David Gregory speculates that the Edwards' affair may be bad news for Obama. I have a very hard time seeing how Edwards' affair reflects on Obama. What I do know is that this is another of those cases where there is a tacit but uniform agreement among pretty much all reporters and close campaign watchers not to publicly state the obvious: that this is a perilous development for John McCain. Just as Bill Clinton's public undressing in the Lewinsky scandal led indirectly to the exposure of several high-profile Republican affairs, Edwards' revelation will inevitably put pressure on the press in general to scrutinize John McCain under something more searching than the JFK rules they've applied to date. I assure you that this dimension of the story occurred to every reporter even tangentially involved in reporting this race soon after the Edwards story hit yesterday afternoon.
--Josh Marshall
The Recent Unpleasantness
You've seen the news as our feature for almost a day now and no doubt at every other news outlet in the country. So I thought I'd share a few thoughts about the Edwards matter. His personal failing speaks for itself. And I don't think I have anything to add to the obvious. Fundamentally, it's between him and his wife and their family. And I wish them the best.
But this decision on his part involved several overlapping betrayals. And the one that is very much a public matter is his betrayal of his supporters and, really, all Democrats nationwide -- one that continued at least until he dropped out in the spring. Edwards made a strong run for the presidency knowing full well that he was carrying on an affair, at least in the early stages of the campaign, which could come to light in the midst of the general election and fatally damage all Democrats' hopes for regaining the presidency. Just think how fun this weekend would be if John Edwards had won the nomination. Indeed, it seems clear that the aftermath of the affair was such that the chances of its coming to light were substantial. It's a level of recklessness and selfishness that I probably shouldn't but still do find shocking.
One can only hope that the scrutiny into such unfortunate matters will now be applied on a bipartisan basis, as it has not been heretofore.
--Josh Marshall
Election Central Saturday Roundup
The Obama campaign airs a new TV ad in Nevada, blasting John McCain for favoring the Yucca Mountain repository while not wanting any nuclear waste in his own home state. That and other political news in today's Election Central Saturday Roundup.
To get the very latest campaign polls direct to your inbox every morning, subscribe to the TPM Daily Digest.
--Eric Kleefeld
Creative
McCain Campaign: Telling people about the workers our campaign manager helped get laid off is unfair to the people who got laid off.
--Josh Marshall
FOLLOW THE MONEY
MoveOn and good government group ask the Justice Department to open criminal probe into the Hess oil and Harry Sargeant bundled contributions to McCain.
--Greg Sargent
On Contract
The situation on the Russia-Georgia border today is a undoubtedly a complicated situation. But it would be difficult for John McCain to give a credible response since his top foreign policy advisor, Randy Scheunemann, was until recently a paid lobbyist for the Georgian government.
--Josh Marshall
TPM for iPhone
TPM has a small army of iPhone users. And over the last couple months we've gotten a number of requests for an iPhone edition of TPM since the relatively large TPM front page takes some time to download on the still relatively slow iPhone web connection (ed.note: I haven't been willing to spend three hours waiting in line for one of the new 3G ones. And those are supposedly faster.) The iPhone only version has a text only version of the front page news section and the 5 most recent TPM posts.
For you iPhoners out there, take a look and let us know what you think.
--Josh Marshall
Must Be Grand ...
Must be grand to be flying in your private jet and trying to decide which of your eight homes to fly to.
Late Update: Here's the Obama camp's response to the new celeb/"Must Be Grand" ad from McCain. Frankly, I think mine's better.
Latter Update: TPM Reader YF is royally pissed ...
When the hell is Obama's camp going to break up this pattern of McCain Attack Ad Released-Obama Spokesoman Responds? If Obama spends all his time on his heels the content of the McCain Ads hardly matter.Obama needs to hit this son of bitch in the gut. Let's start with an Ad featuring the 8000 parents that no longer have children because of John McCain's favorite misadventure.
Where is the counterattack?
My own thought is that a more populist retort -- along the line of McCain's high-living ways and fancy lifestyle -- would be much more on point.
Late Update, 3rd Edition: This ain't bad either.
Even More Update: I post this comment from TPM Reader CN not because I agree with it or disagree with it, but I thought it was a novel way of capturing what's happening ...
