Nancy Pfotenhauer and The Power of Positive Sinking

[babylonsister]

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/17673

Nancy Pfotenhauer and The Power of Positive Sinking
by Matthew Hubbard | October 4, 2008



Rachel Maddow was very happy on Friday, October 3. After weeks of cajoling, a spokesperson from the McCain campaign, Nancy Pfotenhauer, agreed to be on the show.

It's clear that Maddow has been groomed by Keith Olbermann, who lobbied to have her host the show that follows his live broadcast at 8:00 pm Eastern and leads into the repeat showing at 10:00, but those who call her show a clone of Olbermann's aren't paying attention. Yes, like Olbermann, she gets to pick what topics are important and she has her own spin on things, but she isn't as confrontational as Keith, and she has people who hold views different from hers own on the show. She had several people against the bailout as guests this past week, both Republicans and Democrats, and she talks on a regular basis with Pat Buchanan, with whom she disagrees without being disagreeable.

So Ms. Pfotenhauer was brought on, and while there was some challenging of the positions held by McCain and Palin, Ms. Maddow did not stop Ms. Pfotenhauer when she said the McCain campaign "knows how to get to 260 electoral votes", but just needed those last 10 more to get to 270 and win.

In truth, the McCain campaign knew how to get to 260, but unless they have a deal with Superman to fly backwards around the earth enough times to get us back to September 14th, it is incorrect to use that verb in the present tense.

snip//

McCain's maverick status isn't helping him, and his campaign "suspension" isn't fooling anyone to the left of Sean Hannity. The Democratic meme is simple. This problem was a long time coming and many people on both left and right saw the trouble, but the Republicans in power and those running for president consistently denied there was anything wrong until they had to admit the problems had metastasized into a cancer that threatened the nation, and even possibly the entire world's economy. It was a problem we needed to address, but it became a crisis because the Republicans have a major problem of cranial-rectal compaction.

McCain isn't Miss Congeniality, as he likes to tell us. Simply put, he cannot lead anymore. He doesn't inspire love or loyalty or respect or fear. He has shrunk every bit as much as Bush has shrunk, and having 25% of the electorate solidly behind you can't succeed if your opponent keeps working. The press will keep portraying this as a horse race, but it really isn't that close right now, as my Sunday numbers post tomorrow will show, and McCain needs a miracle to turn things around.

With all the questions dogging him, his pick for vice president and his party in general, miracles for McCain may be in very short supply.