Confused, panicked, desperate.

Mark this day on your calenders. This is the day McCain lost the election.

I think you misread this. McCain is urging everyone not to assign blame to him.

It's appropriate to assign blame for the economy, the collapse of the dollar, the failure to cure AIDS, the Mets not making the postseason, AGAIN, and global warming. All of this is obviously Obama's fault.

It's not, however, appropriate at this grave time to assign blame for the cratering of the stock market, the constipation in the credit markets, and the collapse of the Asian markets sure to come. Particularly not on the person who was, a mere 8 hours ago, taking credit for his role in averting those crises we can't talk about now.

The two-word press pool report from last Friday still stands: "Utter
confusion."

Prediction:

The McCain/Palin Campaign will try [unsuccessfully] to cancel the vice presidential debates over the breakdown today in Washington. Of course the first thing your going to say is "that will never fly! Palin is the the Gov. of Alaska and no one is going to be fooling into thinking she has something to do with these negotiations." Hear me out--

--McCain and House Republicans will call upon Palin to come to Washington to observe the legislative process at this critical juncture in history. After negotiations are finally complete, Palin will emerge from The Capital Building only to totally rip off one of Obama's lines from the primary, "I haven't spent much time in Washington, but I have spent enough time to learn that the ways of Washington must change"
House Republicans will play the backup singers, proclaiming that is was Sarah Palin's folksy, small town, Alaskan ways that finally brought them to see the light.

This will then be parlayed into foreign policy cred which she currently has none of by redirecting a now universally recognizable meme that Democrats have already embraced. If Palin's folksy, small town style can work on House Republicans, then it can work on Vladamir Putin.

But that's only if there isn't a new compromise before Thursday.

Quite obviously, you don't get it.

John McCain is a maverick. He not only bucks his own party, he bucks his own campaign and even himself! I ask you this... is Obama man enough to challenge his own words, even those spoken just two hours before? I THINK NOT.

MAVERICK '08!

Also, dottering old man. Or as my dad (age 56) said over and over last weekend "looks like another McCain Senior Moment".

Any more of this and Halperin will have to call the week for McCain.

Straying close to unhinged? Maybe I'm simply to partisan to have any kind of clear-eyed view, but it seems to me that, ever since their Palin nomination stunt started tanking in the polls, the campaign has become genuinely unhinged, full of nothing but desperate moves, outright lies, and (frankly) damaging nonsense.

The scariest thing? That McCain & Co. are so clearly unhinged, but Obama isn't crushing him in the polls. Is it racism? Fright? I dunno; I just hope Obama's (incredibly consistent) strategy of staying above the fray--thus allowing the McCain campaign plenty of space to commit unforced errors--ends up winning the day.

"I air-dropped myself into the middle of the negotiations, blew them up, left the next day, didn't convince the House GOP to support it, claimed victory this morning, and it's Obama's fault."

For McCain.

Dagnabit!

Those Wall St investorts (or media talkingheads) will so pissed at McLoony. No way is he going to escaple this avalanche.

The last thing he needed was an unsettled economic deal before thursday's debate. Also, McLame was hoping if this bill pases he can continue focusing on Paris and Brtiney to reverse the fate of this election. But his repug colleagues back stabbed the old bastard. Shows his leadership and their loyalty.

Now is the time to go and vote early in states that allow it (I already voted in Virginia -- felt AMAZING) -- because according to Bush and the crisis chorus, if we don't do something NOW!!!!! the power grid across America is going to fail and we won't be able to have an election in another 5 weeks as all the Diebolt machines fail.

"Hey you kids, get off my lawn!

Er, I mean, allow me to trim this section for you before you resume your frolicking."

Okay kiddies!!

Who wants to bet Obama hits 51% on Gallup tomorrow?

YO - not only is this a bad thing before Thursday's debate, Congress is recessing for the high holidays.

They're outta there.

The Aravosis smack is a hoot.

John

Where oh where are Obama's legendary unifying skillz.

C'mon Barry let's see some of that magic!