Watching an endless stream of dirty McCain attacks, countered by tepid replies from the Obama campaign, I have to conclude that Obama is deliberately employing the rope-a-dope strategy. He's laying back, letting McCain unleash everything he has -- and counting on the fact McCain's stuff isn't strong enough. Obama won't be knocked out, McCain will be left with no more punches to throw, and then Obama will have his way. I don't know if the rope-a-dope will work for Obama, but it's a good explanation for what his campaign is doing. And it's kind of what he did with Hillary, right? He got so far ahead on points that he couldn't lose except by knockout, then he laid back, punching just enough to avoid getting sent to the mat.
The problem with the Hillary analogy is that a national election is all about one day. So there's no saving up points from September for November. And recent experience doesn't say much for the strategy of holding back and taking his punches and wear himself out. But I have heard that the Obama campaign doesn't think these attacks or working. So I don't rule out the possibility that something like this strategy is what they're employing, wise or not.
--Josh Marshall
Asking a Favor
Let me ask you a favor. It's one that helps TPM in a variety of ways, costs you nothing and takes only ten or fifteen seconds. Please take a moment, go to our TPMtv page at Youtube and subscribe.
Many of you are fans of our four day a week TPMtv episodes. And starting in early October, TPMtv will be moving from the 'Veracifier' channel on Youtube to our TPMtv channel.
So if I haven't already convinced you, please take a moment and go over to Youtube and subscribe to our TPMtv channel so you won't miss a single episode.
--Josh Marshall
McCain's Footsie with the Outer Fringe
Keep an eye on this nutjob meme, one McCain is stoking: Obama as harbinger of anti-Christ.
--Josh Marshall
NOT SO MUCH
New York Times claims that Obama is "struggling to maintain parity" with McCain in the polls.
--Greg Sargent
Yep
Schumer: "I would answer back hard. What do you mean [Obama's] not one of us? It's John McCain who wears $500 shoes, has six houses, and comes from one of the richest families in his state. It's Barack Obama who climbed up the hard way, and that's why he wants middle-class tax cuts and better schools for our kids."
Again, across the board, the media grades McCain on a curve. Since the 'media' is often used as a generic and non-specific phrase, let's break it down. McCain has spent two decades cultivating the press -- specifically, the cadre of several dozen reporters based in Washington who report for the leading national newspapers and television networks. They know him. They've liked him. In part this is because he's made a concerted effort to appeal to them, by making himself accessible. He's also a pre-babyboom military man, a profile that has a special appeal to many boomers who never served. But familiarity and affection, as it does in all our lives, leads us to ignore faults. Not only is McCain an extremely wealthy man who didn't have to work for any of his wealth, he's also a man of very expensive tastes. Little facts capture the story. According to financial disclosure statements released in June, the McCain's are currently carrying between $135,000 and $335,000 in credit card debt. Given their wealth, which is in the many tens of millions of dollars, that means either that they spend a tremendous amount of money on themselves -- and this is just the 'carry' on an average basis -- or they have real problems managing their money. In any case, yes, McCain's an extremely wealthy man, with fancy clothes and houses across the country. But he got his money from marrying into it.
Of course, patricians can make presidents. Franklin Roosevelt is the prime example. But as McCain continues his campaign to define Obama as a high-living fancypants, let's not forget the McCain was born into a life of privilege and continues to live that life today.
McCain question of the day: Do you own your own private jet? McCain does.
--Josh Marshall
Election Central Morning Roundup
Barack Obama is embarking on a week-long vacation from the campaign, with none other than Hillary Clinton set to fill in for him on the trail. That and other political news in today's Election Central Morning Roundup.
To get the very latest campaign polls direct to your inbox every morning, subscribe to the TPM Daily Digest.
--Eric Kleefeld
TPMtv: Dazed and Confused
To me, the presidential race reached a turning point last week when John McCain opted for a campaign of denigration employing racial stereotypes, sexualized talking points for surrogates (Obama as "internet date") and copious ridicule. It's made the curve that much of the media still uses to grade McCain's more obvious shortcomings all the more conspicuous and significant ...
High-res version at Veracifier.com.
--Josh Marshall
JUDGMENT DAY
Tennessee Jew-baiter faces the voters today.
Late Update: Jew-baiter gets trounced.
--Greg Sargent
TIGHTER
Remember the roughly $300,000 that Hess oil execs dumped into the RNC-McCain campaign coffers around the time of his flip on offshore drilling?
Turns out two high-ranking McCain campaign officials were paid lobbyists for Hess oil for years, and one still may be.
