The American Presidency: Obama does not believe in prevent defense

Elki

Elki wrote: »

Words you are unlikely to see me post in the next pages of this thread: "X is off-topic," because I'm just going to warn you here. This thread is a bitch to keep up with and mod when it's on-topic, and impossible when people use it as a dumping ground for any political news story. If it's not directly related to Obama v. McCain don't post it.

Think it's really important, and still want to post it?




If you quote a youtube video, throwing a spoiler around it would be appreciated.


AND NO BLUE DOTTING!



OK? Glad we got that cleared up.

Medopine wrote: »

here's some stickers for you guys:

Sig:
Av:

They should be transparent so you can actually stick them on things (see my av)

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/10/obama_spending_dominance_conti.html

Amid speculation that Barack Obama could raise more than $100 million in the closing two months of the campaign, the Illinois senator continued to outspend John McCain drastically on television over the last week in a series of battleground states.

Reports obtained by The Fix detailing spending by the two campaigns as well as the Republican National Committee show that Obama dropped more than $32 million on television in 17 battleground states between Oct. 7 and Oct. 13 -- an increase of $12 million over what he spent between Sept. 30 and Oct. 6.

During that same time period, McCain spent approximately $10 million on ads in 14 states (the Arizona senator is not on television in Indiana, Michigan or Montana) while the RNC's independent expenditure effort disbursed $6 million more in eight states.

All told, Obama outspent McCain on television last week at a better than three to one rate while he outpaced the combined spending of McCain and the RNC by approximately a two to one margin.

That includes a nearly $3 million spending edge in Florida, a $2.8 million advantage in Virginia and a $1.3 million margin in Ohio among others.

(Full spending details are available after the jump.)

More problematic for McCain than the spending disparity is the fact that Obama is dramatically upping his spending in a series of red states -- evidence that he is almost entirely on offense with just three weeks left before election day.

In Florida, for example, Obama is now spending just shy of $5 million a week on television -- a $1.8 million (!) increase from just a week ago. The same pattern is apparent in Indiana (a $900,000 increase in ad spending over the past week), Missouri ($1.4 million increase) and Virginia ($2.3 million increase).

McCain, too, has upped his buys considerably over the last week but the majority of his increased spending is in states Republicans carried with ease in recent presidential election. He bumped up his buy by more than $700,000 in North Carolina (a state President Bush won with 56 percent in 2004) and more than $600,000 in Missouri (Bush 53 percent).

Obama's decision -- announced on June 19 -- to make history as the first presidential candidate to forgo public financing for the general election has born considerable fruit in the months since he made it.

The virtually unlimited fundraising potential Obama has demonstrated since that decision has allowed him to make good on a pledge to alter the traditional red state/blue state divide and force McCain to spend his much more limited resources on defense rather than offense.

While Obama is now seriously competitive in a number of states President Bush carried in 2000 and 2004 -- Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Montana, Indiana, Ohio, etc. -- McCain has extremely limited opportunities to flip states Sen. John Kerry won in 2004.

In other words, Obama's fundraising edge has served a dual purpose: it has forced McCain to fight for ground that Republicans thought they would never have to worry about this close to the election AND it has narrowed McCain's pickup opportunities to New Hampshire, Maine, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

As we have written before, spending is not conclusive when it comes to determining the outcome of the election -- now just 20 days away. But, in an election where the playing field is so heavily tilted in the favor of Democrats, Obama's spending edge in crucial states makes McCain's task that much harder.

Goose!

I kind of feel bad for McCain. Its almost like Obama's cheating but within the rules.

enlightenedbum

So how about that debate. Obama really smoked that old dude, didn't he? I am in a confident mood and now my dad is supporting Obama. Awesome.

(Sorry Elki)

Fleck0

get to add another 'senior citizen southern california repub' that is voting for Obama as of that last debate among my patients. One is a couple years shy of 100 (who's been onboard for awhile mostly out of bush administration hatred) the other is terminal with cancer and being endlessly hassled by medicare

Sixfortyfive

I thought Obama's response on the Ayers bit was really underwhelming, personally, given that he should have been prepared for it, that he dared McCain to bring it up, and thatMcCain promised to do so. I thought he was taking way too long to explain himself during those exchanges and not doing enough to flip things around on McCain (such as pointing out that it was Palin who was instigating much of the negativity at the rallies, not random supporters, as HappylilElf mentioned). I pretty much agree with Nate from 538 on this and am pleasantly surprised that, in the end, Obama apparently didn't have to expertly parry that line of attack to come out on top; the American people haven't been buying into it to begin with.

