Picture this: you're in a swing state with 72 hours to go before the close of arguably the most intensely contested presidential election in history. 72 hours and counting.
What do you expect a campaign field office in a highly contested state in a hotly contested election to look like? Answer here.
This is hardly an exhaustive list, but as a freebie from the AP first thing in the morning, we'll take it. Anybody think Tom Ridge is bitter?
A new AP report reveals that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin--with apparent input from Vice President Cheney--helped to rig the bidding process on her much-touted natural gas pipeline in order to craft terms that favored the eventual contract winner, a company with ties to the Palin administration.
This, while a second Troopergate investigation continues, cannot be what the beleaguered McCain campaign was looking forward to hearing this afternoon. If there's good news for the campaign in any of this, it's that the AP released the story on a Saturday afternoon. Investigative reports don't get more buried than that, although the Sunday papers do have room to run the long items.
If the campaign's woes can actually get worse, it's that CNN, instead of leading this afternoon with the pipeline story, is flogging anonymous reports from McCain staffers on just what a "diva" Sarah Palin is, that she enjoys no trusting relationships with anybody on the campaign, and that aides fear she may be distancing herself from the ticket in order to position for 2012. Ouch.
Ah, well. All in a slow day's news watching, I suppose. Back to work.
John McCain sounds perfectly miserable. It cuts through his voice even when we can't actually hear his voice, as in this AP write-up on the candidate's responses to questions about Sarah Palin's shopping spree, Obama's spending advantage, and the prosecution of illegal immigrants who commit crimes. At every turn, anguish, resentment, and misery.
Via TPM this morning (last night), the NRCC can no longer support Marilyn Musgrave in her bid for reelection in Colorado's 4th District. The NRCC ad buy that came this week on Musgrave's behalf will run until Oct 28, then go off the air. That leaves Musgrave on her own in the crucial last days until the election.
Not sure how early voting factors in here, and whether or not Betsy Markey and the DNCC can capitalize on this late breaking bit of good news for Dems. The Denver Post today characterizes the race succinctly: "Internal polling from both campaigns has the congresswoman breaking even, at best." That should encourage the Markey campaign, but this has been a tough race through and through, including a surprising endorsement from the Post for the embattled Musgrave.
I'm no campaign strategist, but I'm betting now may be a good time to make a donation (or an extra little donation) to the Markey campaign and see if they can't capitalize on this recent news. Musgrave is, politically speaking, a cousin of the Michelle Bachman breed, and as such may actually polarize voters (and electrify donors) more than Markey herself can in the final days of the race. If you want an up to the minute ticker on the leaning of that race, I'd say watch the numbers. If Markey can effectively outraise Musgrave in the final days--and put that money to good use--then Markey's schedule may be intensely busy in District 4 and in Washington starting November 5.
The Denver Post further predicts today that "Colorado's days as a battleground state for the Nov. 4 election may be waning." In the closely watched Senate campaign, Mark Udall leads Bob Schaffer by a broad enough lead to inspire the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to pull its funding for the Democratic candidate in Colorado, probably to direct resources to tighter races in Oregon, North Carolina, Alaska (keep an eye on deliberations in the Stevens trial for indicators in that race) and Minnesota. The Udall campaign is likely feeling quite exposed in the closing weeks of an intensely bitter campaign, but has to be happy with their current standing.
One last Colorado campaign note: The McCain campaign continues to insist that "We are not pulling ads and will be on the air in Colorado through Election Day." That's campaign spokesperson Tom Kise, but the numbers tell a different story. The Post report today indicates that McCain dollars spent this week on airtime have dropped off 46% from last week and 54% from two weeks ago. For the final week of the election, McCain has purchased approximately 1/7 the airtime that the Obama campaign has reserved in Colorado. In an interesting aside, the McCain campaign has not purchased any advertising time from Channel 7. Not sure if that bodes poorly for the campaign, or for the ABC affiliate, a bit of an also-ran (like McCain?) in the Denver market.
Maybe the McCain campaign can take a breath, just relax, and trust in fate. After all, the election is in God's hands now.
Toward the end of today's installment of Meet the Press, Newsweek's Jon Meacham related a story about Walter Mondale's ill-fated bid for the presidency in 1984. When it was obvious that nothing Mondale could do would win him the election, an advisor suggested that the candidate spend the last days campaigning as he wanted his grandchildren to remember him.
John McCain, by all accounts, did not get that memo. And I'd go so far as to say it's noteworthy to see FOX's Chris Wallace, of all people, go after McCain so aggressively.
Just a few minutes ago, Steve Benen posted links to reports of separate rallies held yesterday by McCain and Palin. The only reasonable conclusion? McCain/Palin appear perfectly comfortable stoking hatred as a campaign tactic.
I just need to say that, after a quick trip to the slower side of Colorado, I return to my desk, the headlines, and the political blogosphere with a certain sense of distaste already for tonight's town hall style debate, given the newly festering tone of the Straight Talk Express, also known as the Have No Shame campaign.
Asked about the truth of his ads this campaign by a reporter at the Des Moines Register, John McCain took "great exception" to the assertions made. The overall effect? Seething, clenched teeth, who-are-you-to-question-me? anger.
On the veracity of his claims, McCain stated "We've got the documentation. I'll be glad to provide it to you." Then, "It's on our website," so it must be true. Finally, questions about the truth of his campaign ads call into question "my honorable service this country." Beauty.
