On Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:33:52 -0400, Eisboch wrote:


Two things have all but killed his chances:

1. The economy tanked on Sept 15th.
2. He was up against a smooth, motivational style speaker.

Clearly, those didn't help McCain, but from where I sit, he ran a very
poor campaign. I would put Palin as his biggest problem. Not because of
the inadequate vetting, but because she was picked to appeal to his
"base". Republicans that think they can pull the country to the right,
are wrong. This country is ruled from the center. It's the nature of a
two party system.

The sad part is McCain is one of the more bipartisan Senators. His
Maverick status was attractive to many Independents and some Democrats.
IMO, his mistake was in shifting to the right. He should have been
dragging his "base" along to the center.

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On Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:33:52 -0400, Eisboch wrote:


Two things have all but killed his chances:

1. The economy tanked on Sept 15th.
2. He was up against a smooth, motivational style speaker.



Clearly, those didn't help McCain, but from where I sit, he ran a very
poor campaign. I would put Palin as his biggest problem. Not because of
the inadequate vetting, but because she was picked to appeal to his
"base". Republicans that think they can pull the country to the right,
are wrong. This country is ruled from the center. It's the nature of a
two party system.

You may be correct, but for purposes of his campaign, visibility in the
press and resultant poll numbers, Palin didn't hurt him. To the contrary,
she contributed to a significant "bounce". Note, I said for "purposes of
his campaign". I am not commenting on her qualifications.

Even now, as more information is available and her popularity has dropped
off a bit, McCain's standings in the polls are still helped with her on the
ticket.

Eisboch

On Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:15:03 -0400, Eisboch wrote:


Even now, as more information is available and her popularity has
dropped off a bit, McCain's standings in the polls are still helped with
her on the ticket.

But where? These numbers may not be accurate anymore, but several months
back, the electorate was basically divide up as 1/3 Republicans, 1/3
Democrats, and 1/3 Independents. To win, McCain needs significant
Independents, and needs to poach some Democrats. I'll agree Palin
pleases many Republicans, but I haven't heard one Democrat say anything
good about her. We'll have to wait until Tuesday to see how the
Independents go. If McCain had gone with his first choice, Lieberman, I
think this would have been a much closer race. In many ways, Palin has
been a distraction.