Congratulations, President Obama

It's 7:24 pm MST and MSNBC just called Ohio for Obama. With Pennsylvania already in his pocket, Obama will be sworn in next January. McCain goes back to being a member of the minority party. And Palin goes back to obscurity.

It's over.

Dirty Politics

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This Is Really Surprising

Top Stories: | obama, campaign, area : Gazette.com

Even in an area dominated by Republicans, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has raised tens of thousands of dollars more than Sen. John McCain, a Gazette analysis of campaign finance records found.
Obama's money advantage in the Colorado Springs area is insignificant in the context of a record-breaking season for campaign spending, but any edge for a Democratic Party presidential candidate is a dramatic shift from historical trends.
Four years ago, President Bush's contributions from the Colorado Springs area were three times that of his rival, Sen. John Kerry. An edge for Obama is also the last thing many observers would expect from an area where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats 2 to 1.
As of the end of August, Obama brought in $265,920 in donations from the city and surrounding areas, compared to McCain's $202,626.

In a county that hosts more evangelical organizations than any other in America, including Focus on the Family, a Democrat beating a Republican in campaign donations must herald the millennium.

Gotta Love Sarah Palin

Palin Contradicts McCain On Pakistan, Seems To Back Obama’s Position - From The Road

She's doing so much to help the Obama campaign.

(PHILADELPHIA) Sarah Palin told a customer at a Philadelphia restaurant on Saturday that the United States should “absolutely” launch cross-border attacks from Afghanistan into Pakistan in the event that it becomes necessary to “stop the terrorists from coming any further in,” a comment similar to the one John McCain condemned Barack Obama for making during last night’s presidential debate.

During Friday’s debate, Obama criticized the Bush administration for sending billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan without ridding the border region of terrorists.

“If the United States has al Qaeda, bin Laden, top-level lieutenants in our sights, and Pakistan is unable or unwilling to act, then we should take them out,” Obama added.

McCain fired back hard, arguing that newly elected Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari has had his “hands full” and suggesting that Obama’s tough talk was naïve.

“You don’t say that out loud,” McCain said. “If you have to do things, you have to do things, and you work with the Pakistani government.”

Palin Continues to Not Answer Questions

Political Punch

September 07, 2008 9:41 AM

Rick Davis, campaign manager for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., just told Fox News Channel's Chris Wallace that McCain running mate Gov. Sarah Palin won't subject herself to any tough questions from reporters "until the point in time when she'll be treated with respect and deference."

Davis assailed the way the media had discussed Palin and her family in the last week and said the campaign would wait until a less hostile media environment.

So when will she subject herself to questions?

"When we think it's time and when she feels comfortable doing it," Davis said, praising a Fox News Channel profile of Palin that ran last night.

This strategy seems riskier as each day passes. Without Palin available to the press the McCain campaign is forfeiting a valuable means of controlling the election narrative. Only a visible, accessible VP candidate can guide the press coverage.

The longer she stays underground, the more afield the press reports will become. Is this a gamble McCain should accept?

Planned Parenthood Ad - Birth Control or Viagra, Senator?

This ad is about to hit the Colorado media:

The Dobsonites will likely have foaming conniptions, but I'm doubtful this will change many minds here. "Health care" means considerably more than "birth control."

Tax Returns & Resumes

The Page - by Mark Halperin - TIME

As reported by Time, Sen. Clinton is being called to produce by the Obama campaign. She hasn't yet released her tax returns, and now a "put-up-or-shut-up" challenge on her claims of experience adds another arrow in the Obama quiver. From the Obama memo:

She did not sit in on National Security Council meetings. She did not have a security clearance. She did not attend meetings in the Situation Room. She did not manage any part of the national security bureaucracy, nor did she have her own national security staff. She did not do any heavy-lifting with foreign governments, whether they were friendly or not. She never managed a foreign policy crisis, and there is no evidence to suggest that she participated in the decision-making that occurred in connection with any such crisis. As far as the record shows, Senator Clinton never answered the phone either to make a decision on any pressing national security issue – not at 3 AM or at any other time of day.

It's probably time to retire the experience argument anyway. Assuming it helps Sen. Clinton win the nomination, it places her at a disadvantage during a general election contest with Sen. McCain, who is surely taking notes on the Dem tactics.

Never Can Say Goodbye

Romney Wins Conservatives’ Straw Poll, After Dropping Out of Race

Ballots for the straw poll conducted at the Conservative Political Action Conference were collected Thursday morning through Friday afternoon. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, quit the race in a midday speech to the conference on Thursday.

In the straw poll vote, Romney got 35 percent and McCain 34 percent. Mike Huckabee and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas tied with 12 percent.

Romney won the straw poll at the conference last year.

It's not surprising that the straw poll went to Romney - it is, after all, a great chance to make an anti_McCain gesture. But here's some news that should worry Gov. Huckabee:

On another question, two-thirds said they would vote for McCain if he’s the eventual nominee, two in 10 said they would vote for someone else and about one in 10 said they would not vote.

At the starting gate, 2/3's of Huckabee's natural constituency has defected while another tenth will sit this one out. Doesn't leave much for the man who's trying for the "true conservative" mantle.

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McCain Uses Naughty Language, Says Romney

The Associated Press: Romney Offers Democrats McCain Playbook

"Choosing to ignore substance and relevant issues, the McCain way has always been to attack opponents in a personal manner," read a Jan. 5 e-mail from Romney press secretary Kevin Madden. "Defending his amnesty bill, Senator McCain lost his temper and screamed, 'Fk You!' at Texas Sen. John Cornyn."

Dick Cheney nods in sympathy.

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A Difference in Style

In speeches tonight, Sen. McCain began by complimenting his rivals, Govs. Romney and Huckabee. Sen Obama began his address by offering condolences and sympathy to those affected by violent storms in the South. He also expressed the hope that the Federal government will respond to the needs of those storm victims quickly and promptly.

Points to Obama for appearing more concerned about people and more critical of establishment Washington.