Damage control. McCain is preparing to go quietly into that good night....

I have a suspicion the adults in the republican party have told the baby to stop messing the living room

The one wonders does this apply to the Babblecuda.

I suspect they didn't like being on the receiving end of similar stuff. Like the Alaska Independence Party. Like the Council for World Freedom. Like Keating 5. Like G. Gordon Liddy.

Hey John and Sarah: Sucks to be you.

You just can't pull that shit when you're viewed much less favorably than your opponent. It bounces off him and sticks to you. Obama raised his own net favorable rating even higher last night, and he will continue to be the only one who can successfully attack (he was more aggressive than I've ever seen him last night and the focus-group droids actually liked it.)

McCaint is totally screwed. He has no way to gain ground.

Why does the McCain campaign keep telling us what they about to do?

Is this the same things as talking out loud about tactics and strategy, as McCain says Obama has done regarding Pakistan?

It's as if they don't understand that we have this thing called the internet. It does two things well: Spreads information (sometimes to people you don't necessarily want to have know your tactic) and it stores the scumbag shit you've done in the past.

This is just the dumbest campaign ever.

Their internal polls were probably showing that these attacks were driving the undecideds to Obama.

I agree. There's nothing here that indicates Palin will and her hate rallies will stop. I think last night's debate shows that McCain is going to try to *finally* start talking about policy. I imagine that he is going to hit hard on the mortgage plan he advocated last night.

After hearing Axlerod on NPR this morning, I think the Obama campaign better be ready to speak more specifically about policy. I think McCain is going to get aggressive about talking about what exactly he will do, he will appoint, etc., and then attack Obama for being too wishy-washy. I'm an Obama supporter, and I thought Axlerod was way too wishy-washy this morning about how they will handle the economic crisis. That worked when McCain had nothing, but if Obama wants to sell himself as a strong leader and justify his lead in the polls, he needs to indicate strongly that he has a plan that he can implement starting Jan 09.

I think he can do that, but I don't think that's what he was anticipating having to do.

We'll see. This campaign says a lot of things besides its prayers, as they say back in Kentucky.

This was going to be a respectful campaign. Wright was never going to be on the table in the first place. This was going to be a campaign about the issues, an honorable campaign run at a higher plain.

My point is that they've shown they are perfectly capable of having Palin continue to throw this dreck out to the rabble in the base while McCain and his surrogates insist with a straight face that they've taken it completely off the table. They may even be counting upon people like John King and Wolf Blitzer to obediently repeat their claim that they have without refutation, notwithstanding the footage of Princess Starburst Sprinkle spewing it out to the base that they showed five minutes earlier.

In fairness, however, I've got to say that if that's McPowlin's plan, they were not listening to John King last night. Apparently CNN--including the Republican commenters--moved out of the abuser's house and filed for a restraining order yesterday. It remains to be seen whether they'll succomb to the inevitable conciliatory sweet talk from the abuser that always follows the violence this time, but I'd say its at least even money they won't.

When I heard McCain's threat to go negative during the debate, it sounded like a bluff to me. I figured they were just setting Obama up, hoping Obama would go negative so McCain could appear the reasonable victim of the angry black man. Didn't work. Obama is always reasonable, and he can adapt to the situation without effort. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

There's nothing, nothing I would like better than for GOP deadenders to pin their 2012 hopes to Palin.

Let's not be naive here. The McCain campaign may be suggesting that Ayers and Wright are off the table, at least for now, but don't rule out the 527s and the RNC still going for the jugular.

Idiots who believe this is true, raise your hand?

I bet we'll hear Ayers on the trail or in an ad or from a surrogate on TV in the 2-3 hours.

"wouldn't focus on the former domestic terrorist nor invoke the name of Obama's controversial pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright."

So instead they might show blurry pics of Ayres and refer to Wright as "that crazy black preacher who hates America."

It's not off the table. McCain's skinny, blonde flack just mentioned it on MSNBC. And she added to it, talking about Ayers' radical education agenda and praise of Hugo Chavez, "one of the foreign leaders who hate America."

McCain is toast. And the reason why is the same reason why Clinton lost, because Obama really is that good.

He's like Ichiro. I've always liked Ichiro. Watched him here in Japan before he went to Majors. But I never saw him live and in person until last year at a game in Baltimore. And, he really was that good.

Obama is the same. I've never seen him in person but sure he would impress the same way. His campaign is a masterpiece. Seriously, there is no way he should even be here. Clinton should have never lost. And now, he's waxing McCain. Unreal.

Daring to hope here in Japan.

