Obamentum?

McCain's post-convention Palin bounce appears to have vanished, thanks in part to Palin's crashing popularity numbers. The trend is now towards Obama, who has once again pulled into the lead in the electoral vote count.

Palin & White Privilege

Excellent article.

H/T Rob at Newspaper Rock

Good Advice

First of all, don't panic. Second of all, get pissed off. It's what Molly would've done.

God Help Us All...

...when even a milquetoast apple-polisher like Charlie Gibson can expose Sarah Palin for the shallow, intellectually vapid, Right-Wing tool she really is.

Total Bastard Theatre

1. Michigan Republicans are planning to challenge voters who have received notices of foreclosure;
2. As Mayor of Greater Wasilla, Sarah Palin proposed to charge rape victims for the rape kits used to investigate their cases;
3. As part of his effort to get away from nasty partisan attacks, John McCain accuses Obama of favoring sex education for kindergartners;
4. Getcher oil for nothin' and yer chicks fer free, and most repulsively;
5. The GOP's shameless branding of 9/11.

Bounce?

Gallup notwithstanding, the GOP Convention appears to have had a lukewarm effect at best. My completely uneducated guess is that most of it can be attributed to increased enthusiasm among the Republican social conservative base over Sarah Palin, though there is scant evidence that they will turn out in numbers anywhere near what George W. Bush got in 2004. To the contrary, there is much to suggest a heavy turnout for Democrats in the fall, particularly in some key states.

About that Magical "Executive" Experience...

...if your claim to fame is being mayor a city with 7,000 people, would it be too much to ask that you not have screwed it up? And the tough-talking Governor can't bear to face the Evil Liberal Media unless they show her proper "deference"? Also, apparently it's okay to dare to question the Sacred Surge What Has Absolutely Succeeded...if you are John McCain.

More Convention Fun!

1. Obama knows how to defend community organizers!
2. Paging the commander in chief of the Alaskan National Guard!
3. Lindsey Graham occasionally gives the appearance of having a soul. Nice to have him confirm that he's still the same old vicious lying little turd;
4. Jon Stewart dissects the Palin Hypocrisy as only he can;
5. Yeah, media? John McCain? He's just not all that into you anymore. Sorry;
6. Nice to see them finally abandoning all pretense;
7. Would you buy a used moose from this woman?

On the Pow Wow Highway

The boys and I are in Tahlequah, Indian Territory for the Cherokee National Holiday. Apparently, there's been some news...McCain's choice of Governor Sarah Palin strikes me as a huge gamble, trading his best argument against Obama (experience or the lack thereof) for the hope that disgruntled Hillary voters are A) still disgruntled; and B) are disgruntled enough to vote for ANY woman, even one who is Hillary's complete polar opposite on nearly all issues. So, far, seems not to be working too well. I'm not the only one who thinks Palin was picked because every other viable Republican woman was unavailable or uninterested in deck chair duty on the Titanic. Interestingly, one of my most trusted political pundits (who has been EXTREMELY pessimistic about Obama) had this first impression: "McCain just lost."

OBAMAPALOOZA!

It was a good speech. Not a soaring or flowery speech, but then it wasn't intended to be. Obama has shown one of the most important characteristics for a successful candidate: flexibility. Realizing that he hasn't polled well with working-class whites whose primary concern is the economy, he re-tooled his message to focus on precisely those issues. Having a number of working-class white delegates warm-up the crowd was a great touch. Barney Smith for Secretary of Labor! Obama systematically hit every single one of the criticisms that the Republicans have levelled at him--that he's elitist, that he's a celebrity, that he's not "one of us." He hit McCain, though it could be argued not hard enough, while careful to pay tribute to his war hero status, a courtesy certainly not afforded John Kerry by the GOP in 2004. Overall, I was impressed, as I have continued to be impressed (and surprised) by Obama since he first entered the race. I feel much better about November 4 than I did just a few days ago.

Good One, Bill

Excellent speech by Bill, seemingly made point-for-point to refute hyper-technical criticism by the GOP and their lapdogs in the MSM.

PUMA Overload

It's becoming increasingly clear that the "Angry Hillary Supporter" meme is being overhyped and driven primarily by the MSM and the McCain Campaign, as clearly demonstrated by Our Man in Denver, Hilzoy.

