McCain wants to claim that he is.

    Did you see McCain’s 6 homes? The Youtube showed his stump speech on foreclosures and inserted pictures of his elaborate homes in the video. Who is the elitist?

    A pundit also said that McCain used his foreign policy skills during the Georgia invasion by Russia. Actually I felt he was usurping the presidents role by taking the stage and showcasing his philosopy about the situation. He scares me to death when he makes threats about taking on Russia if they don’t leave Georgia. He is far too eager to be “the One” that he doesn’t think about what he is saying.

    The polls show (if they are true) that Obama is far behind on foreign policy – according to pundits, because McCain took advantage of the Georgia invasion. Obama’s comments to VFW Monday was a much more logical approach than what McCain said. Obama sounded presidential and diplomatic.

  • Oh yeah, how dare they show McCains 6 homes. We wouldn’t want to have a successful person become President. How dare someone have success in this country. McCain should be punished for his extravagence. What a crock, like Obama is broke or something. McCain = rich, evil Obama = poor, good.

  • No Chad, you idiot. Four years ago Republicans were saying Kerry was a rich elitist who didn’t connect with the common people. Now that Republicans are running the rich elitist who doesn’t connect with the common people suddenly it is horrible to point out that he has 6 houses and his wife thinks flying by private plane is the only way to travel in Arizona. The problem is you have no consistent values other than Republican=Good Guys and Democrats=Bad Guys. No honor, no morals, just like McCain and most other Republicans.

    Do we really care that McCain is a rich guy with 6 houses? No. We’re just disgusted that your kind pretended to care so much 4 years ago (and still ridicule Kerry for his wife’s wealth whenever he is in the public spotlight) but immediately become apologists now that it’s your guy in the same situation.

  • Does “success” equal marrying rich? Because then I’ve definitely got my priorities alllll out of whack.

  • @ 51 Shalimar,

    Well said, very well said. But after all, what is a Repub-LIE-can if he can’t be a rank hypocrite? Chad represents them especially well in this regard. He has the temerity to say “…Bush is not running for President this year. Get over your Bush fixation. Anything he’s done is behind us and we are all looking towards the future…” HA! It is to laugh! The Repigs could not get over Clinton for the last 8 years, and STILL love to blame him, hate him, and crucify him whenever possible. Yet we are supposed to ‘get over’ Bush and put him in the past WHILE THE CROOK IS STILL IN OFFICE! These guys are a riot! First class fools, cowards, idiots and assholes.

  • Tom Cleaver, independents running usually do hurt Dems, but I hardly think that running Ron Paul will siphon off Dem votes. Maybe Bloomberg will get a few, but mostly Republicans who hate their choices…maybe this time it will be to our favor for a change.

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