I'm not used to having this much faith in the American electorate, or having media narratives helping my candidate. It's a weird feeling.

Jragghen

Sixfortyfive wrote: »

I thought Obama's response on the Ayers bit was really underwhelming, personally, given that he should have been prepared for it, that he dared McCain to bring it up, and thatMcCain promised to do so. I thought he was taking way too long to explain himself during those exchanges and not doing enough to flip things around on McCain (such as pointing out that it was Palin who was instigating much of the negativity at the rallies, not random supporters, as HappylilElf mentioned). I pretty much agree with Nate from 538 on this and am pleasantly surprised that, in the end, Obama apparently didn't have to expertly parry that line of attack to come out on top; the American people haven't been buying into it to begin with.

I'm not used to having this much faith in the American electorate, or having media narratives helping my candidate. It's a weird feeling.

I actually thought that he nailed that answer, but that it was mitigated because McCain was given the final word on the matter. But like you said, ultimately it didn't matter.

enlightenedbum

Sixfortyfive wrote: »

I thought Obama's response on the Ayers bit was really underwhelming, personally, given that he should have been prepared for it, that he dared McCain to bring it up, and thatMcCain promised to do so. I thought he was taking way too long to explain himself during those exchanges and not doing enough to flip things around on McCain (such as pointing out that it was Palin who was instigating much of the negativity at the rallies, not random supporters, as HappylilElf mentioned). I pretty much agree with Nate from 538 on this and am pleasantly surprised that, in the end, Obama apparently didn't have to expertly parry that line of attack to come out on top; the American people haven't been buying into it to begin with.

I'm not used to having this much faith in the American electorate, or having media narratives helping my candidate. It's a weird feeling.

Well, Obama looked at the damn polling, unlike McCain. McCain's been using this line of attack for what, two/three weeks now? All that's happened is that McCain's favorables/unfavorables are shifting rapidly in a bad way (for him, not for us obviously). Obama knew that the people weren't buying the Ayers attacks, and rightly assumed that they wouldn't buy the ACORN attack either, because oddly enough the people really are interested in the issues this year. Obviously a lot of that is because of economic crisis and the general shit the Bush administration has left for the next President, but I think some of it is also the Obama policy to (generally speaking, obviously there are some panders) treat the American people like adults.

It is, as you say, odd to have some faith in the American electorate and having the media narrative established by the Democrat. The erratic stuff has been brilliant from the Obama campaign, because it reinforced an already existing perception about McCain's temper and then extended it to the man's entire political philosophy. Which is, of course, how you build a narrative.

fightinfilipino

Goose! wrote: »

I kind of feel bad for McCain. Its almost like Obama's cheating but within the rules.

this...was a very Palin thing to say.

syndalis

and not to say that a mod would WANT anything this frightening, but here is a larger version of my fucked up avatar. The eyes come out a bit more with more pixels.

Matt_S

Jesus, that's frightening.

Glaeal

If nothing else, this debate gave us great avatars.


So where does McCain's campaign go from here? Do they keep beating the Ayers drum?

Schrodinger

You know, at this point, maybe McCain realizes that he can't win an election, and is simply doing his best to avoid the mandate.

If Obama wins in a landslide, then that is a ringing endorsement for the policies and the ideologies he represents. Which means that not only does he get elected into office, but he has a much better chance of pushing his platform through.

Henroid

Glaeal wrote: »

If nothing else, this debate gave us great avatars.


So where does McCain's campaign go from here? Do they keep beating the Ayers drum?

Or another bandwagon. I'd hop on it but I missed the actual debate so I don't feel like I get to properly participate.

The Ayers thing won't go away. I'm hoping this "Obama is gonna fine you" stuff will be put to rest though. The video clip in the debate thread has me convinced that McCain finally understands it is a bad idea to take that angle. Not that it or much anything else is going to help.

enlightenedbum

Glaeal wrote: »

If nothing else, this debate gave us great avatars.


So where does McCain's campaign go from here? Do they keep beating the Ayers drum?

Well, this is the most erratic and aimless campaign I think anyone's ever seen, so who the hell knows. McCain could throw away the last scrap of personal honor he has and break out Jeremiah Wright or he could meekly take his whooping or anything in between. It's the last exciting thing about this election.

Undead Scottsman

I think a week before the election, McCain's campaign will pull out EVERY SINGLE THING that has ever been pulled out on Obama; whether it's been proven completely bogus or not, and hope that the sheer amount gets people to do a last minute "Errrr...." as McCain banks on people's collective memory being shorter than 6 seconds.

Shadowen

Man.

If people vote in the ratios they're expected to by the polls...Obama will smash.

ahava

Shadowen wrote: »

Man.

