I'm going to say it right away, I am a very optimistic liberal. So don't get your hopes up about what I am going to say. However, maybe the fact that I am an optimistic liberal gives this argument even more credibility.

You see, the Georgia Senate race, as most of you probably realize, is going to be all about energizing the base. Everything will depend on who will be able to get the most diehard Republicans or Democrats to the polls. Now, when I see all these Republican ads attacking Jim Martin, I don't feel the usual, "Oh man, that's a good ad, I wonder how Jim Martin is going to be able to retaliate..." as I did even in the final stages of the General Election. I actually feel some kind of pity towards Jim Martin, and in the end, I get a more positive image of him.

Remember how John McCain's attack ads all backfired? Well, that's more or less what's going to happen in Georgia, because this election isn't about pulling moderate democrats over to the Repubs, but energizing the base. Certainly, this will energize the deep Republican crowd, but it will also make all the mildly enthusiastic dems want to get up and go to the polls.

I used not to have very positive feelings about Martin, thinking he was just another southern conservative democrat, whose ideas lean more to the right than I like, but now, I want to see him mop the floor with Saxby Chambliss's face next Tuesday. And this is probably how the democrats in Georgia feel when they see these ads.

That's exactly what happened during the General Election; therefore, I believe that those darned GOPers are making exactly the same mistake!

http://www.pollster.com/blogs/az_mccain_44_obama_42_ immerma.php

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/state_toplines/arizona/toplines_arizona_president_october_26_2008

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14942.html

Please rec. I wonder why TPM didn't talk about this...

I'm worried about the increasing anger in McCain rallies. I think that Obama realizes that crazed Repubs are a threat, which I think explains the fact that for the third day straight, Obama has not been campaigning anywhere.

I think he understands that he's pretty much won the election, so he's increasing his presence in ads, and decreasing it in public, so as not to take unnecessary risks.

Play it safe, Obama, we're worried about you.

 

PS though it could be that he's just preparing for the debate. What do you think?

Why is that baby attending the post-debate party? It's way past his bedtime!
Bad parenting, I say.

The McCain campaign seems to be airing a lot of "shame on Obama" ads, and they all seem to be working very efficiently. They can thus choke Obama's attacks, all while making him look bad: "How disrespectful" and, pardon me, absolute bullsh!t like that. So why doesn't Obama reciprocate, with "shame on McCain" for guess what? LYING. McPants on fire (yeah, I know, kinda lame) and Miss Alaska have been doing nothing but that since the beginning of the Republican Convention.
Here's how I propose Obama should present McCain in the election: Lying, lying, lying, more of the same, lying, lying, lying senile, hotheaded grampa McBush. Did I forget lying? Same thing about Palin by the way: she's just as hotheaded I would bet, and just as much as a liar, and guess what? She'll soon be a grandmother.

I just spotted some McCain ads scattered around the site! What is TPM thinking?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G9jA-FGGd8

Please recommend!

    The primary season is over. It was a long, hard fight, and a lot of damage was done. Throughout the primaries both candidates have been subject to thorough attacks, but Senator Barack Obama has obviously been the main target. In the last month, a few new polls were released, indicating that Senator Clinton would do better against Senator John McCain during the General Election than Senator Obama. Actually, if it weren't for the quite moronic gaffes Senator McCain has been making, Senator Obama would probably be behind him in the polls.
    Now Senator Clinton has realized this, and I'm pretty sure the only reason she didn't step down yesterday, was to help Senator Obama win the general. I know, this is a pretty surprising declaration, so let me explain:
    Everybody, when looking at Senator Clinton's speech, was obviously eager to know whether yesterday night was officially the end of the Democratic Nomination process. True, Senator Obama claimed an overall delegate majority and yesterday's primaries were the last primaries of the season, but the cherry on the cake would have been a long awaited Senator Clinton dropout.
    Look at the speech again. Notice that at the beginning she is very congratulatory towards Senator Obama, congratulating him on a great nomination race, explaining that he would be a great leader to this country. I believe she's trying to repair the damage she's done. Especially after what she's been saying today: constant compliments of Senator Obama, such as the statement that he would be a good friend to Israel.
    This brings me to my conclusion: the reason why Senator Hillary Clinton hasn't dropped out yet is to keep the attention on her so that she can pass as many points as possible as to why Senator Obama should be elected President. She's basically helping Senator Obama get past the new difficulty: not alienating her voters. Her objective now, I think, is to lower the near 50% of her supports who wouldn't vote for Senator Obama in the General. Thus she can at least help a Democrat into the White House and maybe by doing so get Senator Obama's favor to become his Vice President, though I would say that's very unlikely.

