Joe Biden is all over the networks spinning for Barack Obama. Sarah Palin was nowhere to be found – what a surprise!
Biden was great tonight. He’s at his best in these TV interviews, and he slams McCain for confusing tactics and strategy. This clip is priceless.
Both candidates did well tonight. McCain’s campaign was imploding, and he needed to get back in the game tonight. He accomplished that, despite a slow start. Obama needed to demonstrate a working knowledge of foreign policy, and he accomplished that.
I think Obama did a little better. Both had good points on Iraq, and each was able to make their respective arguments. Given that McCain has the edge on experience and foreign policy, this is a win for Obama. Along those lines, here’s the best moment of the debate for Obama.
McCain did a good job of emphasizing his experience and knowledge of the issues, and he repeated over and over his argument that Obama did not understand the issues. That said, Obama was able to deflect those by being able to speak intelligently about the issues.
We’ll see how this plays out. McCain did not hide his utter contempt for Obama. McCain always hates his opponents, and he was barely able to even look at Obama. The grouchy candidate rarely wins, so this might hurt him. Obama, on the other hand, was confident and tough without being arrogant or antagonistic.
Barack Obama has been rebounding in the polls, but he still has a tough road ahead of him in Ohio. Fortunately, Hillary is ready to help out in the Buckeye State.
Hillary just held a private conference call with Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and dozens of donors to her campaign and to Ohio Dems, urging them to plow funds into the coffers of the Ohio state party so it can help execute the ground game on Barack Obama’s behalf, a Hillary aide confirms to me.
“There isn’t any doubt that Ohio once again will be the pivotal state in this election and I know that it’s extremely close in the state,” Hillary told the donors, according to excerpts of the call sent our way by her office.
Hillary also promised extensive future visits to the state on Obama’s behalf. “I will be back campaigning up and down the state to make the case that the failed leadership of the last eight years should not be rewarded with another four,” she told the donors.
Obama’s team has been working closely with Hillary and Governor Strickland. They have an excellent ground game and lots of new voters. It will be interesting to see if that puts Obama over the top. I still think he has better opportunities in Virginia and Colorado, but he can probably lock up the election with wins in either Ohio or Florida.
The Obama campaign has been aggressively targeting Florida, but many have been skeptical as to whether Obama has a legitimate shot at that state.
I was surprised when I heard over the weekend that Hillary’s first appearance after the convention would be in Florida. After looking at the issue more closely, the campaign’s optimism regarding Florida makes much more sense.
First, the Joe Biden selection was as much about Florida as any other state, including Pennsylvania. Biden has huge support in the Jewish community, particularly with older Jewish voters, due to his long history as a supporter of Israel in the Senate. I always knew Biden was popular with older voters, but I didn’t realize how much support he had in the Jewish community. The fact the the Obama campaign immediately sent Biden to Florida after he was selected as Obama’s running mate underscores the point.
Today, Ben Smith reported that Ed Koch has decided to endorse Obama. In 2004, the former mayor of New York endorsed Bush and campaigned for him. This time, the selection of Sarah Palin pushed Koch into Obama’s camp.
Koch is a member of a set of secular, swing-voting Jewish Democrats who may have been pushed away by the selection of Palin, and his endorsement may be a marker of an opportunity for Obama to strengthen his campaign among older Jewish voters in Florida.
Koch is still very influential in the Jewish community, and he indicated a willingness to campaign for Obama in Florida.
The stories about the Jews for Jesus speaker at Palin’s church will not help McCain’s campaign with Jewish voters. The speaker suggested that attacks on Israel represented punishment from God.
Voter registration numbers also favor Obama in Florida.
Democrats also have done a better job of registering voters. In the first seven months of the year, Democrats increased their numbers by nearly 253,000, compared with slightly more than 98,000 more Republicans. Overall, Florida has about 4.4 million Democrats, 3.9 million Republicans and 2.3 million voters who aren’t registered with either party.
The Democrats estimates about 600,000 registered black voters stayed home in 2004, more than Bush’s margin of victory in the state. And nearly 600,000 black Floridians aren’t registered to vote.
Finally, the issue of social security will be huge. John McCain supported Bush’s efforts to privatize the program, and the Obama campaign will likely hammer McCain on this issue in the state as well.
For all these reasons, it’s not surprising to see Rasmussen’s poll yesterday that showed a dead heat in Florida.
With 27 electoral votes, a win by Obama in Florida would practically seal the election for Obama. McCain has not spent much at all in the state, so perhaps things will change once McCain starts running ads, but the Obama campaign has reason for optimism.
If you’re making under $250,000 per year, both candidates are proposing tax cuts. For the lower brackets, the cuts are bigger under Obama’s plan. McCain offers higher cuts for taxpayers in the higher brackets.
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