Is McCain winning the week?

Sorry, but if you had been paying attention, you would know that Russian operatives have been trying to stir up enough trouble to get Georgia to do something, setting the bait for the trap as it were, and Georgia took the Russian bait. This has been going on since March 2008 when Russia flew through firing at Georgia building. Check the International Herald and the New York Times and you can verify this fact. It is similiar to what Hitler did in the Sudentenalnd of Czechoslovakia and in Danzig, in order to establish a pretext to invade.

So Cindy McCain said that these people only want to go home. Sounds like the over one million refugees from Iraq. Is she going to visit with them, too?

The same could be said of Bush/Nato trying to bait the Bear. Did anyone REALLY think Russia would be happy playing the role of defeated super power? I'm not disagreeing with your point on them trying to get "Georgia to do something" but shouldn't that have been obvious? Just as obvious that we were NOT going to be greeted as liberators in Iraq. They've set up the dominoes just waiting for Georgia, which had been led to believe we would support them militarily, to knock them down. Isn't Condi Rice an expert on Russia? Shouldn't she have seen this coming? So I stand by my statements. The Russians didn't make Saakashvili play the game, he chose to take the bait and that makes him as culpable the the Russians. Unfortunately the black and white thinking of Mrs. McCain's statement of "can't go home because of what has happened to them and because of the situation that the Russians have caused," is exactly what we don't need. We've had enough of that simplistic and ridiculous rhetoric, I for one am ready for an Administration in the White House that can think in shades of gray.

I'm ready for an Administration in the White House that can think.

Amen

"The only place these people want to be is home, and they can't go home because of what has happened to them and because of the situation that the Russians have caused,"

Replace the Georgians with our soldiers and replace the Russians with President Bush and she's made a good point. Our soldiers can't come home because of what has happened to them and because of the situation caused by President Bush. We need to but out of this Russian conflict because we don't have the muscle to back up our words and we don't have the trust and faith of the world that we don't have something personally to gain (which we do.................3 guesses what it might be.................OIL< OIL< OIL (access to it)!!!

Wow, what a wierd editorial: McCain wins the week? This column should be entitled: HOPE VERSUS DESPERATION. I guess that validates the phrase, "Stupid Is as Stupid Does".

If you are a woman and vote for McCain JUST because he ticketed a female for the VeeP spot, than you have had NO INTEREST in Hillary Clinton's fight for women's rights what-so-ever. This is the quintessential John McCain USING A WOMAN to gain an advantage for his own personal aspirations. Oh, yeah. He did this once before when his dumped his first wife for Rich Cindy!

The upcoming Republican Convention will be another old story of negative attacks with no substance.

Now HERE ABOVE is a boneheaded post.

WAKE UP AMERICA - YOU ARE BEING MANIPULATED BY THE PRESS - keep the race tight, keep it in the NEWS... its MONEY that talks in America and money manipulates the press who manipulate the people...

By the way - I DONT BELIEVE THE POLLS ONE BIT - MOST OBAMA SUPPORTERS HAVE CELL-PHONES WHICH ARE *NOT* POLLED - by law only land-line phones are polled i.e. older people who havent given up land-lines for cell phones or poor people that cant afford a land-line and a cell-phone... this election is going to be so one-sided its going to be rediculous... DOWN WITH MCSAME UP WITH OBAMA...

Now here come the paid republican bloggers to spew their filth, hatred, lies and innuendo....

The pollsters are very in tune with cell phones and with categorical and demographical data; the sample must address different groups to get a representative cross section in oeder for them to make their inferences with margins of error. You comments are not even close to accurate...you need to take basic statistics and telecommunication classes.

DA you are indeed the consumate idiot.

I DONT BELIEVE THE POLLS ONE BIT - MOST OBAMA SUPPORTERS HAVE CELL-PHONES WHICH ARE *NOT* POLLED - by law only land-line phones are polled i.e. older people who havent given up land-lines for cell phones or poor people that cant afford a land-line and a cell-phone.