If people vote in the ratios they're expected to by the polls...Obama will smash.

Poor Thanatos...

he's gonna need to get a lot of gas and steel-toed boots...

variant

Anyone noticed how much McCain blinked during his ending speech. It was weird, he only blinked (a lot) when he spoke but stopped blinking when he stopped talking for emphasis.

necroSYS

enlightenedbum wrote: »

So how about that debate. Obama really smoked that old dude, didn't he? I am in a confident mood and now my dad is supporting Obama. Awesome.

(Sorry Elki)

(User was Infracted for this Post)

I haven't seen the CNN projection yet, but I really hope the mouthbreathers in Ohio weren't representative of the national audience last night.

GoodOmens

fightinfilipino wrote: »

Goose! wrote: »

I kind of feel bad for McCain. Its almost like Obama's cheating but within the rules.

this...was a very Palin thing to say.

Now, now, let's now say things we'll regret later.

real_pochacco

Do you guys remember the talk that McCain's campaign manager gave about their strategy for winning? About all these ridiculous states they were going to move? It was a powerpoint + audio, I think. We should whip that out and laugh, laugh, laugh.

DevoutlyApathetic

So this is what it feels like to be on the side that actually executes a strategy....

Malkor

I just realized that there is a 24 hour Obama channel on my TV.

Dalboz

Malkor wrote: »

I just realized that there is a 24 hour Obama channel on my TV.

Yeah, MSNBC's been around for a while.

real_pochacco

Dalboz wrote: »

Malkor wrote: »

I just realized that there is a 24 hour Obama channel on my TV.

Yeah, MSNBC's been around for a while.

ba-dum pish

Hedgethorn

Malkor wrote: »

I just realized that there is a 24 hour Obama channel on my TV.

Do you have DishNetwork? That channel's been on for about 2 weeks now.

It was playing an Obama biography narrated by Ben Kingsley on continuous repeat last week. I'd flip over there whenever I wanted to fall asleep to the sweet sounds of Ghandi.

kildy

Joe Wurzelbacher, aka "Joe The Plumber," told Katie Couric last night that John McCain delivered a solid performance and that he still doesn't know where Barack Obama stands. He particularly didn't like Obama on taxes. "But, you know, question, so he's going to do that now (raise taxes) for people who make $250,000 a year. When's he going to decide that $100,000 is too much, you know? I mean, you're on a slippery slope here. "

So Joe the Plumber's entire line of logic here is not that Obama will fuck his taxes up, it's that we're on a slippery slope and later Obama will totally raise taxes on him.

Dude, what. Is this a common line of thinking? Trying to predict the future based on... I dunno, fucking tea leaves?

nexuscrawler

He's just internalized THE DEM'S ALWAYS INCREASE TAXES Meme

wwtMask

New Obama ad, featuring footage of McCain from last night and a nice, pointed response to McCain's "I'm not President Bush" statement. It's pretty damn effective, I think.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1185304443/bctid1859660952

Scalfin

kildy wrote: »

Joe Wurzelbacher, aka "Joe The Plumber," told Katie Couric last night that John McCain delivered a solid performance and that he still doesn't know where Barack Obama stands. He particularly didn't like Obama on taxes. "But, you know, question, so he's going to do that now (raise taxes) for people who make $250,000 a year. When's he going to decide that $100,000 is too much, you know? I mean, you're on a slippery slope here. "

So Joe the Plumber's entire line of logic here is not that Obama will fuck his taxes up, it's that we're on a slippery slope and later Obama will totally raise taxes on him.

Dude, what. Is this a common line of thinking? Trying to predict the future based on... I dunno, fucking tea leaves?

And that's why we have to get rid of all the plumbers, plus, do know what the gas chambers used? Pipes. Do you know who work with pipes? Plumbers.

nexuscrawler

The I'm not Bush line would've helped had McCain said it a year ago

Robos A Go Go

nexuscrawler wrote: »

The I'm not Bush line would've helped had McCain said it a year ago

Yeah, McCain would have been a lot harder to deal with if he hadn't spent the eight years after his failed presidential bid gobbling Bush's cock.

xWonderboyx

Scalfin wrote: »

kildy wrote: »

Joe Wurzelbacher, aka "Joe The Plumber," told Katie Couric last night that John McCain delivered a solid performance and that he still doesn't know where Barack Obama stands. He particularly didn't like Obama on taxes. "But, you know, question, so he's going to do that now (raise taxes) for people who make $250,000 a year. When's he going to decide that $100,000 is too much, you know? I mean, you're on a slippery slope here. "

So Joe the Plumber's entire line of logic here is not that Obama will fuck his taxes up, it's that we're on a slippery slope and later Obama will totally raise taxes on him.

