The Bitter End?

By Larry Thornberry 

 
TAMPA — The time left for the presidential race to take final shape has diminished from months to weeks to days, now to hours. Those who say the stars will align before tomorrow for the non-socialist, non-pacifist candidate in the race sound increasingly Pollyannaish and out of touch.

American politics is ever full of surprises. So the old fighter jock might still pull it out. Stranger things have happened. But it would take a while to think of one. Supporters of the conservative (relatively) alternative in this campaign are beginning to look a little desperate waving their frayed copies of the “Dewey Beats Truman” headline and nattering on about the “Bradley effect.” (more…)

Pain for McCain Remains in Campaign

By Chuck Muth

Yikes! I didn’t realize how strongly so many folks felt about this year’s presidential election until I wrote in my e-newsletter (subscribe at www.citizenoutreach.com) on Tuesday of my indecision between voting for Republican John McCain or Libertarian Bob Barr. In all honesty, the overwhelming majority of emails I received urged a vote for McCain. However…

Not with much enthusiasm. (more…)

But not much of a chance

By Chris Ingram

Forget all about the “national polls” that show John McCain trailing Barack Obama in the presidential race.  They are about as meaningful as your local weather forecaster’s “extended forecast” telling you the chance of rain next Thursday.

National polls are meaningless because there is no such thing as a national election in the United States.  While our president is elected to national office, his election is based on fifty individual state elections (plus Washington, D.C).  It’s called the Electoral College.

So why do media organizations conduct “national polls?” Because these national polls allow them to perch their journalists in front of a TV camera to spew all the information they think they know — mostly from people who have never worked on a single political campaign no less. (more…)

Being a hypocrite is no better

By Chuck Muth

In politics, there’s significant value in the ability to speak on particular issues with moral authority. There’s also a well-deserved penalty for being a hypocrite. Case in point: McCain-Palin calling Barack Obama a socialist.

First, let’s get this out of the way: Barack Obama IS a socialist. He wants the government to take money from those according to their ability and redistribute it – “spread it around” – to those according to their need. Or as the rock group Ten Years After put it, (more…)

Is desperate Hail Mary pass enough?  And what’s up with ticking off the Dallas Cowboys fans?

My friend Ron Danner e-mailed me this afternoon asking if I thought tonight was “do or die for McCain?” I gave him my short and hard analysis: it’s already over and the fat lady is about to sing.

This was of course before the debate.

I strongly criticized McCain’s last performance (Debate 2: Not McCain’s Night). Had he performed as admirably – albeit still not perfectly – in the previous debates as he did tonight, he wouldn’t be down 10 points in the polls.

Yes, McCain showed some of his odd and quirky behaviors that don’t look great on TV — but they do show the “real McCain” so many Americans from both parties find attractive – and on the whole he performed well. (more…)

Losing with Dignity and Ten Silver Linings

By Chuck Muth

The McCain campaign isn’t – as the Obama campaign likes to claim – Bush II. It’s more like Dole II.

There was no passion for or from Republican presidential nominee Sen. Bob Dole in the waning days of his1996 campaign. No energy. No excitement. No…nothing. And down the stretch, when the electoral writing appeared to be on the wall, Sen. Bob Dole decided to lose with dignity rather than throw the kitchen sink into the final days of the campaign hoping that something, anything, might stick and pull out a win. It’s déjà vu all over again in 2008. (more…)

Understanding the “con” in Congress

by Chuck Muth

It is a testament to the inherent wisdom of the American people that despite the enormously complicated nature of this financial mess, the vast majority fully understood that the $700 billion bailout was wrong. Trusting the government to fix the very problem it created is like trusting an arsonist to put out a fire he himself lit.

The first sign that this deal stunk like yesterday’s diapers was the rush to do it. That’s almost always a sure bet that our political overlords have something to hide; something they need to get done before the rubes wake up and smell the burnt coffee. (more…)

There’s still hope if you get your act together

By Jamie Miller

I’m often asked by friends, colleagues or members of the press to tell them what advice I would give if I were involved with Sen. McCain’s campaign.

Here is what I would tell McCain.

First, with 28 days until Election Day, all is not lost. The economy is bad, the debates were bad and the campaign has been bad. The good news is, you are running against an opponent who has still not made the sale to the American people. (more…)

Style matters and McCain doesn’t have it

By Chris Ingram

If you were looking for political theater at last night’s presidential “debate,” you were sorely disappointed. And if you were a McCain supporter looking for the maverick to land a knock-out punch as I was, it was a double-dose of disappointment.

Simply put, McCain left his “A” game at the office. In failing to land the needed body-blow, Obama gets the win. And while Obama’s was a technical win, he did not perform poorly – particularly when it came to his communications style compared to McCain’s.

And therein, lays the reason McCain continues to struggle. Obama knows how to communicate and John McCain doesn’t. The subtle nuances of these two candidates’ very different communication styles don’t mean much individually, but collectively they make the maverick appear unpleasant and Obama more like the guy you’d like to sit down and have a beer with. Unfortunately in American politics, that’s what matters. It is why Bill Clinton beat George Bush in 1992 and it is why George W. Bush beat Al Gore in 2000 (with Katherine Harris’ help of course — as my Democrat friends like to remind me). (more…)

You call this a debate?

By Chuck Muth

First, a “Where’s Waldo?” question: Where’s the fighting John McCain candidate from 2000 who promised to “beat Al Gore like a drum?”

Tonight’s debate made my blood boil and I think it’s time the American public said, “We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore.” No, I’m not talking about either of the candidates. I’m talking about the debates themselves.

Every election cycle we get these stale, scripted glorified press conferences where the “rules” are determined by the candidates’ campaigns, not the voters who want to hear what they have to say. And according to the “rules,” the one thing the candidates aren’t ever seemingly allowed to do is…debate his or her opponent. Hello? (more…)