While cell phones are a minor factor, that is why there is a margin of error , the facts are that American Voters can't TEXT their vote. Right now 84 percent of all home have at least 1 land line.
Pollsters typically conduct polls based on an age range demographic. For example polling 100 people who were 80's would give you and entirely incorrect number as opposed to a 20 percent breakdown of 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 60-70, 70-80.

The inherent value of polls is not as a predictor but rather as trend anaylsis. Often the comparison of polls can often indicate a likelyhood of a particular outcome.

For example:

Obama based on todays daily gallup has a 1 percent convention bump
Bill Clinton had a 16 percent convention bump
Therefore we can conclude that Obama is not Bill Clinton and he has nbot been effective reaching voters

Anyone looking at the broad polling, bear in mind polling is conducted by independent organizations not media, this will be a very close race.

To suggest anything else is simple a refusal to see the facts.

Often the reason a candidate loses is his supporters feel over-confident and dont make the effort to get out the vote. They "assume" that they are so far ahead that it is a "sure thing".

Obama's biggest failing in my opinion is that he has not come clean with his supporters and said "look this is close, every vote counts". There will be no landslide.

You can look at a prime exmple of tis "overconfidence" in the 72 election. McGovern supports were SO SURE everyone was so anti-war they would give McGovern a landslide, They were SO SURE that the youth vote would be there in record numbers it would be a landslide.

Nixon won 49 electoral states. One of the worst defeats of the Democratic party in history. McGovern, much like Obama, did not connect with the Moderate base of the party or moderate voters at large and lost miserably.

If Obama's ego does not allow him to 'come clean' with his supporters and admit its a close race he could easily lose by 10-12 points, with a major loss, electoral college wise.

For example:

Obama based on todays daily gallup has a 1 percent convention bump
Bill Clinton had a 16 percent convention bump
Therefore we can conclude that Obama is not Bill Clinton and he has nbot been effective reaching voters

Your conclusion is not congruent with your example. We don't know how long after Bill Clinton's convention your numbers was taken? We also haven't heard from the candidate himself and your number for Bill was likely taken sometime after Bill address the delegates. You are taking numbers from two different places in history to make a point which is false. And in fact many of the poll trended strongly for Hillary during the primaries but those polls show how wrong these polls and their trends can be. I agree with Devils advocate that the media wants this to be a REAL RACE and they benefit enormously (ratings and advertising $'s) by it being a close race so who is not to say that media coverage sways to keep it close and who is not to say that these "polls" which are meant to be representative aren't just more evidence put forth to make the race appear close and keep people tuned in. It's not as if the samples used are very large or as if we're able to moitor in any way who they are sampling for these polls so nobody knows for sure how representative they are.

This is just another example of how stupid Americans have gotten over the past eight years.

mcrochip - totally agree - Cindy McCain needs to go where McCain wants all the women to go - back in the home and out of the work-place... This woman has NO BUSINESS representing the USA - she is nobody but a pill-popping, wife-stealing heiress that framed a co-worker in order to steal her addictive drugs... thats a felony charge by the way... she paid her way out of that one...

The thought of having a woman as our first lady who allowed herself to be auctioned off at a bikers rally makes me SHUDDER... A women who allows herself to be called the *c* word by her husband has no self-respect... Cindy McCain is obviously a woman who has been used and abused and ridden hard to the stable... she even look bulemic or anorexic...

DA:

You are truly amazing.

Rod Staff, it WAS McCain who criticized Obama for going overseas (yes, even though he criticized Obama for not having gone overseas..................see why we don't like him). When Obama took McCain's challenge to go overseas and got better coverage than he did he whined that it was not Obama's place to go on diplomatic trips overseas as the mere nominee of his party. Before you argue the facts you might want to figure out what they are.

Cindy McCain was sent to Georgia for publicity purposes during an important week for the Democrats, Barack Obama, in particular. Imagine what would have been said if Michelle Obama went on such a trip. John McCain should realize you can't have it both ways - do whatever he wants (for publicity sake) and criticize others (for no reason).

MG from IL

Cindy McCain had no business going to Georgia as a person for publicity purposes, she was just someone traveling into a war torn country to see all the damage that had been done, her role in this race has not place at all, and another thing think would you send your wife in harms was, McCain is really confused I guess he thought he would send her for a tea party.