--Greg Sargent
Never Tired Of Tire Pressure Stunts
McCain mocks Obama for being right about energy and tire-pressure.
--Greg Sargent
Election Central Morning Roundup
Obama surrogate Tom Daschle says McCain's new "Celeb" attack ads are having an effect on the race, but not so much as to throw the Obama camp off their game plan. That and other political news in today's Election Central Morning Roundup.
To get the very latest campaign polls direct to your inbox every morning, subscribe to the TPM Daily Digest.
--Eric Kleefeld
Tangled Web
It seems this story about McCain fundraiser Harry Sargeant III, that Greg and Eric were reporting on today, just keeps getting dicier. Now the New York Times has more.
Late Update: Even more interesting. Eric Kleefeld catches a further connection the Times appears to have missed.
--Josh Marshall
Down the Memory Hole
Earlier today I flagged what I described as a Jew-baiting ad that Democratic primary challenger Nikki Tinker is running against Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) in Tennessee's 9th CD. A number of you wrote in to say that the ad seems to have been taken down. We checked. And you're right. The video we imbedded at Election Central was from Tinker's own Youtube account. And the campaign now appears to have taken the ad down.
As best as we can tell, there's no other copy of it on Youtube, at least none we can find. So for now it's gone -- at least on the web.
--Josh Marshall
From TPMCafe: We'll Always Have Paris. Though I guess some of us more than others.
--Josh Marshall
Call It When You See It
I don't see any way you can say this isn't a Jew-baiting ad against Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN). Too bad the CBC and Emily's List are backing the candidate running it. M.J. Rosenberg has more.
I should add as background that I know from a very reliable source that Nikki Tinker, the candidate running the ad, has said before large numbers of supporters that she planned to make Cohen's non-embrace of Christianity (i.e., he's Jewish) a key part of her campaign. And I'm given to understand that this aspect of her campaign is widely understood in Dem circles in DC.
--Josh Marshall
THE POLITICS OF MOCKERY
Is Obama winning the battle with the GOP in the mockery realm?
--Greg Sargent
Celebrity?
Andrew Sullivan makes a good point. For the 'celebrity' in the campaign, how many sitcoms has Barack Obama done guest spots on? How many movies has he done cameos in? How many times has he hosted Saturday Night Live. As John McCain's IMDB bio shows, he's done a lot. 24, Wedding Crashers, The Tony Danza show, numerous appearances on Saturday Night Live. It's another example of the curve that John McCain gets graded on. Of these two, there's no question who the more preening candidate or the bigger 'celebrity' is.
Late Update: Jake Tapper has more.
--Josh Marshall
Run it By Malkin?
Did Obama throw his Muslim outreach coordinator under the bus? Steve Clemons say yes, he did.
--Josh Marshall
TPMtv: Dahlia Lithwick Edition
At Netroots Nation down in Austin two weeks ago, TPMtv caught up with Slate's Dahlia Lithwick and picked her brain about just what post-Bush accountability means. Is it really all or nothing? Sweep it under the rug versus Nuremberg trials, or are there a lot more grey areas in just how we pick up the pieces? That, and what might be in store for the Supreme Court under a President McCain ...
High-res version at Veracifier.com.
--Josh Marshall
All or Nothing
From a friend in DC Republican circles ...
I think you may be missing a key element of McCain's strategy. Remember, he has NO national ground game to counter Obama's vaunted field organization. No Bush-style 72 hour GOTV operation, no large and disciplined staff -- just a small core staff and media operation. In order to win without a ground game he literally has to destroy Obama as a viable alternative -- it isn't enough to just get close. That means the ads will be harder edged, more plentiful and more relentless than we've ever seen. I think Mark McKinnon realized that early on, and didn't want to be the guy to do to Obama what has to be done to win, as that person will become a political scourge (a la Atwater) when all is said and done, even if it works.
--Josh Marshall
Tea Leaves
On the subject of this new McCain ad sleazing Obama, in our editorial meeting this morning I told Greg that I was interested in what more we could find out about the disjuncture, if there is one, between the public reception of this stuff and the media reception. My sense is that over the last 48 hours or so, McCain's Celeb/Blackening campaign has been turning against him among pundits. But that doesn't mean the ads aren't resonating with voters, at least the class of voters McCain's campaign is trying to pull back into their column.