I just heard on the radio while I was at the dentist's office (poor, poor me) that Sen. Kennedy's brain surgery today was successful! Let's just cross our fingers and, like Obama would say, hope that this fantastic and beloved politician gets well soon!

GET BETTER TEDDY!
LOTS OF LOVE FROM TPM!

I've just seen the nuclear option video.

Now I've seen Hillary bringing up JFK's assassination... Maybe that's the nuclear option!?!?!

Hillary's just scaring me now!!!!!

P.S. what movie does that nuclear explosion come from?

Why do the dems seem to be picking up huge quantities of delegates this year?

I think I know why: because of the primaries! This is probably one of the only good things about the democratic primary dragging on so long, especially with it being so highly publicized.

Since the Republican race is already over, when the dems came to start battling in NC, there was no republican primary to counterbalance all the publicity. Therefore, we see a new possible democratic senate pickup: North Carolina!

I think this point deserves exploring. Do you agree?

Today I thought that, just for the fun of it, I would count the amount of delegates Hillary Clinton has won since she was "back in the race", meaning, since March 4th, with the Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont primaries/caucuses.

The numbers are quite alarming, in the sense that some people (including me) actually thought things were looking a bit better for Hillary. Take a look:

::March 4th:

-In TX primary/caucus, Obama won 99 delegates versus Hillary's 94
-In OH primary, Hillary won 74 delegates versus Obama's 67
-In RI primary, Hillary won 13 delegates versus Obama's 8
-In VT primary, Obama won 9 delegates versus Hillary's 6
-In total, Hillary won 187 delegates versus Obama 183

::March 8th:
-In WY caucus, Obama won 7 delegates versus Hillary's 5

::March 11th
-In MS primary, Obama won 20 delegates versus Hillary's 13

::April 22nd
-In PA primary, Hillary won 83 delegates versus Obama's 73

Now lets add it up.

Hillary:
187 + 5 + 13 + 83 = 288

and

Obama:
183 + 7 + 20 + 73 = 283

Which means that even if Hillary's campaign has been repeating over and over again that they were "back in the race" (and, I'll admit it, I was starting to think so too), they've only really netted 5 delegates. Publicity and Hillary's straight face throughout (unlike before the New Hampshire primary) added to this illusion.

Thank you for reading this post. If you enjoyed it or thought it helpful, please remember to recommend it, and of course, have a nice day!

Obama just came with a good new line:

"McCain is running for Bush's third term"

Whatcha think?

We should all be happy: we, Americans, now have the possibility to have the best commander-in-chief the world has ever seen.

One that will engage in all sorts of dangerous activities for the sheer purpose for defending our country's honor. One that will fire a gun behind cottages and dodge sniper fire and answer phone calls in the dead of the night to make us feel safer.

Yes, the time has come, America, for us to become a powerful nation once more with one woman: Hillary Clinton.

P.S. Look at how this fantastic woman deals with a difficult situation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHVEDq6RVXc

Mr. McCain must be having quite a holiday now. Sit back and relax. No need to campaign. Totally chillin'.

Oh wait a second! Obama's just made a small town America comment! I need to attack him a bit on that one!

Oh no! He's responded beautifully! What to do, what to do?

Sit back and relax.

Why? Because Hillary's just done a good counter-response. No, actually because Hillary is basically doing all the dirty work for McCain. He doesn't need to make thorough attacks against Obama: Hillary's doing them for him. He doesn't need to campaign: Hillary's doing it for him:

“I think that since we now know Sen. (John) McCain will be the nominee for the Republican Party, national security will be front and center in this election. We all know that. And I think it’s imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate we can cross the commander-in-chief threshold.”

and

“I believe that I’ve done that. Certainly, Sen. McCain has done that and you’ll have to ask Sen. Obama with respect to his candidacy.”

and

“I think that I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. Sen. John McCain has a lifetime of experience that he’d bring to the White House. And Sen. Obama has a speech he gave in 2002.”

Hillary, just stop it. I think it's better for the democrats if you are the one sitting back and relaxing, while McCain is the one doing his flimsy Republican attacks.