Chargerguy- Question? How does Hannity and Limbaugh manage to do *their* jobs with their heads so far up McCains back side??

Devils.Advocate,

Answer, Because they were looking at the 32 videos that McCain did for the VC while he was in the PRISON CAMP

Cindy's checking out the drugs supply. Maybe she can start a new charity she can steal from.

Nope. First time ever..

Now with the advantage of hindsite. Contrast what Obama is doing during the RNC. He is being gracious and letting them have their party. Not the first time he has taken the high road. Probably not the last...

We shouldnt even be supporting Georgia until they depose their mass-murdering dictator who invaded Ossia first and killed 10,000 people before Russia stepped in...

Their leader made a BIG mistake thinking the USA would get involved - we are spread too thin and I dont think the American People will be fooled again into an improper war...

It does seem to mesh with what Putin is saying:

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of orchestrating the conflict in Georgia to benefit one of its presidential election candidates.

source: cnn

S. Ossatia only has a population of about 70000 total...make that 60000 according to DAh. You're kill count needs to be normalized (divided DA) by a factor of at least 100. No official death count has been recorded DA. Wouldn't recommend going into the investigative business.

Would it be the first time the Republicans got us in or kept us in a conflict to win the White House? That's their trump card and they have to set the stage so if things go south for McCain he can do something stupid and try to frighten people into staying with the status quo.

Ray - at least if we win or loose Obama's campaign has tried to establish a BIT OF INTEGRITY back into the election process by not going straight to IMPROPER ATTACK ADS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO SAY BUT LIES, INNUENDOS, FALSE INFORMATION AND UNTRUTHS....

That alone is a victory - I think its time the American People learn to research politics beyond the 30 second sound bites during commerical breaks... or... when they are finally living on the streets reality will slap them in the face which party is looking out for the common man... i.e. Democrats

GO OBAMA

As sad as it might be, sometime's you have to play their game to win. Bush got away with it twice. Al Gore and Kerry played it straight and lost. They still have their dignity but it cost the country 8 year's of this criminal administration.

One question we all need to ask during the Republican convention next week is how many people watched? I know for one I won't be tuned in. Less than 1/2 the amount of people tuned in for Republican debates as tuned in to Democratic debates. If the Republicans want to call their convention successful they need to prove that more people were actually watching (cared what they had to say).

Amy, that's because many Republicans watch BOTH, but the Dems are too busy beating their own chest to be bothered with anything the other side has to say.

They've always been that way. Closed minded and opened mouthed. We got through Sore/Loserman in 2000, Lurch and Bedwards in 2004 and we'll get through this too. Just say NOBAMA!

Well the mcain group may try to create a rain day (hurricane concerns... please)so they can try and scramble their other lies together. Mshame the American People are on to you. You can run and hide but we still know who you are...

Makes me proud to be an American!!!

Gives me hope we may actually get out of this administration alive and with our houses/jobs/country.

And the rest of the world pays much more than that....consider yourself fortunate.

As my mother would have said, though, "You don't live in their house, you live in ours."

Translation: since when does the price of gas in other nations invalidate the claim that a massive spike in our own prices over the last 8 years is a sign of mistaken energy policy?

Translation: since when does the price of gas in other nations invalidate the claim that a massive spike in our own prices over the last 8 years is a sign of mistaken energy policy?

The reasons why gas prices went up include, higher wages for workers in the industry, increased regulation costs caused by state and local agencies. Increase in infrastructure building costs. Gasoline is now a "revenue generator" for most state governments therefore taxes have been raise by BOTH state and Federal government, increased transportation costs.

A dramatic increase in Global demand (china and japan) and to a small degree market speculation. A large part of the demand was Amrerican drivers who wanted fuel inefficient vehicles. Since we dont live in a communist country, the federal government cannot 'force' people into small cars.

If anything our government has kept US prices artificially low by not charging taxes at a rate comparable to other countries.

