Is this the beginning of the end for McCain? And is that end being pushed by the GOP?

[AZBlue]

I said at the beginning of the summer that I felt McCain was allowed to run by the GOP because they know they can't win in 2008. He's being Dole-ized. He is not what the GOP wants, but the GOP no longer wants to be connected to Bush in any way (he wasn't even invited to or mentioned at the RNC) and the best way to really have a clean break is to not have a Republican follow Bush into the White House. The GOP knew 2008 would be a hard one to win and by allowing McCain to run they've given him his shot, shut him up, appeared fair, and thrown the election all in one move. The GOP also feels that they'll have a good chance in 2012 because it won't be possible for President Obama to make big changes in 4 years (boy are they going to be surprised!).

Then came the Palin thing and I was confused by it to put it mildly. But, briefly it looked like the GOP might actually be trying to win this thing.

Now I wonder. Look at the huge missteps of the GOP/McCain campaign. Millions and millions of falsified ballots mailed out in several states - like that's not going to be noticed? Palin herself - like a two-week cram session would stop her from looking like a fool? An ad accusing Obama of wanting to teach kindergartners sex ed? Oh really? And now Rove and O'Reilly coming out against some of McCain's move? Let's face it - among the ultra-right wing citizens of this country, Rove, O'Reilly and Limbaugh are the holy trinity and they'll listen to them far more than McCain himself. I wonder if we'll see a real cooling of support for McCain and a lot of Republicans staying home on November 4th.

This is just me thinking aloud. This is not, I repeat NOT, an OP that gets anyone off the hook for not working and volunteering for the Obama campaign in their neighborhood or state, so please don't take it that way. I still stand by my original theory that anyone who doesn't vote as well as campaign for and donate to Obama as much as they can between now and Nov. 4th deserves what they get if there is a President McCain - and doesn't get to complain about it, not for one second. The GOP can not be trusted or predicted and so there's no way we can get lazy, not even for one minute.

Nonetheless, it should be interesting to see what happens in the next 51 days!

[Eric J in MN]

1. McCain campaign is sending the bad absentee ballot applications to Democrats.

We've noticed at DU, but millions of Democrats may think they can't vote because their absentee ballot never arrived.

The Republicans are doing this to cheat their way into keeping the White House, not because they've given up:

http://news.racinepost.com/2008/09/gop-absentee-ballot-mailings-called.html

[dkf]

2. Just because he is trying to win doesn't mean he is competent.

[tularetom]

3. The next president is gonna have the hardest job in American history

I think the repub big money men realize McCain is not up to the job of cleaning up the immense pile of shit left by bush. They aren't sure Obama is up to it either but they would rather have a Dem to blame for not cleaning it up fast enough. Plus some may think Obama actually has a good shot at restoring the economy which is all they care about. Abortions gays and god don't mean jack sit to these guys.

[AZBlue]

9. I wonder about that too - they know McCain would be a bad President in good times.

It's horrifying to think of what he'd do with the mess we're in now.

[tularetom]

4. oops sticky key

[justiceischeap]

5. I've claimed all along this ticket was chosen to lose.

If you notice top Repug strategists are telling us how to beat them, even Rove. I know some people will say, "Oh, that's Rove trying to be Rovian," but I truly believe they want this ticket to lose. Think about the imPalin pick for a second. IMO, she was chosen because when Unstable/Unable lose, they won't have lost a "rising Repug star" such as a Romney, Huckabee, etc. imPalin is a sacrificial lamb to the Repug gods. I also think they thought Americans would see right through the pick and are surprised the ticket is doing as well as it is, hence the tips.

[eShirl]

6. I know! It's almost like "The Producers."

[Arugula Latte]

13. Exactly! I posted that on another thread awhile ago...

Surprise, surprise, millions of Americans just LOVE Springtime for Hitler.

[tomreedtoon]

7. Sorry. The DU excuses are starting. We'll lose.

I'm already seeing posts by people on DU saying things like: "They're cheating." "The Christian Right are getting behind McCain." "The media is giving a pass to Palin."

You know what these all mean? "We're losing. Let's start making excuses so we can whine for the next four years."

I'm sorry, folks, but it sounds to me like you're already assuming that it'll be McCain/Palin. You've given up. Your hearts are broken so badly that hope is truly too audacious for you. You see yourselves as beggars at the banquet, hoping that the right wing will throw you a scrap or two. It isn't Obama that's afraid to attack the right wing and their lies; it's you.

[FrenchieCat]

8. We are going to win......

period.

[AZBlue]

11. Where in my OP did it sound like I was saying we are going to lose????

:shrug:

[midnight]

12. They are cheating. I'm in Wisconsin, and I have been informed

via a letter that they feel they need my birth date. This is a request via John McCain's co-chairman Van Hollen. He is Wisconsin's Attorney General and he is asking that new registered voters or those that have moved be cross checked and if something does not make them happy, the voter in question is put on a list. I have lived at my current address and have voted at this current address for over a decade. What this letter ,according to our Attorney General, may make me qualified to use a provisional ballot that may or may not be counted. There are way too many details left up in the air. All to be settled at some other time. But as far as us losing? I don't think so. In fact, I think these actions all imply we are winning.

[Fire1]

10. Sorry, I don't buy that for one second.

Repukes, are NOT TO BE TRUSTED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!!!! I have read too many blogs where repukes have vowed their allegiance, if not to McCain, to the Republican Party!! They WILL vote for him, even if he's BLIND, CRIPPLED OR CRAZY!!!! THEY DON'T CARE!!!!

[CK_John]

14. The GOP never plays to lose, they realize the POTUS is just a figurehead like the

head of the chamber of commerce is usually a retired local exec,(ie failed business). And second they don't care about falsified ballots or lies or how anyone feels about it. Just like these reality shows that play up the need to make alliance behind the back with others to get them kicked out of the house or whatever to get the green. The public now considers that clever and canny.

Phase II will be to pull McCain, how it will happen is the only question, IMO. Cheney will not leave that bunker without a fight.