UPDATE: Damn good speech, damn good. Of course, the punditocracy is already on about how she didn't go far enough, with one idiot I watched on PBS even saying she should have explicitly taken back everything negative she ever said about Obama. Please. You couldn't ask for a more unequivocal endorsement. If it's not good enough for the MSM, screw 'em. Nothing that might be positive for Democrats will ever be good enough for the corporate MSM. And if it wasn't good enough for the PUMAs, then they were never really Hillary supporters and they aren't really Democrats and to hell with them, too.

Obama Thoughts, Part 3

1. Good piece on Obama's tax policy in particular and how he is hard to pigeon-hole generally.
2. Democrats are apparently planning to fight this time. Good.
3. Good on Hillary.
4. McCain's lobbyist/campaign staffers are scary. If this isn't an issue, it needs to become one. And fast.

Obama Thoughts, Part 2

EJ Dionne says the worst of it is over for Obama, and the "Guess how many houses the Maverick owns" issue may be getting some traction.

Obama Thoughts

Should Obama be less technocrat and more populist? Obviously, I agree (and there is some evidence he is starting to do so); it may be the only way for him to broaden his appeal to working-class whites. Meanwhile, the Georgia Crisis may not be the incredible boost to McCain the MSM seems to think. And, of course, Dubya the Lame Duck continues to screw the environment. And adopt Barack Obama's plan for Iraq. Some legacy.

Not A Bad Idea, Actually

Arianna Huffington suggests Obama turn up the heat on McCain...on national security. She makes a convincing case. National security is the only area where McCain currently and consistently outpolls Obama, yet his pronouncements on the subject have been nothing but one long string of gaffes and misstatements (including most recently plagiarizing from Wikipedia and accusing Putin of wanting to restore the Czarist empire). The only reason McCain has gotten a pass is the MSM's man-crush on him. Obama should call McCain on it. It's a Rovian strategy, hitting your opponent where he's strongest. Maybe it can work for good instead of evil this time.

UPDATE: MSM continues to carry McCain's water on the Russo-Georgian conflict, even as it becomes more and more apparent that he has no idea what he's talking about.

Everyone Loves Chet!

Yes, everyone! I still think he's a long shot for Vice President (especially given that he is the only living Democrat who could hold this district), but still, it's nice to be courted.

Defining Obama

Some excellent articles on how voters don't know Obama that well (thereby making the election solely about his competence) and the serious danger that McCain will indelibly mark him as a Michael Dukakis/John Kerry elitist early on, with the added bonus of playing into racially-loaded code-memes for "uppity negro." I agree that Obama needs to go on the offensive, and the sooner the better, especially in linking McCain (who still has a residual public image as a "maverick") with the Bush Administration train wreck. He should resist urges to make him look more like a "regular guy." Obama trying to bowl looked exactly like Hillary downing shots: contrived and insincere. Obama is smart; he shouldn't play dumb. The voters can smell a phony coming from a long ways off.

UPDATE: Speaking of "racially-loaded code-memes," Ezra Klein has a great piece on white privilege and white resentment.

John McCain vs. Indian Country

John McCain blows off meeting with Indians to hit the real cultural highlight of South Dakota--Sturgis. Pretty sad, really, given that McCain has had a decent record on Indian issues in the Senate, but evidently hundreds of yuppies pretending to be Hell's Angels is more important. That and the topless women.

UPDATE: Does McCain's willingness to enter his wife in a topless (and frequently bottomless) drunken "Beauty pageant" at a biker bar indicate A) he has no idea what goes on at these things and is therefore a latte-sipping elitist; or B) he does know and is just a sexist jerk? For extra bonus points, what do you think the MSM would be doing if Obama had made the same comments in the same venue?

Changing the Game

If 2008 is to be the kind of transformative, watershed election the most fervent Obamaphiles promise, the key lies with low-wage workers (currently for him by a 2-1 margin) and the 83 million eligible voters who stayed home in 2004 despite the enormous turnout. And to do that, Obama must make these voters aware that not only is John McCain a Republican, he is a George W. Bush Republican.