If Obama Wins This Election

News Type: Opinion — Wed Sep 24, 2008 6:39 PM EDT

politics, barack-obama, economy, election, president, john-mccain, sarah-palin, campaign, foreign-policy, joe-biden, portfolio

Scott Isaacs

Live Poll

Is John McCain making a mistake by refocusing Friday's debate?

Yes
77%
No
23%

Total Votes: 13

If Obama wins this election, there is a turning point that I will highlight as being THE turning point in the race and that turning point came on September 15, 2008. This is the day that John McCain uttered the now infamous "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" line on the campaign trail while the campaign was collapsing around him. If Obama takes the oath of office, this is the turning point in my book.

McCain had smartly stole Obama's thunder after Obama's convention by choosing Sarah Palin as his VP and then having his Republican convention, thus deflating Barack Obama's post-convention bounce and doubling his own post-convention bounce on the back of Palin's nomination. It was an impressive political coup but the economy brought this to a screeching halt. Obama posted a 47.8% to 44.3% lead according to pollster.com, which is quite the switch considering Obama was running consistently behind McCain before this economic issue.

That great equalizer of all candidates, reality, then stepped in. The Democrats make hay on the economy and the economy has been melting down, giving the advantage to Obama. Palin made a serious mistake today by broaching the idea that there could be another Great Depression. The McCain campaign should not even be playing in that side of the pool at this point. While Palin was attempting to blame the Democratic Congress for holding up the bailout and causing another Great Depression, all that any voter heard was "Great Depression" and when voters are confronted with economic woes, time and time again they run to Democrats to fix the economy.

Also, John McCain may think that he is helping himself by appearing like he cares about the economy, suggesting that the debate on Friday, September 26, 2008 be realigned from foreign policy to economic policy, but in reality he is making another serious mistake. Obama had been preparing to debate foreign policy on Friday because that is what the debate had been agreed to be about and debating foreign policy might have changed the narrative of the campaign slightly so that the environment is not so toxic to Republicans because of the economy. In reality, by changing the topic instead of letting it develop as it was planned, McCain has hurt himself. The longer the economy leads in the news, the more it hurts McCain. People that are jittery about their pocketbooks vote Democrat and have voted Democrat since 1932. McCain should resign himself to the fact that he cannot best Barack Obama on the economy and try to use things like this previously planned debate to move the discussion away from the economy and onto territory that is more favorable to him as a candidate and more favorable to his party.

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4.6

1.8

{"commentId":3115679,"authorDomain":"neoconstant"}

E.D.Kain

Good article Scott. Posted at NeoConstant.

{"commentId":3115679,"threadId":"368116","contentId":"1907192","authorDomain":"neoconstant"}

3 votes

#1 - Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:14 PM EDT

{"commentId":3124744,"authorDomain":"isaacs"}

Scott Isaacs

Thanks Kain

{"commentId":3124744,"threadId":"368116","contentId":"1907192","authorDomain":"isaacs"}

2 votes

#1.1 - Thu Sep 25, 2008 4:49 PM EDT

{"commentId":3116456,"authorDomain":"ecepoganski2004"}

alan-333244

I think that the author of this article is right about McCain saying "The fundamentals of our economy are strong" or what Phil Gramms said "The people are are a bunch of whiners". Also Gramms is married to a senior excutive from Enron. If anyone who still votes republican after what has happened then this nation is a goner if McCain gets in. We have had 8 years of the most corrupt administration in the history of this nation and unfortunately there are still people out there with their head up the elephants backside saying "It still tastes like icecream" and won't change their vote. We will all find out soon if McCain gets in the white house don't count out the stupidity of the voters.

{"commentId":3116456,"threadId":"368116","contentId":"1907192","authorDomain":"ecepoganski2004"}

#2 - Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:38 PM EDT

{"commentId":3116516,"authorDomain":"Bor"}

BOR(derline)

If Obama wins this election, there is a turning point that I will highlight as being THE turning point...