Gas prices would have gone up regardless of whom had been President because it is a "global market"and we are just one part of that global economy, I am sorry but the world no longer revolves around the United States. We use more than we produce, plain and simple.

Its like saying because gas was 39 cents in 1960 its every presidents fault its now expensive. Not a logical argument.

The reason gas prices went up was because we went to war first of all and we weren't sure what that would do to gas supply, we also had major hurricanes which affected gas supply but the largest increase was from 2006-2008 when Bush no longer allowed the SEC to monitor and regulate the commodities market. It is so coincidence that since congress began investigating and watching the commodities markets for short selling that the price of oil has declined 20% since 4th of July!! People got while the getting was good and took their huge profits and ran. Deregulation by this administration has brought about the majority of problems we have right now. Little oversight from the FDA has brought more food recalls then we've seen in history, more dangerous products and toys, more bad loans, higher commodity prices across the board from food to oil. We use more oil than any other country. Our prices should be lower than for any other country. That is simple supply and demand (buy more save more and pay a better price) but we've been raped by people who took advantage of insider commodities trading and had no protection or oversight from our government. Bush's friends need to make more money somehow since his contractor buddies see the writing on the wall in Iraq.

Dr. Snort - and ALOT of the world pays far less than that - why dont you drive to Mexico like alot of the people do on the border to get their gas prices far far cheaper...

You talk about having your facts straight - check out the gas prices in Mexico...

Amy, sorry, nice try, but the deregulation you are referring to happened during the Clinton Administration.

DA, The reason gas is cheaper in Mexico is because of Mexican Government subsidies.

ALL LIBERALS, why are you complaining about gas prices?? You want alternatives, and high gas prices are necessary in order for alternatives to be competitive. If you are so concerned that the planet is going to self implode from all the CO2, as you all seem to be, you should be cheering the high price of gas.

Doubt if anyone will see this, but it's interesting to me that no one actually addressed the logical context of my comment. Other people pay more, but that in itself doesn't invalidate a negative evaluation of our domestic energy policy. All I claimed, all I meant. And no one addressed that specific point.

Very revealing.

Link to the poll mentioned above

They will throw the sink, furniture, etc.at Obama from the house.....because the house is getting foreclosed on LOL!!!

That's the problem. You stopped paying attention to anything but Obama. Hardly the way to come to a rational and intelligent conclusion.

Keep his campaign clean? Didn't you see McCain on Leno monday, saying the new ads aren't negative or nasty, they were designed to be funny? What's wrong with some good, clean humor in politics? I'm mean, Karl Rove is one funny guy. Didn't you see him rapping? He's the life of the Party...the Greed Over Partiotism (GOP) party.

when you are losing you resort to lies and smears and thats all you are getting from McCain is lies and smears

Whala,

A republican telling a democrat to pay attention to come to a rational conclusion is such an irony. I've never seen a group so happy with their blinders on. Stay in your cave while the rest of us deal with reality.

Amy, you mean the small slice of reality you can see from the entrance to your own cave?

Whala, these losers are the same arrogant bunch that railed about how Lurch Kerry would win in 2004. What can I tell you except-THEY ARE STILL INSANE.

But it was Obama that promised to use public financing then he went back on his word! He also is trying to stop the add by a 527 group from telling the truth about his connection with Bill Ayers-the domestic terrorist who Obuma had his "coming out/getting into politics" party at Bill's home. Bill Ayers and Obuma were on a "education" for the ghetto board that collected $48 million dollars that no one has any idea where it is! America is finding out who Barrack Huissien Obama is! the polls will continue to go DOWN FOR OBUMA! NOBAMA IN 2008!

Mcain sold his soul to the right wing of the republican party (something he used to hate) to get on the ticket. He wasn't always this way. Now he has chosen a far right running mate that the far right of the party hand picked "for" him because she is a wingnut woman. Giving in to those people is a very slippery slope. Sad... I used to respect him.

Prediction: From here on out, it will be about devising the country on ANY issue where we disagree, rather than coming together on the important issues we do agree on. Result? if Mcain is elected, 4 more years of division and nothing getting done. 4 more years of falling behind, and further in debt. Mark my words...