opinion
Obama's weakened image is costing him among voters
Wall Street Journal Aug 8, 08 10:09 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Barack Obama’s victory once seemed inevitable—but in the past month, a glimmer of real hope has emerged for John McCain, writes Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal . McCain's creeping up in the polls—even on YouTube—while Obama’s squeaky-clean image in the press has been somewhat sullied by suggestions he’s “arrogant, aloof and ethereal.” It's "small stuff, and there will be a lot of twists and turns before this is over, but there's movement down there beneath the crust of the Earth."
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But critics say his eye on moving up has hurt his Minnesota reign
New York Times Aug 8, 08 8:48 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Tim Pawlenty grew up in the blue-collar stockyards of south St. Paul, but through ambition and charm he’s climbed his way to the top office in Minnesota—and the top tier of John McCain’s VP short list. But critics say that ambition could prove his undoing, the New York Times reports. Pawlenty’s obvious eye toward higher office has hurt his administration by making it too cautious, they argue.
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Strategists urging
Obama to bring tougher attacks on McCain
Washington Post Aug 7, 08 4:11 PM CDT
(Newser)
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After weeks of enduring blistering attacks from John McCain, Barack Obama is launching a counter-attack. His new “Maverick” ad is his sharpest yet, calling McCain out on his similarities to George Bush. But Democratic strategists still don’t think Obama is hitting hard enough, the Washington Post reports. “If somebody attacks you ... you have to counterattack,” one strategist said. “You want to look tough.”
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OPINION
Obama stayed cool during primaries, but this is whole new ball game
New Republic Aug 7, 08 2:24 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Barack Obama is going negative on John McCain, something he never did in the primary race against Hillary Clinton. But that doesn’t mean he’s abandoning a winning strategy. The current race is worlds apart from his tête-à-tête with Clinton, Noam Scheiber writes in the New Republic . For one, it’s “easier to go negative on an old white guy.”
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Opinion
Republican needs to attack, but make case for himself
Wall Street Journal Aug 7, 08 9:12 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Despite the hype around Barack Obama, John McCain is just 1.9% behind in the latest Gallup pole. In other words, he could win this thing, and Karl Rove has some advice for him. McCain is “rightly raising questions about Obama’s fitness to be president,” Rove writes in the Wall Street Journal , but he also must “make a compelling case for electing John McCain.”
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OPINION
McCain, Obama each blame the other for negative campaign
Washington Post Aug 7, 08 5:45 AM CDT
(Newser)
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John McCain and Barack Obama would prefer to steer the White House race out of the gutter and back onto the high road, writes David Broder in the Washington Post reports. In separate interviews, both candidates expressed frustration with the tone and direction of the campaign over the last two months and the tit-for-tat blows.
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Spot to air at Florida filling stations links McCain to high prices
Palm Beach Post Aug 6, 08 4:34 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Barack Obama's campaign will run an energy-themed ad on TVs on Florida gas pumps starting today, the Palm Beach Post reports. The commercial highlights alternative-energy research and tax cuts as parts of Obama's plan to "break the grip of foreign oil," while presenting John McCain as more of the status quo.
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Donors to McCain, others aren't registered voters, had never given
Washington Post Aug 6, 08 3:55 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A flurry of campaign contributions to John McCain were procured from an unlikely network of ordinary people with no clear political agenda, the Washington Post reports. The contributors were recruited to write checks for the legal limit of $2,300 by Harry Sargeant, a former naval officer turned oil executive with an extensive list of contacts in the Middle East.
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McCain's would-be VP touts Dem's 'hopeful, positive' message
Associated Press Aug 6, 08 2:54 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Tim Pawlenty, the Republican governor of Minnesota often mentioned as a possible running mate for John McCain, urged GOP candidates to act more like Democrat Barack Obama. "Say what you will about Barack Obama," Pawlenty said today, "people gravitate when you have something positive to say. … People want to follow hopeful, optimistic, civil, decent leaders. They don't want to follow some negative, scornful person."
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Opinion
Promises get bigger, and policy gets dumber
Washington Post Aug 6, 08 10:31 AM CDT
(Newser)
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It might as well be a mathematical formula: High gas prices + oncoming election = stupid policy, writes Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post. John McCain, once the possessor of a sensible energy plan, now screeches incessantly about outer-continental shelf drilling, as though this would instantly solve the energy crisis. Barack Obama, who once earned plaudits for resisting McCain and Hillary Clinton's gimmicky gas tax holiday, now wants to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an even costlier gimmick.
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Politico Aug 6, 08 8:43 AM CDT
(Newser)
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As both presidential candidates hurl accusations of backtracking and hypocrisy at each other, Politico and PolitiFact team up to explain the five most important flip-flops of the race so far. PolitiFact rates Obama’s stance on tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve a “full flop,” citing strong prior opposition. McCain’s take on offshore drilling is rated a “half-flip,” taking into account his shift from a states’ rights position to staunch advocacy.
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OPINION
Jealousy of Obama drives Mac's gutter campaign: Dowd
New York Times Aug 6, 08 7:52 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Why is John McCain, "a man who prides himself on honor," taking the low road in his campaign against Barack Obama? For Maureen Dowd, the reason is clear: the Arizona senator is "pea-green with envy." Even more than Bill Clinton or Jesse Jackson, McCain can't stand that a younger, more handsome politician has usurped his place and become the "new wunderkind in town."
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Heiress thanks 'white-haired dude'
for the endorsement
ABC News Aug 5, 08 9:40 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Paris Hilton says she’s “like, totally ready to lead” in her video response to John McCain—the "wrinkly, white-haired guy"—for his ad comparing Barack Obama to tabloid celebrities like herself, ABC News reports. In the deadpan video posted on funnyordie.com, the heiress figures she's now a candidate herself and explains her serious-sounding energy policy while reclining in a lawn chair in her bathing suit. “I’ll see you at the debates, bitches,” she says. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go pick out a vice president.”
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