Is this John McCain’s moment?

Telegraph ^ | September 8, 2008 | Toby Harnden

[Schnucki]

If they're not having kittens up in Obama's Chicago headquarters, they should be. Yes, they need to keep their eyes on the prize and be confident in their long-term strategy - as they were when "inevitable" Hillary Clinton enjoyed double-digit national poll leads in autumn 2007. The "No Drama Obama" shtick has worked well for them so far and the Illinois senator has previously raised his game at crucial moments.

But sometimes things need to be changed in campaigns and the latest national polls indicate big trouble for Obama. The Gallup tracking poll has John McCain ahead by three points. Rasmussen tracking has a tie. Zogby has the McCain-Palin ticket leading by four points.

Most startling of all is USA Today-Gallup, which has McCain up by a staggering 10 points among likely voters. I'm always wary of the hair-trigger nature of tracking polls but have always found USA Today-Gallup a pretty reliable indicator. It remains unclear whether this is just a GOP convention bounce that will go down (known int he trade as a "dead cat bounce"), or a real shift. The astute FiveThirtyEight leans towards it being significant.

It bears repeating that this is an absolutely astonishing position for McCain to be in at this stage of the race.

[Terpfen]

Zogby has the McCain-Palin ticket leading by four points.

Not good. Zogby is never right.

[Always Right]

It is more Sarah Palin’s moment, with McCain along for the ride. But McCain deserves it for having the guts to make the right choice.

[yoe]

McCain-Palin is the American Ticket.

Obama-Biden is the Socialist Ticket.

[Allegra]

Is this John McCain’s moment?

I hope it's McCain's term. Beginning January 20, 2009.

[DiogenesLaertius]

Referencing 538 a projection site that didn’t even exist the last election cycle and is run by a left wing nut. In fact almost all of the projection sites were wrong last election cycle except for electionprojection.com and a few others. Unfortunately electionprojection.com is run by an evangelical christian so that must be why the liberals ignore it.

Apparently their minds can’t compute that the best projection site is run studiously and objectively by a wacko christian.

[AmericaUnited]

and the Illinois senator has previously raised his game at crucial moments.

Oh really?! You mean like when he got slaughtered in primary after primary at the end, when it was critical, by The Beast?

[Tax-chick]

Steve Schmidt is a Magnificent Bastard of Arts graduate of the Karl Rove Institute of Weather Control Studies. (FReeper "windflier", on a similar thread.)

Bwahahahaha!

[DB]

I really hope the GOP finally gets the message that a true conservative instead of all their RINO offerings gets the support of middle America big time. That the last Republican majority in congress got thrown out not because they were too conservative but because they were in fact Democrats lite. Big government pork spending and government run everything is not what middle America wants and that middle America still has a voice. It is about time the GOP started listened to it.

[Nervous Tick]

[Sacajaweau]

I never realized that Reagan won the Presidency on his third run.

[Humble Servant]

How many other people beside me are planning on cutting and splicing their bumper sticker to read “Palin-McCain”?

[Obadiah]

Nailed it.

[Obadiah]

From your lips to God’s ear.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

It is Governor Palin’s moment. McCain never had one.

McCain is baggage for Palin.

[TexasCajun]

It is more Sarah Palin’s moment, with McCain along for the ride.

Thanks for saving me the time.

[jwparkerjr]

I think McCain is a bigger part of this than most of us realize. True, it was his choice of Sarah! Sarah! Sarah! that put the tires in motion, but without the natural political intuition to recognize a good thing when he saw it we would be suffering through a McCain/Someone Else ticket.

Throughout the world of chemistry there are agents that must be present for a reaction to take place, frequently an amount of the agent that would seem to be inconsequential to the mixture. But leave it out and all you have is a quiet pool of chemicals. Add a tiny bit of it and poof, you have an entirely different situation. John McCain is that tiny bit of chemical needed to trigger the reaction.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

I know you are correct.

I confess I am blinded by my dislike for McCain.

[Clioman]

“The “No Drama Obama” shtick has worked well for them so far and the Illinois senator has previously raised his game at crucial moments.”

I’m thinking moments like “57 states” and “they cling to their guns and religion.” Get Mr Soetoro away from a teleprompter, and the real B. Hussein Obama II comes out.

[jwparkerjr]

My Mom used to remind me, constantly, that it was foolish to decline the good you could get from someone or something because of some part of them was bad. She quickly added there are times and circumstances where the bad simply can’t be ignored, but you have to consider the situation as a whole, not just the part you don’t like.

Her example was frequently the people who would not go to church or entertain religion because so many of the Christians they know they consider to be hypocrites and not living the life they preach. Her question to them was, “Why on Earth would let a bunch of people you don’t respect keep you out of Heaven?” Always made them stop and think!

McCain occupies a pretty unique place in my life. I can’t think of anyone offhand for whom I have more respect for as a man and a warrior, but get so mad at on so many fronts! If I had to trust my life to a single person it would be John McCain or Ollie North, but I have never felt McCain, despite my great respect for him, was presidential material.

I consider Sarah! Sarah! Sarah! to be such of gift from God that I can’t help but offer thanks for the man God chose to bring her to us. My Mom was always quick to point out that God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. I just have to write this off as one of those times!