One goes into these analyses with the assumption that campaigns don't make demonstrably stupid decisions. But that's of course often a poor assumption. My own take -- or maybe more, the possibility that seems the real issue -- is that these ads probably are stiffening the support of some voters McCain absolutely needs to even make a go of it in November. But he's simultaneously endangering what is undoubtedly his biggest asset -- which is the residual public perception that he's a truth-teller, a politician above the normal partisan scrum and game playing. More and more he comes off as an angry and not infrequently out-of-it old man.
We may even see an odd hybrid of these two impressions in the line we saw from prestige pundits on Hardball a couple days ago -- that McCain's of course honorable, so the only way we can explain his increasingly sleazy campaign is that he's too out-of-it or episodically confused to be aware of what his campaign is doing.
Meanwhile, a new Pew Poll says there's 'Obama fatigue' in the electorate -- 48% of voters (no doubt overwhelmingly Republican) say they're "hearing too much about him." Take a look at their report. I'm not clear that there's more here than a unique crafting of questions. But it's worth a look.
Finally, the mild run-up in McCain's numbers appear to have crested and are beginning to subside.
--Josh Marshall
CELEB 2.0
New McCain ad again hits Obama as "biggest celebrity in the world."
Late Update: Camp Obama responds.
--Greg Sargent
Election Central Morning Roundup
New Obama ad ridicules McCain's claim that he's "the original maverick" -- with footage of McCain himself boasting of his stalwart support for Bush. That and other political news of the day in today's TPM Election Central Morning Roundup.
To get the very latest campaign polls direct to your inbox every morning, subscribe to the TPM Daily Digest.
--Greg Sargent
In Bob Schaffer's Defense ...
We've hit pretty hard over recent months on Colorado GOP senate candidate Bob Schaffer. First there were his ties to Jack Abramoff and his sweat shop enslaving pals in the Mariana Islands. Then he was tied 
to a felony trial where one of his old political handlers was convicted of defrauding the government. And the last we heard from him he was cutting an oil deal with the Iraqi Kurds that the State Department said endangered America. So it's been a solid campaign so far.
But today's news that his son was found to have a series of arguably racist statements and images on his site as well as a photo of Obama doctored to look like he's a member of the Taliban raises an interesting possibility (update: Jr.'s college is now apparently considering disciplinary action against him.)
The 'joke' on Schaffer's Facebook site that got the most attention was a poster which reads "Slavery Gets Shit Done" against a backdrop of the Egyptian pyramids.
Now, as you remember, back in April, unprompted, Schaffer touted the guest worker program in the Mariana Islands as a great model and one we should emulate here on the mainland -- notwithstanding the fact that the situation in the Marianas became notorious all over the world for sweat shop conditions, forced abortions, abusive workplace practices, sexual slavery and a whole bunch of other modern day workplace management best practices. He not only carried their water on Capitol Hill. He also went on one of Abramoff's junkets to the Islands to investigate claims of abuses (which he concluded didn't exist) and also parasail.
But here's the key thing. Back when we were looking into this in April, there was one thing that didn't quite compute. Unlike a lot of other Abramoff pals who stood up for the sex slavers on Capitol Hill, Schaffer didn't seem to have gotten much money out of Abramoff. In fact, virtually none.
So Paul Kiel and I had to consider the possibility that rather than being corrupt stooge willing to gloss over manifest outrages in exchange for a seat on the Abramoff gravy train, Schaffer may just have been ideologically pro-sweat shop and pro-slavery. And now Schaffer's son's endorsement of slavery on his Facebook page lends some new credence to this theory.
--Josh Marshall
Top Sign McCain's In Trouble
I just watched Howard Fineman on Countdown calling Virginia, Indiana and Montana 'swing states'.
--Josh Marshall
Can someone explain the Chet Edwards boomlet for me? That's not a rhetorical question, or snark. He may be a great pick. I just need a little more background on this one.
--Josh Marshall
Use of Force Resolution
In case you missed it earlier, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), now under indictment, dropping in the polls and getting ready to stand trial next month, held an indictment rally up in Alaska yesterday. And TPMtv has what I think is the only video of the event, narrated in today's episode of TPMtv by Kate Klonick.
On a related note, here's our interview with Stevens Democratic challenger Mark Begich from Netroots Nation.
--Josh Marshall
I'm No Historian!
