Posted on 10/11/2008 12:52:53 PM PDT by Chet 99
Can McCain Still Win?
by Patrick J. Buchanan
Posted 10/10/2008 ET
Two weeks after the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., John McCain and Sarah Palin were striding forward toward victory.
They had erased the eight-point lead Barack Obama had opened up in Denver and watched as one blue state after another moved into the toss-up category.
That is ancient history now.
Since mid-September, the stock market has cratered, losing half of the $8 trillion that has vanished since October 2007. All five of America's great investment banks -- Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill-Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley -- have either ceased to be independent or ceased to be.
The nation's largest savings and loan, Washington Mutual, and largest insurance company, AIG, have gone belly up, with the federal bailout of the latter costing $100 billion and counting. Perhaps $3 trillion of the $8 trillion in stock value that is gone disappeared after passage of the $700 billion federal bailout of Wall Street.
No bottom is in sight to the worst market crash since 1929. Recession is now certain. George W. Bush has fallen to 26 percent approval, a level unseen since Richard Nixon was driven from office in the Watergate summer of '74. Four in five think the nation is on the wrong course.
Yet, Obama has only a six-point lead in an averaging of national polls. While he has moved ahead in Ohio, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, one senses America is not so much rallying to him as running away from a Republican brand that is now on the same shelf with Chinese baby formula.
Obama still has not closed the sale. He has overtaken McCain not because of any brilliant campaign he has conducted but because of the dreadful news pouring out of Wall Street. McCain and Palin are being dragged down by Dow Jones, not Barack Obama.
As of today, the country is not so much voting for Barack and the Democrats as it is preparing to vote against the Republicans.
Consider: The Congress, whose Democratic ranks the nation is getting ready to enlarge -- the Congress led by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid -- has an approval rating half that of Bush.
Indeed, looking back on the Year of Barack, 2008, it is clear he has never closed the sale, either with the people or his own party.
After he came off the blocks with a startling triumph in Iowa and ran up a dozen straight primary and caucus victories in February, arrived the spring when Hillary, though Obama's media auxiliary was ordering her to get out, defeated him in Texas, crushed him in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and humiliated him in West Virginia and Kentucky.
Each time the voters take a long second look at Barack, their positive first impressions seem to dissipate. Barack is a weak closer.
Herein lies McCain's hope. The country wants change, but it has not concluded it wants Obama. But if John McCain cannot raise grave doubts about his agenda, his associates, his record, his character, his fitness to be president, Obama is going to win by default.
Obama has succeeded in the debates by playing defense. By his cool demeanor and persona, he has diminished apprehensions about an Obama presidency. There is no evidence of surging enthusiasm.
The Obama media are well aware of Obama's Achilles' heel, his great vulnerability, the doubts about him that still exist in the public mind. That is why they are near hysterical about Palin's ripping of Obama for "palling around" with "domestic terrorists" like William Ayres, the 1960s and 1970s Weatherman radical who conspired to bomb the Capitol and Pentagon and was quoted the morning of 9-11 as saying he wished he had set off more bombs.
The mainstream media call this irrelevant, as it was so long ago.
Yet, can one imagine how the media would have reacted had they learned that a GOP presidential nominee was introduced to politics and worked in harness with a KKK bomber of black churches in the 1960s, who was quoted the morning of Oklahoma City as saying he wished he had planted more bombs?
As McCain is an establishment man on illegal aliens, NAFTA and Wall Street bailouts, uneasy with social issues like affirmative action and abortion, he lacks the full panoply of weapons that successful Republicans like Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Bush II used to win two terms. He seems to confine himself to the limited arsenal Gerald Ford, Bush 1 and Bob Dole employed when they went down to defeat.
This election is not over. Yet, even if McCain gets a bit of luck, a dead cat bounce on Wall Street, he must persuade the nation Obama is an unacceptable occupant of the White House if he is to win.
Palin appears ready to take the heat to make that case. But McCain seems ambivalent to the point of being bipolar on whether he wants to take responsibility for peeling the hide off Barack Obama.
Perhaps it comes down to what McCain really thinks about an Obama presidency, and how he wants to be remembered by history.
Notice that the media does not make Obama answer any tough questions but will not give McCain/Palin a break on anything. MSM knows McCain/Palin is sweeping this country like a wildfire and they can't seem to stop it..
Keep up the work in talking to people about what Obama actually stands for and it ain't good for the country!!
But I will say this, when the history of this election is written by political scientists I believe they will conclude that John McCain's election was lost by George Bush.
These "lies" by Bush against McCain, please name them.
Who wants the hassle of leading the nation when there's that great retirement plan to enjoy.
Oh yes ....I do on a daily basis ....bought some shirts this AM and all at the check out counter were voting McPalin. Had dinner at local diner and all were for McPalin. Everyone shy of a few idgits at work are backing McPalin. They are race baiting sorts so it to be expected.
Smart folks know what lowering my taxes and raising corporate taxes will do to us. 40% of America pays taxes. When Obama Bin Biden lowers my taxes and raises corporate taxes 100% of Americans will pay taxes thru higher costs passed on to a 10 year old girl paying for a ice cream cone !
Obama’s sh*t’n shineola show ain’t selling in real world.....
You stay safe !!
WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DRAG HIM OVER THE LINE KICKING AND SCREAMING IF WE TRY.
CALLING OBAMA A RESPECTABLE FAMILY MAN THAT WE NEED NOT FEAR IS OUTRAGEOUS!
McCAIN TAKING THE ABUSE AND INSULTS FROM OBAMA AND REFUSING TO FIGHT BACK IS OUTRAGEOUS!
WERE NOT TURNING THE WHITE HOUSE KEYS OVER TO BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA- NOT IF WE ON FR, RUSH, HANNITY AND FOX HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT!