Question really is, where is Obama?

If I'm not mistaken, I believe I heard most Congress critters have left the building on their way to the airport to catch flights home to campaign in earnest. The only way to get them back would be for Bu$h to call them back in to session and demand they work the legislation out. Truman did it back in the 40's I believe.

Biden will say the Dems tried to save the country by bankrupting it.

Palin will say Dems tried to destroy the country by bankrupting it.

Which one will play better on Friday. Stay tuned.

Jake Tapper at ABC notes the blame/no blame contradiction.

He also reprints an e-mail from Steve Schmidt auto-released to coincide with the vote today. Unfortunately for Schmidt he assumed the bill would pass, so his e-mail credits McCain with the passage that never happened.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/

Can America afford a president who literally gives himself whiplash contradicting himself like this all the time? It is nauseating to watch.

We're suspending our attacks!
We're attacking our campaign!
We're inventing the next Blackberry!
We're bailing out the lobbyists!
We're firing the regulators!
We're regulating our vice presidential nominee!
We're drilling your 401K!
We're melting down Wall Street for scrap!

We'll say or do anything to win!

McCrazy

Fuck you, you dusty old piece of shit. I'm a bronze statue that birds shit on, and I have more life in me than you tired, sad, bitter, old man.

That's Saint John Sidney "Keating Five" McCain III, to you.

MAN, he is sounding more and more like Grandpa Simpson, everyday!

Who needs a bailout?

Fed Pumps Further $630 Billion Into Financial System

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahwz_k5JvuB8&refer=worldwide

The stupid Repugs walked out on this vote because they don't want to face their own failure.

Well fuck them - they think the entire country doesn't see that?

They just love to act like all this started in '06. Like McLame likes to act like the Iraq War started in '07.

Who's kidding who here? There are good reasons Bush's approvals have bounced down to 19%. I'd love to see em right now.

my widdle feewings are hurted
GOP whaaaaa GOP whaaaaa

Look - the Repugs wanted the whole magillah and they got it - they got the executive and the legislative and damn near the judicial. They were beyond obnoxious about it, too. They locked our people out of rooms where legislation was laid out that they were all due to vote on, held votes at midnight - all kinds of crap. We don't act like that - our people treat them like colleagues.

They wanted it, they got it. They broke it - they have to own that.

They had it all and they totally ruined it.

I am watching CNN:

Gloria Bolger is calling this a civil war in the repug party

Toobin says Dems will benefit, Obama taking off, crisis being blamed on repugs

Blitzer says they will come back on Thurs.

Karen Tumulty at Swampland reports 30 incumbents in tight races voted against bailout as compared to 8 who voted in favor.

http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/

I'm still waiting for the Breaking News on Paulson's trip to ER.

Keating Five McCain has extremely poor judgment and is also a very poor leader who cannot lead anyone or anything. The facts speak for themselves.

His record of leadership is about as good as his piloting skills - crash and burn baby.

CNN just showed some clips from the debate - What is wrong with mcsenile's left eye - It was almost closed in the clip they showed. Did he have some sort of mini stroke or was it just the Ambien or is something else amiss?

This bail out is not going to be passed this week, if ever. It has not even gotten over to the Senate and they are the more "deliberative" body. And - 1/3 of them are up for reelection, including McConnell, the minority leader. And Coleman (whom I loathe). Dole's numbers are diving and let's hope Sununu and Collins' #'s are going in the same direction.

So McCain will bring the House Republicans together on Thursday and trumpet himself the hero that saved America.

how dare you liberals.

for five and a half years, john mccain didn't have a bailout package to fuck up.

What a dope! It's so embarrassing. I think this is a case – sort of like Clinton or even former Virginia Senator Macaca – where McCain is not in tune with the YouTube generation of media. He's going on saying the most ridiculous things, lying, making bizarre accusations, laying undeserved blame and then goes off pontificating and lying some more to try to cover up his crumbling previous statements.

The McCain house of cards is tumbling down. Good riddance.