The financial crisis has hit economic libertarians in the solar plexus, because the crisis is largely a consequence of innate weaknesses in free markets and of excessive deregulation of banking and finance, rather than of government interference in the market.

Later that afternoon, word began to leak to reporters that the Conservatives were going to end the practice of giving all parties $1.95 for each vote they win.

The Conservatives also announced they would scrap the party financing plan as well as another contentious element that would take away public service unions' right to strike.

Repentance is not so much remorse for what we have done as the fear of the consequences.

Obama's got one more up his sleeve. And he's saved the biggest for last. You will personally experience it. He will change campaigns forever.

Bye Bye GOP!

Boom!

Obama by 10 in VA. You heard it here first. They were fools to mock him for being a community organizer. Because that's what's going to do them in.

Update: Of course I was talking about the Obama GOTV effort, which was phenomenal, including the top-secret Houdini Project. As an attorney volunteer for Obama, I got to see the basics of the ground game Monday night as I looked over my packet. I knew right then that nothing had been left to chance.

Palin continued to try and peg Obama as presumptuous while stressing that her ticket is trying to earn votes and listed examples of how the Democratic nominee thinks that the election is “just a formality.”

Not exactly. Quite the opposite. The guy seems obsessed with the idea of making sure people are going to vote early. They have been all about the numbers from day one in this race, from calmly charting up the path to the nomination before Hillary knew what was happening to ensuring that they have all of their votes covered. Not only is he getting young people to vote, he's getting them to vote early:

Charts show that in such states as Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Georgia, more than a quarter of the total number of votes cast in 2004 have already been cast. In New Mexico, that share is 37 percent.

In each of the states where those votes are broken down, they seem to favor Obama, as black voters, young voters and Democrats turn out disproportionately.

Nothing left to chance:

The Obama campaign’s special emphasis on maximizing the early vote was illustrated this week in the critical battleground state of Florida, where more than one-third of the voters cast their ballots ahead of Election Day in 2004. Obama spent the beginning of the week stumping and hosting “Early Vote for Change” rallies as state officials opened the first early polling stations on Monday. In Miami-Dade County, lines formed outside voting locations even before they opened at 7 a.m.

Not the act of someone taking it for granted.

 

Rep. Mahoney on his scandal:

U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney did not use campaign funds to buy the silence of a former aide with whom he is accused of having an affair, his attorney said Wednesday.

The URL for that link is http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/10/mahoney_lawyer_no_campaign_fun.php. No campaign fun indeed.

My dad is worried about all of those "racists" who could knock Obama out. I keep saying that the racists are going to vote for Obama.

Well, here we have it straight from an E-mail sent to Ben Smith of Politico by a Republican pollster and messaging guy about the Ayres ads:

Reagan Dems and Independents. Call them blue-collar plus. Slightly more Target than Walmart.

Yes, the spot worked. Yes, they believed the charges against Obama. Yes, they actually think he's too liberal, consorts with bad people and WON'T BE A GOOD PRESIDENT...but they STILL don't give a f***. They said right out, "He won't do anything better than McCain" but they're STILL voting for Obama.

The two most unreal moments of my professional life of watching focus groups:

54 year-old white male, voted Kerry '04, Bush '00, Dole '96, hunter, NASCAR fan...hard for Obama said: "I'm gonna hate him the minute I vote for him. He's gonna be a bad president. But I won't ever vote for another god-damn Republican. I want the government to take over all of Wall Street and bankers and the car companies and Wal-Mart run this county like we used to when Reagan was President."

The next was a woman, late 50s, Democrat but strongly pro-life. Loved B. and H. Clinton, loved Bush in 2000. "Well, I don't know much about this terrorist group Barack used to be in with that Weather guy but I'm sick of paying for health insurance at work and that's why I'm supporting Barack."

I felt like I was taking crazy pills.  I sat on the other side of the glass and realized...this really is the Apocalypse. The Seventh Seal is broken and its time for eight years of pure, delicious crazy....

Bwahhahhahahahahahahahahahaha!

Things not so good for McCain in Virginia.

Suffolk Poll: Obama 51% McCain 39% (PDF).

Survey USA--Survey Says--Obama 53% McCain 43%

From the fine print int the Survey USA poll:

In 4 tracking polls conducted since the Republican Convention, McCain has gone from up by 2 to down by 10.

There is movement among men, where immediately after the GOP convention, McCain led by 10, and where today Obama leads by 11.
There is movement among whites, where McCain's once 22-point lead is today reduced to single digits.
There is movement among the well-to-do, where today for the first time Obama leads.
There is movement among pro-choice voters, where Obama's lead has doubled since August.

McCain no longer leads in any region of the state. In Northeastern VA, which includes the DC suburbs, Obama leads by 24 points. In Central Virginia, home of the Confederate White House, the Museum of the Confederacy and Appomattox, Obama today leads by 8. In Southeastern Virginia, Obama leads by 11. In the Shenandoah, where John McCain led by 24 points one month ago, Obama and McCain today tie.

Obama surging ahead in almost every one of the battleground states.

CNN:

Florida: Obama 51%, McCain 47%, with a ±3.5% margin of error.

Minnesota: Obama 54%, McCain 43%, with a ±3.5% margin of error.

Missouri: Obama 49%, McCain 48%, with a ±3.5% margin of error.

Nevada: Obama 51%, McCain 47%, with a ±4% margin of error.

Virginia: Obama 53%, McCain 44%, with a ±4% margin of error.

Quinnipac:

Florida:   51%-43%    ±3.4% margin of error

Ohio:      50%-42%    ±3.4% margin of error

Pennsylvania:   54%-39% ±3.4% margin of error

House Republicans are suggesting that Nancy Pelosi's floor speech scared some of their rank-and-file away.  But equally importantly, did it scare away some of her own rank-and-file?   Between the railing about "failed Bush economic policies," and dramatically emphasizing the "SEVEN. . . HUNDRED . . . BILLION. . . DOLLARS," it is a wonder that anyone wanted to vote for the bill. 

It is a wonder that anyone wanted to vote for the bill. What possibly could motivate them to vote for the bailout under these conditions? Unless you take the good of the country into account.