Obama's turning point…
Follow me people,
I have a plan for everything in my pocket (on the prompter).
We just have to make a quick u-turn on the highway.
Do not worry about that u-turn on the highway.
I have the Universal Health plan for you to.
Ups..

{"commentId":3116516,"threadId":"368116","contentId":"1907192","authorDomain":"Bor"}

1 vote

#3 - Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:40 PM EDT

{"commentId":3116536,"authorDomain":"ecepoganski2004"}

alan-333244

{"commentId":3116536,"threadId":"368116","contentId":"1907192","authorDomain":"ecepoganski2004"}

#4 - Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:40 PM EDT

{"commentId":3118901,"authorDomain":"Bor"}

BOR(derline)

Well,
The fundamentals are still strong!
The Crooks and Liars of the financial world are not!
The financial institutions have stolen our money, and are now drowning us down.
Shell we save them?
??
Let's put the political aspect aside for a moment:
I want my next president to be directly responsible for the 700 billions (our money), and not be the wise guy "finger pointing".
It is called "Hands on Management", or "Go in the kitchen and be the Cook your self".
TAKE RESPONASBILTY; do not write a memorandum about it.
I would be interesting to assume Obama would come up with this.
It would be probably an end to McC?

{"commentId":3118901,"threadId":"368116","contentId":"1907192","authorDomain":"Bor"}

1 vote

#5 - Thu Sep 25, 2008 2:35 PM EDT

{"commentId":3119025,"authorDomain":"Bor"}

BOR(derline)

Back to the politics:
This was a great move on McC site.
Telling is opponent, to delay the personal chat, and come with him to the battle ground!
If he uses the same tactics as our president, he has my support.

{"commentId":3119025,"threadId":"368116","contentId":"1907192","authorDomain":"Bor"}

1 vote

#6 - Thu Sep 25, 2008 2:37 PM EDT

{"commentId":3730950,"authorDomain":"kmoncus70"}

Kevin-672473

Wake up Caucasian Americans the man Obama, the one you are about to vote into office is just an African American with the same sentiments about white people that his good ole Reverend Wright has with his Black Theology. He just wants to help the black people in America, that’s why he is planning to have wealth distribution, and have the Government to take care of your health insurance. He is leading the white people that are so unknowingly being lead to the death of their Country as they know it, it’s going to be like that commercial that the host have their visitors to sit on the couch and they stand behind the visitors and shake them up and down to get their money to come out of their pockets and fall into the couch without knowing. You are all being stupid with no way out once you find out you have just made the biggest mistake in your life. The thing I would like you to know is that the vote is not over, you can still change your mind and take off the rose colored glass’ that Obama has slide over your eye’s while they were closed. It is no way Obama can do the wealth distribution and do all the other things he wants to do without raising more than the 5% of Americans taxes. Where do you think that money is going to come from, it is going to come from the next people down the totem pole and that will be middle class Americans not the ones getting that welfare check from Obama’s so called wealth distribution? The money is going to come from capital gains tax, death tax, married couple tax, and Fuel taxes. With all of us using less fuel they will have to raise the taxes on fuel because the roads will start going down, and bridge will start falling. Who pays the most fuel tax the middle class not only for the amount of fuel that we consume but for the amount the trucks use that brought the televisions we buy, clothes we wear, food we eat. One other thing is when has 90% to 95% of black people got together, other than to stick it to the white man, wink wink?

{"commentId":3730950,"threadId":"368116","contentId":"1907192","authorDomain":"kmoncus70"}

#7 - Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:18 AM EDT

{"canLink":false,"threadId":"368116","isPrivate":false}

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Why Did John McCain Really try to Cancel the First Presidential Debate?	Glenn Weintraub	Thu Sep 25	30
Today on the presidential campaign trail	Associated Press	Thu Sep 18	1
Obama rejects McCain's call to delay debate	Associated Press	Tue Sep 23	51
Any good news for McCain in latest ABC poll?	Gene in Mass	Wed Sep 24	7

SCOTT ISAACS

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If Obama Wins This Election

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