This is my biggest concern, right now McCain & the GOP are going to turn this campaign really dirty.

[LynneSin]

As far as I can tell, Barack Obama and Joe Biden are two of the most up-n-up people you'll meet. I don't think either have any type of skeletons in their closets. Neither were governor so there won't be any Willie Horton stories out there and neither served in Vietnam so we won't see any Swiftboating.

But right now it's looking really bad for the GOP and especially John McCain and when the GOP is backed into a corner they get their rabid fangs out and will turn it extra dirty to try and pull this one out. I have no clue what it is - I can't think of one major thing that could sully Obama and/or Biden. But somewhere out there is Atwater/Rove type brewing up a Swiftboat/Barking Wolves/Willie Horton style smear that's gonna turn this campaign really dirty.

I just hope our lead is strong enough to hold tight for the next month until we pull this one thru.

[BlooInBloo]

1. Um, we've known this was coming for like MONTHS.

[DebbieCDC]

2. Yeah no doubt these last few weeks are going to be really bad

It's been coming for months now.

[billyoc]

3. War of the 527's. The Obama campaign may not want to get down in the mud, but I do.

[Hellataz]

4. I'm think it could be good for Obama

During debate polling the audiences responded negativity to any negativity and jabs.
All we can do is forward all the smears we get in emails to Obama and let them address them.
The GOp will look stupid and vicious with all their attacks and Obama will look like he's taken the high road and just calmly explain why the other side is lying abut him.

[gravity]

5. I really don't think that the McCain campaign has much ammo

Maybe they can bring Wright out for a bit, but it won't have the same impact now that everyone already knows about him.

[kestrel91316]

6. Obama has been saving the heavy ammo for now.

You wanna talk Ayers nonsense, fine. We can talk about Keating, and Todd Palin's treason.

[bklyncowgirl]

7. No shit, fortunately HIllary threw the kitchen sink at him long ago.

Unless they come up with something the very efficient Clinton operatives missed, it's all old news.

[Blondiegrrl]

14. That's true. Obama was thoroughly vetted during the primaries.

If the Repugs can't find anything new by now, they never will. All they can do is dig up the old crap and rehash it.

[Hansel]

8. This will guarantee a loss in Minnesota.

I don't know about other states, but there is only so far you can go with negative campaigning before it backfires big time on you here. It's that so called "Minnesota Nice" thing. "Nice" candidates almost always beat obsessively negative campaigners.

[Beetwasher]

23. You Need To Clarify Your Post!

This will guarantee a loss in Minnesota FOR MCCAIN!

[writes3000]

9. Obama has already framed McCain in a box. Remember "dishonorable, lying, sleazy ads..."

Obama has already primed the public to be wary of ANYTHING they hear from McCain.

That's why the debate worked in Obama's favor. The audience saw first-hand one upstanding, smart guy versus a nasty, disrespectful, angry old man.

McCain is going to step right into his own bear trap.

[cali]

10. Obama and Biden know what they're doing. that campaign definitely

knows what it's doing, and the attacks launched by McCain will not gain a lot of purchase.

[John7714]

15. ORLY?

I remember when Obama was asked when he was going to start giving back what he was getting with the lies and smears and he acted like he was on tranquilizers. Remember Obama at the same meeting talking about the McCain people putting out fabrications and untruths - and when someone shouted out, "LIES" - Obama made a half hearted reply, "Yea. that's he word I was looking for." It was likew bad acting. I wondered WTF is wrong with him.
But at least he can use McCain's buddying up to G Gordon Libby if McCain tries to use Obama's Associating with Ayers.

[Beetwasher]

24. Umm, Looked At The Polls And EV Count Lately?

I think Obama knows what he's doing.

"I remember when Obama was asked when he was going to start giving back what he was getting with the lies and smears and he acted like he was on tranquilizers."

You remember that? What reality do you inhabit? It sure ain't this one.

[Chloroplast]

25. Obama couldn't come off as the angry Black man. The GOP has been trying to get him to flip out.

By letting McCain hang himself publicly, Obama and Biden come away with clean hands as well as going home victors. I admit it was frustrating to watch McCain pummel Obama but then I listened to those here that know the game better: Obama's playing chess and McCain's playing rudimentary checkers. Can you believe McCain has run through the $84 million he received following the GOP Convention? You don't run through cash that quickly if you're in control of your situation. If you still feel we need some pepper, by all means, talk to your conservative friends! Hit back with the truth on McCain/Palin. I gladly get my hands dirty when it comes to smears; even if the Republican doesn't believe what I've said, I've planted the seed of doubt.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

11. They sure are. Did you hear that Palin woman today? She got a big boooo from the group at my house.

She pulled out the terrorists card - doncha know. She sounded so stupid.

