October 13, 2008 8:50:14 AM CDT
(Newser) – The campaign most comparable to today's, Pat Buchanan writes on Real Clear Politics, is 1980's, with John McCain playing the part of Jimmy Carter—and Barack Obama, like Ronald Reagan, in pole position and needing only to look reasonable to win the White House. Just as Reagan shook his right-wing caricature, Obama need only prove he's "one of us" to roll in November.
Obama must avoid being painted as a “snooty radical liberal … who looks down upon white America.” And so far, he’s up to the task, masterfully pivoting to the center in "a stunning display of raw pragmatism." The only task left for the “misunderestimated” Democrat is to hold his ground on his identity.
Source Real Clear Politics
1 hour, 48 minutes ago Barack Obama continues to rise in the polls just as John McCain falls, with the latest numbers giving the Democrat a 10-point lead over his opponent, reports the Washington Post. Voters also gave Obama a clear lead on taxes and leadership for the first time in the election. McCain, meanwhile, is seen as too focused on attacking Obama, and is losing support even among his base. More »
Oct 8, 08 7:45 AM CDT Barack Obama "is the only possible choice to lead the country," says Esquire, though the magazine’s position is less an endorsement of Obama and more a treatise against John McCain. Obama has failed to define his key campaign theme of change “except as all those things encompassed by the phrase ‘Elect me’”—but he still represents a departure from George W. Bush that McCain does not. More »
Sep 26, 08 5:01 PM CDT After a dramatic exit yesterday, House Republicans returned to talks today on the Wall Street bailout plan, the Washington Post reports. The White House expressed confidence and hoped aloud for a resolution by Monday. Yesterday’s White House meeting, with both candidates, was seen as a misstep. “The insertion of presidential politics has not been helpful,” Senate Majority leader Harry Reid said. More »
Sep 25, 08 4:05 PM CDT John McCain and Barack Obama met with President Bush and congressional leaders in Washington this afternoon to discuss the evolving bailout plan, the AP reports. With the candidates' help, “my hope is that we can reach an agreement very shortly,” Bush said. Key lawmakers said they had reached a tentative deal earlier today, but doubts remained. "I don't believe we have an agreement," said Sen. Richard Shelby, top Republican on the banking panel, after emerging from the White House meeting. More »
Sep 25, 08 2:31 PM CDT The financial crisis is turning the presidential campaign into a “Goldilocks story," Gail Collins writes in the New York Times. McCain, “desperately reinventing his position every day,” has halted his campaign to focus on Wall Street, while Obama has coolly mentioned he may skip out on the rescue bill vote. Yet, so far, their solutions are “both vaguely similar and similarly vague." More »
Barack Obama • John McCain • George W. Bush • Ronald Reagan • Jimmy Carter • landslide