That was Mitt Romney's explanation for why he couldn't think of any energy policy legislation John McCain had helped pass in twenty six years in Congress ...
--Josh Marshall
Afternoon Deep Thoughts
Why is Mitt Romney so keyed up on the idea of Internet dates that sound great at first but don't pan out well?
If Barack Obama wins the election by only five percentage points, can he still be a legitimate president or will his presidency be doomed to failure from the outset?
--Josh Marshall
TPMtv: Ted Stevens Biker Force!
Nothing says "not guilty" like dozens of leather-clad bikers. So it was a good thing that a large group of motorcyclists were on hand at the Anchorage airport yesterday to meet Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and escort him to his first post-indictment campaign rally, where Ted shook his fist and reassured his fans: he's still in the race. Welcome home, Ted!
High-res version at Veracifier.com.
--Ben Craw
Take My Wife, Please!
We're trying to find out a bit more about the Bikini Beauty Pageant at the Buffalo Chip, where John McCain showed up and offered up wife Cindy as a contestant. ESPN says the event is topless and "occasionally bottomless". Actually their description is worth quoting in full ...
Buffalo Chip has a reputation for that sort of thing. It holds a Miss Buffalo Chip contest every night, which is essentially a topless beauty pageant. And occasionally bottomless, too. During a drenching rain Wednesday night, the contest broke up into smaller groups and one woman wound up dancing naked on a bar top. Her boyfriend/husband saw her and angrily dragged her away as she struggled to put her pants back on and muttered something about how, "It's only this one week a year."
Here's video of McCain offering up Cindy ...
We wanted to show you a bit more of what the contest is like. Unfortunately, we were worried that posting the videos could lead to TPM being banned from many corporate intranets. So we're going to link to this video of the Bikini phase of the contest, complete with simulated fellatio and banana coddling. There's also this Sturgis 'pickle-licking' contest. But we're not sure if that's part of the Beauty Pageant or not.
Late Update: TPM Reader WR gives us some background/wistful memories ...
I grew up in Western South Dakota, and can tell you that "topless, and occasionally bottomless" barely scratches the surface on Miss Buffalo Chip. There were always rumors about underage contestants and on-stage sex--that was simply what Buffalo Chip stood for in the collective unconscious of teenage boys in the Rapid City area. This amounts to John McCain volunteering his wife for a Girls Gone Wild video. Quite a lady's man, that McCain...
--Josh Marshall
Great News for McCain! (Really)
So the last of the three presidential debate this fall is none other than Bob Schieffer, who apparently thinks that questioning John McCain's qualifications to be president is presumptively outrageous. That should go really well.
Late Update: TPM Reader DO points to this Schieffer commentary about the flag pin issue as evidence of his evenhandedness. But I still think the McCain conversation I mentioned above is much more telling.
--Josh Marshall
Encouraging Volunteerism
John McCain volunteers wife for topless (ESPN says also "occasionally bottomless") beauty contest.
--Josh Marshall
Show Me Da Money
Mega Hess Oil fundraiser came days before McCain flipped on offshore drilling.
--Josh Marshall
Election Central Morning Roundup
Energy is set to be the big issue of the day, with Barack Obama releasing a new attack ad against John McCain, and McCain visiting a nuclear plant in the swing state of Michigan. That and other political news in today's Election Central Morning Roundup.
To get the very latest campaign polls direct to your inbox every morning, subscribe to the TPM Daily Digest.
--Eric Kleefeld
Perilously Stupid
I couldn't quite believe my eyes when TPM Reader LD told me that Mark Halperin was telling readers at The Page to read two pieces expressing doubts about Obama. One from the right, and one from the left. That in itself is no surprise. But look at the 'left' ...
Late Update: As several TPM Readers have noted The Page has now moved Hiatt from the "left" to "center-left". I'm sorry, but he's not center-left either. He's arguably "centrist", but probably only on domestic policies.
--Josh Marshall
White House Implicated in Iraq Forgery?
From Mike Allen writing in The Politico ...
A new book by the author Ron Suskind claims that the White House ordered the CIA to forge a back-dated, handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein.Suskind writes in "The Way of the World," to be published Tuesday, that the alleged forgery - adamantly denied by the White House - was designed to portray a false link between Hussein's regime and al Qaeda as a justification for the Iraq war.
--Josh Marshall
Zogby
Statistically it's a tie. But at least nominally Zogby's new phone poll has McCain ahead of Obama 42%-41%. And that's the second poll today to show McCain with, again, a nominal lead.