Dude, what. Is this a common line of thinking? Trying to predict the future based on... I dunno, fucking tea leaves?

And that's why we have to get rid of all the plumbers, plus, do know what the gas chambers used? Pipes. Do you know who work with pipes? Plumbers.

I like how everyone is listening to what a FUCKING PLUMBER thinks about the economy and stuff. Nothing against plumbers, I love the shit out of mario, but this guy is obviously not that smart.

nexuscrawler

Plumbers are rich assholes

Armored Gorilla

xWonderboyx wrote: »

Scalfin wrote: »

kildy wrote: »

Joe Wurzelbacher, aka "Joe The Plumber," told Katie Couric last night that John McCain delivered a solid performance and that he still doesn't know where Barack Obama stands. He particularly didn't like Obama on taxes. "But, you know, question, so he's going to do that now (raise taxes) for people who make $250,000 a year. When's he going to decide that $100,000 is too much, you know? I mean, you're on a slippery slope here. "

So Joe the Plumber's entire line of logic here is not that Obama will fuck his taxes up, it's that we're on a slippery slope and later Obama will totally raise taxes on him.

Dude, what. Is this a common line of thinking? Trying to predict the future based on... I dunno, fucking tea leaves?

And that's why we have to get rid of all the plumbers, plus, do know what the gas chambers used? Pipes. Do you know who work with pipes? Plumbers.

I like how everyone is listening to what a FUCKING PLUMBER thinks about the economy and stuff. Nothing against plumbers, I love the shit out of mario, but this guy is obviously not that smart.

Apparently Joe the Plumber isn't registered to vote, so who gives a crap what he thinks?

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/The_Joe_file.html?resubmit=1

Two readers with access to the Ohio voter file say that Joe Wurzelbacher's inluence on this cycle will be limited in one way: He doesn't appear to be registered to vote.

(And yes, the freelance opposition research on Joe began before the debate ended.)

Silas Brown

It's more of that "we want a mirror" thing that Palin deliveres on. no one wants a good leader or a smart news commentator. They want themselves. It's a brand of self-conscious anti-intellectualism that says, "The idea that there are people more qualified than me to do these things bugs me. My existance is validated by people who remind me of me doing things like being Vice President.

xWonderboyx

Armored Gorilla wrote: »

xWonderboyx wrote: »

Scalfin wrote: »

kildy wrote: »

Joe Wurzelbacher, aka "Joe The Plumber," told Katie Couric last night that John McCain delivered a solid performance and that he still doesn't know where Barack Obama stands. He particularly didn't like Obama on taxes. "But, you know, question, so he's going to do that now (raise taxes) for people who make $250,000 a year. When's he going to decide that $100,000 is too much, you know? I mean, you're on a slippery slope here. "

So Joe the Plumber's entire line of logic here is not that Obama will fuck his taxes up, it's that we're on a slippery slope and later Obama will totally raise taxes on him.

Dude, what. Is this a common line of thinking? Trying to predict the future based on... I dunno, fucking tea leaves?

And that's why we have to get rid of all the plumbers, plus, do know what the gas chambers used? Pipes. Do you know who work with pipes? Plumbers.

I like how everyone is listening to what a FUCKING PLUMBER thinks about the economy and stuff. Nothing against plumbers, I love the shit out of mario, but this guy is obviously not that smart.

Apparently Joe the Plumber isn't registered to vote, so who gives a crap what he thinks?

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/The_Joe_file.html?resubmit=1

Two readers with access to the Ohio voter file say that Joe Wurzelbacher's inluence on this cycle will be limited in one way: He doesn't appear to be registered to vote.

(And yes, the freelance opposition research on Joe began before the debate ended.)

And I wonder how much CBS paid that asshole to talk to Katie Couric. I should talk to her.

Couscous

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Apprentice_Plumber/Hourly_Rate
According to this, even apprentice plumbers make a decent amount of money.

xWonderboyx

Couscous wrote: »

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Apprentice_Plumber/Hourly_Rate
According to this, even apprentice plumbers make a decent amount of money.

AND OBAMA WILL TAX ALL OF THEM ON HIS SLIPPERY SLOPE

Sorry about the caps. This text is here to offset it.

Malkor

xWonderboyx wrote: »

And I wonder how much CBS paid that asshole to talk to Katie Couric. I should talk to her.

Prolly enough to move him up a tax bracket.

No joke necessary.

Hoz

Why isn't that douchebag Joe supporting the Chicago politician?