And the debate meant nothing to me. I voted for Obama in Oregon by mail last week.

Landslide, baby, landslide.

Allen at governmentality blogged about this before and after the debate. I thought his take was interesting.

If he's right, the Ayers/Wright stuff will start appearing again in the next day or two.

http://www.governmentalityblog.com/my_weblog/2008/10/pre-game-why-no-ayers-or-wright-tonight.html

Greg:

Did it ever occur to you Politico regularly pimps for McCain?

If it's really true that the McCain team is holstering this pistol, it suggests that the McCain campaign's internal polling on how the Ayers stuff is playing is just brutal, likely among independents. It also suggests that Obama's counter-attack -- lambasting McCain's campaign for wanting to change the subject from the economy to personal attacks -- has been effective.

I'd say you're misreading this one. First, it wasn't a pistol. It was vomit. Sarah Palin puked all over the table at a nice dinner party and even if someone cleans up the mess (and no one will) there's still that nasty stain to remind everyone of what just happened. And there's the lingering stench. They can afford to drop it. The damage is done. Palin's spew will be with us until election day. And I don't believe McCain's internal polling on how Ayers is playing is what caused them to drop the issue. I think it's McCain's internal polling on how Keating Five would play. McCain took a shot at Obama. Obama responded by firing a big fucking cannon over McCain's bow. I think McCain got the message.

We will get 400 EV'S if we face Palin in 2012, she is just TOO far to the right and once that election goes to issues and not character, she would be TOAST.

I doubt internal polling had anything to do with the pullback on Ayers (and Wright redux had not even begun yet). In the 5 daily trackers out so far today (with Gallup still to go), McCain gained 3 points in Battleground, 2 points in Rasmussen, and 1 point each in Kos, Zogby, and Hotline. The trackers were all pre-debate.

The debate was a draw on substantive points with Obama winning stylistically so it was a plus for Obama. McCain said "my friends" to the point it was cringe-inducing.

the mccain campaign is so stupid it makes hillary's campaign look good. is obama responsible for outing both of them as inept? or is he just lucky to run against such erratic and bizarre opponents?

I think both "my friends" and "fundamentally" are used about the same.

It could be like the Roxanne drinking game, one team drink on Roxanne, the other on Red Light.

I swear, next debate, I'm getting someone else, a bottle of tequila and turn a boring debate into a fiesta!

Biden live in Florida HERE in a short while.

Lets give ol' Joe some support. :)

Mike,

You should include the "thumbs up" maneuver to the drinking game. I once thought sticking the thumbs up was a cliched move only done my crotchety old politicians in bad movies...hey wait, that totally describes McCain's camapign!

I think it's easy in our bubble of Obama support to believe that McCain doesn't understand policy. I think that's because we think his policies are incredibly dangerous and bad for the country. But so far, every Obama campaign advisor I've heard since the debate has hemmed and hawed about how an Obama administration will actually handle the crisis.

I'd prefer to think this is because they don't want to make definitive policy statements or commit themselves on courses of action when the crisis itself is still very fluid and unpredictable. Doing so could easily backfire even three weeks from now.

Regardless, I agree it's too soon to pop the champagne corks. Look at what hubris has done for the GOPers.

I think the reaction to Palin's "this is a person who sees America differently than you and I", falls flat with most, and is downright offensive to many others. My own gut reaction to her is that she's just wrong, Barack sees America just like I do, and he has spent almost 2 years proving it to me every day.

Palin, on the other hand, arrives on the scene a few minutes ago. We know very little about her except that she's a "pitbull with lipstick", and sure enough, she starts clawing and biting at Barack's ankles almost immediately. How absurd. She's a wind-up toy, sent out to whip up the crazies.

And McCain? A once proud man reduced to being a coward and a fraud. He didn't bring up the "character" issue in the debate?! What? Just showing again what a sham his campaign has become, he doesn't even have the balls to bring it up, and attempt to "turn the page" on the financial crisis. Why not? Because America isn't buying bullshit political narratives right now. The country is broken, and Obama's "radial associations" aren't the solution to anything. Finally, the way he and Cindy ran out of there last night, while Barack and Michelle mingled for 20 minutes with the audience, was a perfect ending to another strong night for Barack.

Sorry wingnuts, America is sitting in their living rooms, and they are getting comfortable with the idea of that black guy, Barack Hussein Obama, as the next President of the United States.

McCain trying to save face, and face the growing reality of finishing his career as a senator.