--Josh Marshall
Fox Punk'd By Bogus KFC Whopper
Last week Fox News ran a story about how things were going so well in Fallujah that they've opened their first KFC franchise to keep the locals hooked up with quality Fried Chicken. They even got ret. Gen. Tommy Franks to comment on the great news. The whole thing sounded a bit iffy to us. So unlike Fox News we decided to ring up KFC World Headquarters to find out if the story was really true.
Afraid not. Things may be going swimmingly in the former insurgent hotspot. But there's no KFC in town. In fact, KFC tells us they're now "working with the US Military to warn the troops of this situation", whatever that means.
--Josh Marshall
Speechin
Over at TPMCafe, author Michael Cohen joins us for a Book Club discussion of his new book, Live From The Campaign Trail. Cohen runs through some of the greatest speeches in American history up until the present day and looks at the relative importance of style and substance in capturing the public imagination. Unfortunately, I don't think he's going to be discussing John McCain's Green Screen Masterpiece (GSM). But we can hope.
--Josh Marshall
The Latest Meme
Truly a Kuhnian moment. John McCain is so honorable and straight-shooting that the only explanation for his campaign's headlong dive into sleaze, xenophobia and gonzo bamboozlement is that McCain is so out of it and controlled by his advisors that he doesn't actually know what they're doing in his name.
(Just the kind of guy who should be president, right?)
That's the upshot of the brief exchange Andrea Mitchell, Roger Simon and Mike Barnicle just had on Hardball. Special thanks to TPM Reader MC for flagging it for us. We'll have the video for you shortly.
Late Update: Here's the video...
--Josh Marshall
Summa Gaffica
As I mentioned earlier, Sen. McCain has had quite a few moments this cycle of gaffes, forgotten positions, forgotten things he's said, etc. We're trying to put together a list. If you have examples, can you send us an email with the subject heading 'Summa Gaffica'?
--Josh Marshall
Try Outs (Special Mittmentum Edition)
If you're in Veep try-outs with the McCain camp, the brief seems to be, go on the chat shows and be sure to say "young", "handsome", "well-spoken", "celebrity" and generally anything else you can think of to morph Obama into Sammy Davis, Jr.
Here's Mitt giving it a try this morning -- his big innovation is Obama as "Internet date" (something Mitt knows something about?) ...
--Josh Marshall
The Boundless Generosity Of Hess Employees
It looks like generosity towards McCain's presidential efforts extends into the lower ranks of Hess Corporation personnel.
A Hess "office manager" and her husband, an Amtrak worker, both chipped in $28,500 apiece on the same day that all those Hess execs did.
Late Update: Turns out the two rent their home in middle class Flushing, Queens.
--Greg Sargent
OIL IS THICKER THAN...
Just days after John McCain reversed himself on offshore drilling, ten senior Hess Corporation executives and Hess family members each plowed $28,500 into the RNC's committee to elect McCain president.
Our report is here.
--Greg Sargent
What About the Curve?
Out of general fondness, the Washington press corps (which is not just a phrase but a definable community of people) has for almost a decade graded John McCain on a curve, especially in the last eighteen months when he's slipped perceptibly. Now, in response to the bludgeoning and campaign of falsehoods his campaign has unleashed over the last ten days, a number of his longtime admirers in the punditocracy have written articles either claiming that they'd misjudged the man or lamenting his betrayal of his better self.
So my question is, do they and the top editors who with them define the tone of coverage, keep grading McCain on the curve that has so aided him over the last year?
Let's be frank. On the campaign trail this cycle, McCain frequently forgets key elements of policies, gets countries' names wrong, forgets things he's said only hours or days before and is frequently just confused. Any single example is inevitable for someone talking so constantly day in and day out. But the profusion of examples shows a pattern. Some of this is probably a matter of general unseriousness or lack of interest in policy areas like the economy that he doesn't care much about. But for any other politician who didn't have the benefit of years of friendship or acquaintance with many of the reporters covering him, this would be a major topic of debate in the campaign. It's whispered about among reporters. And it's evidenced in his campaign's increasing effort to keep him away from the freewheeling conversations with reporters that defined his 2000 candidacy. But it's verboten as a topic of public discussion.
