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Edited on Mon Oct-13-08 11:29 PM by amborin
<snip> "....Just about everyone is suggesting John McCain find a more effective way to address the American people's current economic insecurity. But instead of starting the week with a concerted effort on that front, the campaign decided over the weekend that it would decline to unveil any new ideas. Reached for comment, spokesman Tucker Bounds said, "We do not have any immediate plans to announce any policy proposals outside of the proposals that John McCain has announced." McCain's top policy man Douglas Holtz-Eakin could only add, "I have no comment on anything, to anybody."The Obama campaign is determined to make them pay for their inaction. This morning, it unveiled a "rescue plan for the middle class" that is essentially a bailout for the rest of us. To create jobs, Obama proposes to (1) give companies a $3,000 refundable tax credit for every job they create in America; (2) eliminate the capital gains taxes for small businesses; and (3) finance public works projects that the campaign estimates will save or create one million jobs. But the plan doesn't stop there. It seeks to extend unemployment insurance for an additional 13 weeks. It reforms the bankruptcy code to remove impediments to broader mortgage restructurings. It includes a 90-day foreclosure moratorium (a plan first proposed by Hillary Clinton many months ago). It marks billions for state and municipal fiscal relief, including loans for entities like California struggling with the credit crisis. It even gets down to the nuts and bolts, offering help with high heating prices and a plan to permit small withdrawals from retirement accounts without penalties. You can see the whole plan here .
In a recent poll, voters said they see Obama as more in touch with the economic problems of everyday people. It wasn't close: 58 percent picked Obama as better on the question; just 28 percent picked McCain. Monday's plan, should it achieve significant exposure on the cable networks or in the major papers, will likely cement that perception and worsen McCain's electoral problems. It is a prospect the McCain campaign must dread.
Update: A reader writes in and speculates that McCain is setting the table for a surprise announcement at Wednesday's debate.
<http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/10/10221_obama_new_economic_proposals.html>
plus:
McCain's John Lewis Flip-Flop
Remember when John McCain said that one of the three "wisest people" he would "rely heavily on" in his administration was Democratic Congressman and civil rights legend John Lewis?
That seems unlikely nowadays, given that Lewis is accusing McCain of "sowing the seeds of hatred and division" a la George Wallace, and McCain is charging Lewis with "a brazen and baseless attack on my character." It's going to be awkward when they cross paths in the Capitol cafeteria...
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McCain Campaign: We Meant We'd Unveil New Economic Plans Tuesday
The McCain campaign is getting hammered all over the place for promising new economic plans over the weekend and then announcing they had nothing to announce today.
The move sent a strong signal that McCain either didn't appreciate the difficulties facing everyday folks, or didn't have any solutions for them. It was doubly damaging because, as I note below, the Obama campaign let loose with a slew of economic proposals designed to help working Americans and small businesses.
Either the negative press surrounding this situation convinced the McCain campaign that it needed to do something, or it always intended to unroll a new economic platform Tuesday and did a terrible job of communicating it. Either way, they are now saying that McCain "never intended" to address the economy today, as previously understood, and will do so tomorrow.
I'm betting McCain's economic policy team is working overtime tonight. Get me a series of economic policies that strike a populist tone while staying true to my fiscally conservative record, combine to articulate a clear vision for the country, and will turn around my failing campaign! You have ten hours!
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McCain's New Lurch: I Will Fight, Fight, Fight, Fight, Fight
by David Corn....
John McCain offers his newest lurch today.
In a speech he is to give in Virginia Beach, McCain says 17 times that he will fight for America, according to his prepared remarks. He repeatedly calls himself a "fighter." And he's an experienced fighter who won't--like you know who--have to study up on issues before making command decisions.
Over and over in this new stump speech, McCain says he is ready to fight--for the country, for change, for a new direction, for the future, for the children, for justice for all. Seriously.
Times are tough, McCain notes, but America is worth fighting for. It needs a fighter like John McCain, who is a real fighter who has always been a fighter for America.
In other words, vote for the fight guy. Here's how the speech ends:
I know what hopelessness feels like. It's an enemy who defeats your will. I felt those things once before. I will never let them in again. I'm an American. And I choose to fight. Don't give up hope. Be strong. Have courage. And fight. Fight for a new direction for our country. Fight for what's right for America.
Fight to clean up the mess of corruption, infighting and selfishness in Washington. Fight to get our economy out of the ditch and back in the lead. Fight for the ideals and character of a free people. Fight for our children's future. Fight for justice and opportunity for all. Stand up to defend our country from its enemies. Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight.
America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.
Get the picture?
This new pitch doesn't even qualify as a Hail Mary. It seems not substantial enough to rate as a real play. It's as if McCain's handlers did a focus group and found that the one word undecided voters associate positively with McCain is "fighter." And that's all McCain's strategist have to work with.
That wouldn't be a shock. The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll is loaded with bad news for the McCainiacs. Not only is Obama up by 10 points among registered voters, but Obama is seen by more registered voters (55 percent) as a safe choice for president than McCain (50 percent).
Worse for McCain, the poll shows that far more voters believe he is attacking his opponent rather than addressing the issues (59 percent) than those who feel the same about Obama (26 percent.) And McCain's favorable rating has in the past month dropped from 59 percent to 52 percent, while Obama's has gone up from 58 percent to 64 percent.
Which means McCain's blistering attacks against Obama have boomeranged. They have made him seem a candidate mired in mud. If the poll is accurate, then the McCain campaign cannot stick to this road. Though McCain promised die-hard (rabid, that is) supporters last week he would blast Obama with Bill Ayers at the final debate Wednesday night, it could well be counterproductive for him to do so.
What are his options, then? McCain and his advisers appear to believe it's to say the word "fight" over and over. To reprise the POW pitch and offer McCain to voters as a fighter. Rah, rah. Fight, team, fight. This seems rather pathetic. It is true that the first thing a candidate has to do when he's in a hole is to stop digging. But McCain may need a better ladder than this."
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