Obama's Kryptonite Crippling McCain Campaign

I heard from three friends of mine in the same hour this afternoon.

"What's going on with this ACORN?"

"Do you think Obama's got it in the bag now?"

"Do you think it looks like Obama's going to win?"

After the third call, it started sounding like the "30 Dirty Tricks In 30 Days" segment of the McCain campaign's fall strategy had gotten up to a full head of steam. Throw enough mud long enough, and even the most faithful will begin to waver a little. So I decided to see if I could find anything to ease their minds as the negative campaigning season begins in earnest.

After looking around, I could see why my friends were calling - it looks like Old Spice and Scary Spice were at it full speed ahead today, manufacturing new slurs by the hour to try to combat the rising tide of bad news that threatens to drown their struggling campaign. But there's no need to dwell on that stuff - there will plenty more of it for the next few weeks from Old Spice and Scary Spice as desperation sets in.

Just remember, stories like the ones I am listing below are like kryptonite to the McCain campaign. The more of them there are, the weaker they get, no matter how negative their attacks are.

From the Anchorage Daily News
Thursday, October 9, 2008 1:06 pm:
Alaska Supreme Court Refuses To Block Troopergate Inquiry

The Alaska Supreme Court today rejected an attempt by a group of six Republican legislators to shut down the Legislature's investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin.

The ruling means that Steve Branchflower, the investigator hired by the Legislative Council, will release his report as scheduled on Friday.

Branchflower is looking into Palin's dismissal of her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, and whether she improperly pressured him to fire a state trooper divorced from her sister.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Michalski ruled last week that the conduct of the investigation did not violate the right to fairness. He found the Legislature has the right to investigate and issues like whether it happens through a council or committee are not for the courts to decide and is "business to be left to the legislative branch."

The Alaska Supreme Court today upheld Michalski's ruling in a two-page decision. The court clerk, Marilyn May, wrote that a full opinion explaining why would be coming.


FULL RULING BELOW for my legal eagles and procedural junkies:

Appellants are six legislators who claim that the Alaska Legislative Council's investigation into the dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan is unlawful and should be enjoined. The superior court denied the appellants' Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and granted the Motion to Dismiss submitted by the Alaska Legislative Council and the other defendants.

At the request of the appellants for a decision no later than today, October 9, 2008, we heard the appeal on an expledited basis. On consideration of the October 6, 2008 appellants' brief, the October 6, 2008 amicus curiae brief, the October 7, 2008 appellees' brief, and the oral argument held on October 8, 2008,

IT IS ORDERED: The order of the superior court issued on October 2, 2008 granting the Motion to Dismiss is AFFIRMED. An opinion will follow.

Entered at the direction of the full court.

Obama Buys Half-hour Of Network Primetime

Barack Obama has purchased a half-hour of primetime television on CBS and NBC, sources confirm.

The Obama campaign is producing a nationwide pitch to voters that will air on at least two broadcast networks. The ad will run Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. -- less than a week before the general election.

The direct purchase of such a large block of national airtime right before an election used to be more commonplace before campaigns began to focus their end game strategies exclusively on battleground states. Such a move is not without precedent in modern presidential politics, however -- Ross Perot did a similar purchase in 1992.

OBAMA POLLING +8 IN WEST VIRGINIA

American Research Group, Inc.

Presidential Election Poll - West Virginia

Interview dates: October 4-8, 2008

Sample size: 600 likely voters

Margin of error: ± 4 percentage points, 95% of the time

Question wording and responses:

If the general election were being held today between John McCain for president and Sarah Palin for vice president, the Republicans, and Barack Obama for president and Joe Biden for vice president, the Democrats, for whom would you vote - McCain and Palin, Obama and Biden (names rotated), or someone else?

Likely Voters:

McCain 42%

Obama 50%

Other 3%

Undecided 5%

Hopefully, for those of you who have begun to get a little nervous like my friends, these items will give you a little more confidence, or assuage any doubts that may have popped up this week.

Old Spice and Scary Spice can yell "terrorist" and "William Ayers" and "he's not one of us" as loud as they want - it is being drowned out by the roar of the Dow Jones Industrial Average crashing down through the 9000 point mark. Losing another six hundred points will put the Dow Jones under 8000, very real possibilty in the next few days.

The only gamechanger this year will be the economy.

Although I'm sure there are some people in a small, airless room somewhere near McCain campaign headquarters who are trying to figure out a way to pin this on Barack Obama.

I'm still waiting for them to connect Obama with O.J.

At the rate these two are going, you know its just a matter of time.