The other point that again goes almost totally undiscussed is McCain's two reinventions of himself over the last decade. From a mainline conservative Republican to progressive reform candidate to Bush Republican. The reporters who have been covering him for the last decade know that there is virtually no public policy issue of note which McCain hasn't made a 180 degree change of position on in the last half dozen years. An ideological shift of that magnitude is far from unprecedented. And such turnabouts or transformations can be a product of searching insights into the changing terrain of American governance. But two such shifts in the course of a decade strongly suggest either instability or opportunism.
Neither of these points are lost on the people in the press most in a position to push key questions to the forefront of the campaign conversation. But for the moment the curve remains firmly in place -- even for those reporters now publicly washing their hands of their former affections for the man.
--Josh Marshall
TPMtv: Sunday Show Roundup: Taking the (Race) Bait
Cute fun or a rehash of the notorious 2006 Harold Ford attack ad in Tennessee? The Sunday crowd debates the racial undertones, or lack thereof, in John McCain's current campaign tactics ...
High-res version at Veracifier.com.
--Ben Craw
McCain's Working Class Whites Problem?
WaPo poll: Obama leads by 10 points -- among working class whites.
--Greg Sargent
ELECTION CENTRAL MORNING ROUNDUP
As the candidates prepare to square off over energy today, Obama releases a new spot yoking McCain to Bush and Big Oil. That and other political news of the day in today's TPM Election Central Morning Roundup.
To get the very latest campaign polls direct to your inbox every morning, subscribe to the TPM Daily Digest.
--Greg Sargent
They'll Never Support Him
From the Post (emphasis added) ...
Democratic Sen. Barack Obama holds a 2 to 1 edge over Republican Sen. John McCain among the nation's low-wage workers, but many are unconvinced that either presidential candidate would be better than the other at fixing the ailing economy or improving the health-care system, according to a new national poll.Obama's advantage is attributable largely to overwhelming support from two traditional Democratic constituencies: African Americans and Hispanics. But even among white workers -- a group of voters that has been targeted by both parties as a key to victory in November -- Obama leads McCain by 10 percentage points, 47 percent to 37 percent, and has the advantage as the more empathetic candidate.
--Josh Marshall
Tell Me Your Thoughts
I'm curious to hear what people think of this post at the CBSNews website comparing the Obama and McCain campaign planes. Let me know.
Late Update: For those of you who haven't had a chance to check out the post, it goes to great length detailing the luxurious accommodations of Obama's plane, down to photographs of seats in the first class cabin. The author even has The Politico's Mike Allen pop in for a bit of nonsensical snark: "Air Force One may seem a tad claustrophobic." Then down at the bottom we have a terse description of McCain's plane which, if you read the actual words, and disregard the lack of luxe adjectives, disco music and twangy baseline, seems to be virtually identical to Obama's. Perhaps needless to say TPM AL's few minutes of research found this 2004 USAToday article which notes that Kerry's 2004 plane was virtually identical. And President Bush, before he got the government plane, "used a similarly configured Boeing 757 during the 2000 campaign."
The piece then notes: "Now [President Bush] commands the much grander Air Force One."
Not exactly claustrophobic.
--Josh Marshall
Pole Axed Or Not
TPM Reader RY keeps us posted ...
Disquieting Rasmussen numbers this morning--McCain's crying racism worked. 53% of Americans, including the same % of whites and half of all Democrats, thing that Obama's "dollar bill" remark was "racist." Only 22% think the Paris Hilton ad was racist--most of those being black people, of course (only 18% of white people took this view).The good news this morning? God Bless David Gergen! Really--he was on This Week and said (check the video or transcript for exact wording), "When McCain's camp calls Obama "The Messiah" and "The One", he's really calling him "upitty." I'm from the South, and we understand what that means. That's code." Jake Tapper looked like he had been pole axed. Donna Brazille knew what he was talking about, of course. But GS, George Will, and Tapper had to be bluntly told the the way the world works by Mr. Blandly Bi-partisan....
Here's the video:
Late Update: A reader writes in to dispute that Tapper looks "pole axed" in response to Gergen's comment. And looking again he may be right, though it's possible he was pole axed on the inside.
--Josh Marshall
Election Central Sunday Roundup
John McCain's ad comparing Barack Obama to Paris Hilton infuriates one of his own maxed-out donors: Paris Hilton's mother. That and other political news in today's Election Central Sunday Roundup.
--Eric Kleefeld
