Suitably Flip

Debate 3: Mac's Last Stand

How many minutes into the proceedings will McCain first bring up Bill Ayers?  I'm guessing 15.

In addition to hammering Obama's on his circle of terrorist buddies, McCain - as has been endlessly opined - needs to make his economic case.  He's got plenty of ammunition (particularly with regard to investment income taxes and windfall profit taxes), as Obama's plans to punish capital represents the surest parth to devaluing stocks and killing jobs.  If the economic theory eludes McCain, he can point to Obama's closest historical analog, our 39th President, and remind Americans how well this worked last time.

Whether McCain elects to finally fire those bullets is another story.

Reminding people that Obama and his Democratic colleagues were the ones who thwarted the attempts of McCain and other Republicans to rein in Fannie and Freddie is also important, but McCain's already proven willing to make this point (and likely will again tonight), so I don't expect this to be a source of major annoyance this evening.  The expected infuriations involve 1) McCain letting Obama get away with his whopper that 95% of Americans won't be hurt by his tax increases and 2) kid gloves remaining on during the Ayers exchange.

Ideally, I'd like to see McCain ask Obama why, if he believes "spreading the wealth around" helps everybody, he hasn't simply been cutting an extra check to the IRS each year to bring his own effective tax rate up to the "fair share" he'd like to see imposed on high income earners.

It doesn't matter how bad a year this is for Republicans.  A terrorist-sympathizing candidate with strong socialist leanings (and former socialist party membership) shouldn't even be polling in the double-digits.  McCain can still put him away, but he needs to get in the fight tonight in a way he hasn't even approached in earlier rounds.

100 million eyeballs will tune in again tonight, but after this the election goes on auto-pilot, save a true October bombshell.

Update:  Significantly better than expected.  A solid B- for McCain, possibly bumped up to a B for his Herbert Hoover zinger.  Not enough pushback on Obama's minimization of his Ayers relationships, nor on the 95%-of-taxpayers baloney.  Not a knock-out by any means, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

Update:  Heh.

Obama called on people to put down their video games, but as a McCain staffer e-mails: “But he advertises on them? Disingenuousness.”

What Obama actually said was that he was going to take away our video games.

Update:  Joe the plumber weighs in on the debate that featured him some 20 times.

In Ohio on Sunday, Obama was approached by one man who said, "Your new tax plan's going to tax me more."

A video clip caught by Fox News shows Obama replying, "It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance at success, too. And I think that when we spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

McCain referred repeatedly to that voter, Joe Wurzelbacher, a plumber from Toledo, Ohio.

Wurzelbacher watched Wednesday night's debate and said he still thinks Obama's plan would keep him from buying the small business that employs him.

About McCain: "He's got it right as far as I go."

Comments

Debate 3: Mac's Last Stand

How many minutes into the proceedings will McCain first bring up Bill Ayers?  I'm guessing 15.

In addition to hammering Obama's on his circle of terrorist buddies, McCain - as has been endlessly opined - needs to make his economic case.  He's got plenty of ammunition (particularly with regard to investment income taxes and windfall profit taxes), as Obama's plans to punish capital represents the surest parth to devaluing stocks and killing jobs.  If the economic theory eludes McCain, he can point to Obama's closest historical analog, our 39th President, and remind Americans how well this worked last time.

Whether McCain elects to finally fire those bullets is another story.

Reminding people that Obama and his Democratic colleagues were the ones who thwarted the attempts of McCain and other Republicans to rein in Fannie and Freddie is also important, but McCain's already proven willing to make this point (and likely will again tonight), so I don't expect this to be a source of major annoyance this evening.  The expected infuriations involve 1) McCain letting Obama get away with his whopper that 95% of Americans won't be hurt by his tax increases and 2) kid gloves remaining on during the Ayers exchange.

Ideally, I'd like to see McCain ask Obama why, if he believes "spreading the wealth around" helps everybody, he hasn't simply been cutting an extra check to the IRS each year to bring his own effective tax rate up to the "fair share" he'd like to see imposed on high income earners.

It doesn't matter how bad a year this is for Republicans.  A terrorist-sympathizing candidate with strong socialist leanings (and former socialist party membership) shouldn't even be polling in the double-digits.  McCain can still put him away, but he needs to get in the fight tonight in a way he hasn't even approached in earlier rounds.

100 million eyeballs will tune in again tonight, but after this the election goes on auto-pilot, save a true October bombshell.

Update:  Significantly better than expected.  A solid B- for McCain, possibly bumped up to a B for his Herbert Hoover zinger.  Not enough pushback on Obama's minimization of his Ayers relationships, nor on the 95%-of-taxpayers baloney.  Not a knock-out by any means, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

Update:  Heh.

Obama called on people to put down their video games, but as a McCain staffer e-mails: “But he advertises on them? Disingenuousness.”

What Obama actually said was that he was going to take away our video games.

Update:  Joe the plumber weighs in on the debate that featured him some 20 times.

In Ohio on Sunday, Obama was approached by one man who said, "Your new tax plan's going to tax me more."

A video clip caught by Fox News shows Obama replying, "It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance at success, too. And I think that when we spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

McCain referred repeatedly to that voter, Joe Wurzelbacher, a plumber from Toledo, Ohio.

Wurzelbacher watched Wednesday night's debate and said he still thinks Obama's plan would keep him from buying the small business that employs him.

About McCain: "He's got it right as far as I go."