Will he also pry the hatchet out of Sarahs hands? She has become a political freak show of sorts, a cross between Bob Dole and David Duke. If she attempts to run in 2012 all that has come out about her will then be used against her by her own party.

With the polls starting to tighten again since they started with the Ayers connection, the McCain/Palin campaign will continue to pound it. The Obama/Biden campaign has to find an effective way to counter it and quickly. Pointing to the Keating 5 will not be enough.

Nice.

The Keating economics 13 minute documentary has over 1 million views already on youtube.

I am with those who respond to this theory with an "I will believe it when I see it." Not only are we accustomed by this point to a certain duplicity in the McCain camp ("honorable" John decrying bad behavior, but "unable to restrain" his surrogates), but more to the point, as noted above

No more hits on Ayers or Wright will make for a lot of disappointed conservatives.

This is one of the great understatements of the century. Alongside world-class inanity about "elitism" (can anyone name an issue less significant than whether one pronounces "Pakistan" with a long or a short "a" sound?), the conservative netroots are sharks-in-a-feeding-frenzy excited about a campaign centered around Obama's connections to Ayers. At this point, McCain's campaign probably has to pursue that line of attack simply to keep his base on board.

As one post here noted, McCain spokeswoman Nancy Pfotenhauer was continuing to hit the Ayers stuff hard this morning during the 9 o'clock hour on MSBNC. I didn't take notes, but she either said that Obama was "hanging out" or "hanging around" with Ayers. Which is pretty close to Palin's "palling around" over this past weekend.

Biden's back! Biden's back!

Let's talk turkey!

Does anyone know where that old chestnut came from and what it means?

This is all pure bs bait & switch tactics. I wouldn't trust any thing the repugs say or leak to people like Greg.

Embarracuda has been unleashed and that pig with lipstick ain't going back to pen now.

I just don't trust McCain or his campaign. I do however have to say that I think that John McCain, his wife and his running mate, are living in the realm of low information and thought deprivation

I'm with the people who think that "off the table" means about the same as "suspended his campaign". We'll keep hearing about the good Rev and Ayers.

The McCain campaign got part of what they wanted - the MSM covering the slime for lots of free advertising.

They appear to have not gotten the rest of what they wanted - a big, swift flip of the voters to McCain.

They also got something they didn't want - the MSM pointing a finger at *McCain* for rolling it out, far more so than at Obama for his "associations".

So *McCain* will back off to claim the high road.

The surrogates will keep using it. Be it Palin or Hannity or the push polling caller or the e-mail spammers. It will be out there a lot, with the McCain camp hoping it imbeds into certain people's minds in certain areas of the country that it could, and likely will, play to.

In a sense, almost a mass blast advertising campaign.

The media frankly is willing to believe that McCain himself will be taking the high road by personally taking it off the table. You could see it even last night that they were giving him some credit for not bringing up Ayers. A pat on the back for being uncomfortable with it.

I tend to think it probably wasn't that (i.e. McCain uncomfortable with it), and instead ties into comments that Josh was pointing to after the first debate and McCain's unwillingness/inability to look Obama in the face and make eye contact.

He couldn't bring himself to sling it at Obama face to face. In a sense, he "broke" again last night.

McCain's anger and contempt are less aimed at Obama than at himself. He's too delusional to see it, but deep down that's what it is.

John

Going forward, Team Obama should still be on the alert and should fight back as promptly as possible. A few things from yesterday's debate that Team Obama should focus on and play up:

- the lack of novelty of McCain's mortgage rescue plan --- essentially he has just stolen Democrats' idea.

- Obama should clarify or play up his own record, especially his tax votes, his bipartisan record and his energy bill vote.

- time to play up his star team --- economic advisors and foreign policy advisors, seek more endorsements from foreign policy and national security heavyweights, and float likely picks for treasury sec, secretary of state, defense secretary and national policy adviser. The credibility of his likely foreign policy team is important for pre-empting any October national security surprise.

- talking about October national security surprise, it's time to start linking Osama bin Laden's video right before the Nov election in 2004 to George W Bush's re-election as well as our continuous foreign policy disaster and our new economic disaster, and promoting the conclusion that Osama bin Laden loves neoconservatives and loves to see our economy bleed. In fact, I think they just said that they love seeing the West in financial crisis.

All this means is that they will now let the 527s go after the nasty guilt by association stuff so they can claim plausible deniability.

John McCain is running dirty ads about who Obama is and just figuring out the American people are more interested in the economy?

Maybe that's because John McCain is a rich boy.

Check out: http://samemccain.blogspot.com/2008/10/economic-recovery-via-beer-heiress.html