Barack Obama Elected President!

[Jess]

McCain has been a little weird on this. As I said previously, I thought his stunt was pretty clever. But, I thought he would do something when he was in Washington.

I think he has decided that America hates the bailout and that he just wants to pander and hope he makes it to November. All he is saying is that he doesn't want a bailout. I don't think America wants this. I know I'm not happy about it, but I think it's better than an economic meltdown. I'm not a big fan of Bush, but we only have one president at a time. Hell, at least his party should help him out.

[GoldenDogs]

Dems Blast McCain After Bailout Negotiations Go Sour

“Here’s my observation and I think this may have been confirmed at the meeting today — when you inject presidential politics into delicate negotiations, sometimes it’s not helpful. The cameras change things,” Obama told FOX News after the meeting ended. “It’s not clear to me that having presidential candidates in a high-profile way in the negotiating process is useful.”

Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill were more blunt.

“He’s slowed it down,” Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said of McCain’s impact on the negotiations. “The next thing we know, he’s in a position frankly where he’s making it harder to get things done, rather than help us negotiate differences.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused McCain of saying nothing substantive in the White House meeting.

“John McCain hasn’t voted in the Senate since sometime last April. And I say very sincerely that he has done nothing since he’s been here the last few hours to help this process,” Reid said.

--------------------

Okay, do these morons compare talking point notes before stepping before the cameras? How could McCain slow things down, according to Frank, if, as Harry Reid claims, he has said nothing substantive at the meeting and has done nothing?

Liars. Now WHO is playing politics? This is why so many Americans detest politics.

It must be a cold day in hell because I'm at a point, this evening at 7:52pm PT, where I am saying that most fair, most reasonable, painfully honest politician on the issue of these bailout negotiations has been former President William Jefferson Clinton.

God help us.

[Jess]

I think they wanted him to bring the conservative R's around to something. It should not be up the Democrats to bring the Republicans around to a Republican president's plan. It sounds like right now there is a bi-partisan working group trying to solve this problem -- A Republican president, Democratic senators, Democratic House members, the Democratic presidential nominee, and some Republican senators.

The Republican presidential nominee and the Republican House is MIA.

I guess it's a smart political strategy for McCain. If he does nothing, he makes no one mad.

[GoldenDogs]

It isn't about McCain, Jess... it is about the American people and there seems to be a growing rumbling around that country that constituents aren't thrilled about this. That's why the House is MIA. When they proclaimed they were close to a deal earlier today, they did so without considering the House of Representatives... or the calls coming in to those representatives from their districts.

People want accountability. And, yes, this is right up McCain's alley. But McCain isn't going to push policy when the American people aren't behind it.

The gravity of this underscores, again, why McCain's decision to forsake a debate and respond to requests to come to Washington is the right one.

They are going to spending OUR money, Jess. I think both McCain and Obama need to be there... this problem will fall into one of their laps come January.

[bandbfan]

Caught some of Chris Rock on LKL and agree with something he said. I'm actually feeling sorry for Palin in some of these interviews because she seems so timid.

[Roman]

You are truly the LAST person who should speak of making stuff up about anyone or anything, my friend.

[David_Vickers]

Barack Obama has NEVER shirked his dutes as an elected representative. That's a bold face lie. Voting "present' is not not voting at all, it's a normal thing in the Illinois state legistlature. It's a negotiating tactic plain and simple. I've see you'be been drinking the same ol' GOP kool-aid. lol.

John McCain is NOT right on a damned thing. McCain just said a week ago (the most recent) that the economy was good. McCain is making a fool out of himself especially about not attending tomorrow night's debate. This is all going to slap in the face even more than it already has. I look for his poll numbers to drop to where Obama's over 10% above McCain.

[Roman]

If McCain is helping so much.......why is it being reported that eh sat in the meeting and hardly said a word?

[Roman]

And, if I may add....

HE ADMITTED HE HADN'T EVEN READ THE DAMN BILL.......ALL 3 [!@#$%^&*] PAGES OF IT?!

[GoldenDogs]

Sorry to disappoint you, Mulder, but McCain is actually getting a bounce.

Zogby: McCain by two — thanks to his decision to suspend the campaign

The survey, half conducted before McCain’s announcement Wednesday that he would suspend his campaign to concentrate on the financial crisis and half conducted after the announcement, shows movement in McCain’s favor after his announcement. Before the announcement - which included about half of the total polling sample - Obama led by one point. But McCain led by 5 points in polling completed after his statement about the suspension of his campaign.

And before you freak out...

No, I don't buy what the polls say. But I do believe the majority of Americans believe their elected officials should be representing them in Washington -- which is what we are paying them to do, election or not, when dire events require attention and action.

I don't expect you to be non-partisan, Mulder... But when you claim in the very same post that Obama's "Present" vote is a negotiating tactic while McCain's return to Washington to do his job is "making a fool out of himself," then I seriously laugh my ASS off! LOL!!

[George008]

What do you mean by that? What have I made up?

I did not blast the MSNBC poll. Where in the hell did you get that from? If you look back through this thread you will see this to be true..

Also, If you look back through this thread, I've had to let you know several times that I did not say what you have claimed I did.

You might want to stop

[GoldenDogs]

Well, did he or didn't he say something? Hard to know what really went on in the meeting since the Dems who rushed out to the cameras to slander McCain didn't have their stories straight.

But while we're discussing what or wasn't said... What did Obama say? I'll tell you what he said... he said NOTHING. Why? Because, like McCain, he isn't a majority or minority leader or whip in the Senate. McCain and Obama were there to provide support, and to be briefed on a major issue that will impact the presidency of whichever candidate is elected.

[George008]

McCain said the fundamentals of the economy are sound..If you know anything about the economy then you would realize that this comment is a true statement.

Mortgages and finance are just one aspect of the economy...they are in turmoil, but the rest of the economy is sound.

[Roman]

I'll stop when you decide that making stuff up (Obama pushing sex ed. on Kindergarderners) stops.

Oh, I'm sorry. You never lie, Casey.

Forget it. This is pointless.

[Roman]

Both Republicans and Democrats, as well as aides who were in the room, have reported this.

And, once again, it would help to be briefed if McCain would have actually read the bill.

Amazing how that doesn't seem to bother you at all.

Making Too Much of Daily Presidential Polls

McCain's comeback in the daily Gallup Polls shouldn't be overinterpreted. It's been awhile since my statistics courses in grad school, but here's a little explanation of poll results. Stay awake now.

Every poll has a standard error of measurement, usually reported as an interval in which the poll would fall 95% of the time if the poll were taken repeatedly. So if the interval is plus or minus 3 points, that means that the "true" result could be anywhere within that range.

For example, a Gallup poll showing a 46-46 tie between Obama and McCain could actually be 49-43 or 43-49. And if the poll were repeated a hundred times, the results would be in that range 95% of the time.

In other words, a one to three point change from one day to the next is virtually meaningless statistically. Interpreting "trends" over a several day period when the poll results vary by only a few points (within the measurement error) is little more than attempted mind reading.

Disclaimer: I have a Ph.D. with a couple of years of nothing but research and statistics courses, but there are many people in K.C. with excellent knowledge of data sampling and polling. But I think I'm on pretty firm ground here in challenging the wisdom of making too much of these daily polls. Sorry to be a killjoy.

George Harris

KC Star Reader Advisory Panel