FReep McCAIN/ MSM OUT.
HOW LONG CAN THEY IGNORE A MILLION EMAILS??
.
McCain is losing this campaign because he refuses to fight Obama and his lies, and dirty tactics such as ACORN voter fraud. Hes just been rolling over (or bending over, I should say) and accepting the abuse heaped upon him- and expecially Sarah Palin.
The anemic attempts by the McCain camp to fight back within the last few days just aint gonna get it.
He should have been hitting Obama back hard months ago.
He needs to get out there every day and FIGHT BACK.
Email Republican headquarters/McCain.
FReep EM OUT!
CAN THEY IGNORE A MILLION EMAILS?
REMIND McCAIN THAT HE HAS AN OBLIGATION AS OUR CANDIDATE TO FIGHT BACK!
To h*ll with bipartisian BS!
To h*ll with PC!
To h*ll with conducting a respectful campaignas McCain has said, and vowed to do.
RESPECTFUL CAMPAIGNING WENT STRAIGHT OUT THE WINDOW WITH OBAMAS NASTY, BRUTAL COMMENTS SUCH AS;
lipstick on a pig and You can wrap AN OLD FISH in a piece of paper called change. Its still going to stink after eight years.
Take off the gloves, McCain!
Hit the Marxist/Muslim hard with Ayers, Acorn, Violation of Logan Act, abortion, 2nd admendment, Campaigning for Odinga!!
Get off the d*mned economy issue. State that Obama/Democrats/ACORN caused this meltdown. State McCain offered a proposal to avert the meltdown and GET OFF IT.
Obama is counting on keeping this going to take the spotlight off his sordid past and dirty dealings!
NOTHING is more important than waking America up to this Marxist/Muslim!! DO IT. EXPOSE HIM!
FReep EM!!!!
MCCAIN/REPUBLICAN PARTY
Fax: 202-228-2862
SEND A FAX FREE: https://faxzero.com/
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Meghan McCain http://mccainblogette.com/contact/
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When emailing. they wont read mass emails so put just one email add in the to line then click on BBC at the end of that line. a BCC line will open just above subject line. copy paste the rest of the addresses in there and each recipient will see ONLY their name.
.
FReep THE MSM!
SEND THEM DAMAGING INFO ON OBAMA. DEMAND THEY DO THEIR JOB AND INVESTIGATE.
CAN THEY IGNORE A MILLION EMAILS?
ElRushbo@eibnet.com
me@glennbeck.com
stu@glennbeck.com,
Hannity@foxnews.com
http://www.lauraingraham.com/asklaura
On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren Ontherecord@foxnews.com
letters@charleskrauthammer.com
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FOX Report w/ Shepard Smith Foxreport@foxnews.com
Obama connection with ACORNhttp://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDZiMjkwMDczZWI5ODdjOWYxZTIzZGIyNzEyMjE0ODI=
Obama goes to Kenya on the tax payers dollar to campaign for the murderous Islam-backed Odinga!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=S8QcpdUtxNQ&feature=related
SHORT VERSION:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1P_P8lBCsE
Obama talks about Ayers giving him a job:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=D-45A6I
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IMPORTANT
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When emailing. they wont read mass emails so put just one email add in the to line then click on BBC at the end of that line. a BCC line will open just above subject line. copy paste the rest of the addresses in there and each recipient will see ONLY their name
Can McCain win? NO!
But Sarah can and we can, never give up... that what winners are made of. We’ll pull McCain across the finish line!
He was an astute gentleman and was computer literate and definitely voting for McCain.
The ole guy says to me that Obama is not a citizen and not fit to be President of the USA. I was astounded that he knew!
I took out one of my biz cards and wrote FR web addy for him on the back.
McCain is incapable of framing the debate. He has missed so many opportunities in the debates. The minute BHO opened on big oil, I would have attacked him without stop. A strong conservative with a reasonable understanding of economics could have had BHO stumbling all night. All McCain can say is that he will stop pork spending. I am not sure it matters now. Even Ronald Reagan could not stop this rat tsunami.
The public is convinced that big government is the solution. Rats will win every time on big government solutions. The public has no idea about the coming train wreck. All the public knows is that someone needs to help them.
Indeed. We'd all do good to remember that not only did the traditional polls show Kerry winning but the early EXIT POLLS polls showed that Kerry won! I painfully remember watching a giddy Susan Estrich around 5pm. Of course her giddiness ran down, just like her mascara as the night wore on and no Kerry victory was in sight when the ACTUAL VOTES came in. Of course what happened what the pollster's methodology was way off. Polls, remember, are as much art as science.
Just food for thought for all the nattering naybobs of negativism around here.
Actually he was voting for Palin, he said he wished she was on top of the ticket. That she speaks his language and is one of us, a little person.
That’s the way we keep Obama OUT of the WH !
Good deal !
What polls are you talking about??? Most polls as of this time showed Bush over Kerry.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/bush_vs_kerry.html
I personally don’t put ANY stock in ANY polls.
They’re more like fortune telling.
As far as I remember, polls haven’t been right EVER!!!!!
Also, numbers not yet ever seen in this country, are going to be voting for McCain /Palin this election!!!!!
And I agree with you...sheeple will stay home. They already think it’s in the bag.
God Bless America!!!! ;-)))
Yep, I remember......LOL..... maybe we should start sending Suzy S. Socialist some Kleenex now.......:o)
No more old Senators as nominees - if 0bama allows future elections.
You found one...... here’s a cookie.
I think the real question is, Can there cheating over come the fake polling? I hope we don’t roll over in all the contested states where we have caught them cheating ! Smash mouth politics better be played from our side or heads should roll.
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