[spanone]

12. batten down the hatches.....it's gonna get ugly

reverend wright will be back
ayers will be back
rezko will be back

we all know it's coming......barack too.


:patriot:

[GhostofRichardRorty]

13. Yes, it will be a long month

We can count on two things, for sure. First, there will be a last wave of efforts to suppress the vote in the name of fighting voter fraud. This will be a battle, but fortunately we have seen this before and my impression is that Dems in general and the Obama campaign in particular are jumping into action any time this starts up. But have no doubt, we will need a STRONG voter turn outweigh any successful efforts at suppressing the vote that can't be stopped in advance.

Second, there will be some very nasty attacks coming. McCain has demonstrated he can persuade himself that his lies are defensible, so expect bigger and more outrageous lies that have nothing to do with reality, especially after the last debate. The biggest hope here is what has already been happening--his lies are SO outrageous that they are lampooned on national TV (think SNL) and even criticized by Republican strategists.

As we saw with McCain's bungled effort to rush to Washington and solve the bailout problem, most voters saw it as the transparent political grandstanding that it was. The more vicious the last minute attacks, the more clearly they are the result of desperation. The good news is that relatively few voters change their minds once the "debate bounce" is over. The fact that the debates have thus far favored Obama & Biden suggests we will see the polls creep up just a bit more for Obama/Biden through mid-October, then stay pretty stable until election day. If anything, there will be a bandwagon effect as undecideds may commit to Obama to be on the winning side. Certainly McCain/Palin have given them plenty of good excuses to do so. If they get even more vicious, that will backfire with as many remaining undecideds as it might fool.

Bottom line, the Obama/Biden ticket has done its job and will continue to counterpunch when necessary. It is up to us now, as we will win or lose this election based on voter turnout.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

16. No need for (much) concern...

After the "sex ed" campaign commercials, people now understand the John McCain has a serious problem with truthfulness. After the debate two weeks ago and the Des Moines Register interview, people now sense that McCain has a serious temper problem.

Attack ads are going to be seen as lies being spread by an angry old man.

[BlueIdaho]

17. The return of the son of "Kitchen Sink II"

After all it worked so well last time. Oh - yeah, remember that Obama comes from the world of Chicago politics and that, my friend, is the school of hard knocks.

[krawhitham]

18. Obama needs to say

something along these lines in the debate

"Your whole campaign has become baseless personal attacks, that is not very honorable is it John"

[RagAss]

19. SNL did a parody on it 2 weeks ago....I'm thinking just laughing at these assclowns..

is a decent strategy too.

[nc4bo]

20. Just read CNN on my cell phone and saw Palin basically called

Obama a terrorist due his past political associations with Ayers.

She talked this chitty garbage @ a rally (fundraiser) in Colorado today.



:mad: :wtf: :grr: :nuke:

[DefenseLawyer]

21. Bring it on.

The American people are nothing if not attention span deprived. This Ayers/ Wright stuff has already been through the news/rumormill cycle. People have heard it already and moved on. Obama is well known in our culture now. No one, whackjobs excluded, thinks he is a terrorist. They may may think he is inexperienced, they may think he is "too liberal", they may even think he is too "not white" but no one is going to think he is a terrorist. That dog won't hunt. They are preaching to the wingnut choir, at best, and looking desperate and shrill to everyone else.

[seabeyond]

22. obama teaching kindergarteners comprehensive sex education.... isnt turning it dirty? n/t

[elizm]

26. It will backfire on them big time. nt

[JerseygirlCT]

27. Well, there will be

a rehash of Wright. To which, hopefully, some private group will respond with the witch doctor of Palin's...

There's Ayres, to which we can respond with all those lovely secessionists that Palin likes so much, and plenty of completely savory people in McCain's past...


This is all they've got, and it will be really ugly. But I think this campaign has weathered just about anything out there to be thrown already, and their ability to keep focused and keep in control is beginning to make quite an impression in these suddenly very, very uncertain times.

In some ways, the more crap they throw, the better Obama looks.