We’re in the middle of nasty financial times, and as luck (or unluck) would have it, we’re also in the middle of a presidential election. As I see it, that gives us a couple of responsibilities here: first of all, fixing the problem, but then, and …

How do you feel “mugged” by McCain? Mugged implies “taken by surprise” (to me, anyway). What has surprised you about McCain’s behavior? – Y-not on September 30, 2008 at 6:45 PM

He promised a fight in his acceptance speech. Today, he gave up the struggle. Sounds like a mugging to me.

ManlyRash on September 30, 2008 at 6:12 PM

How do you feel “mugged” by McCain? Mugged implies “taken by surprise” (to me, anyway). What has surprised you about McCain’s behavior?

At the end of the day, McCain needs to be true to himself and let the chips fall where they may. – Y-not on September 30, 2008 at 6:07 PM

At the end of the day on November 4 McCain will still be a senator and Sarah will be returning to Alska, where she will fade into obscurity.

But hey…at least McCain was true to himself. That’s gotta count for something, right? Right?

I used to be like you, Vince. Then I got mugged by McCain. You can have him and the Obama presidency. There are bigger battles ahead.

ManlyRash on September 30, 2008 at 5:37 PM

I don’t understand why you feel “mugged” by McCain. He is behaving exactly as I would have expected him to behave during this financial crisis. He prides himself in putting the needs of the country first and in being able to work across the aisle. For many people McCain’s ability to tone down partisan rhetoric for the good of the country will allow them to vote for him, even if they normally vote Democrat.

The PUMAs loathe Obama because he is inexperienced and a political thug. Except for the most strident pro-”choicers” (who are probably in the younger Obama-leaning age group anyway), McCain represents a reasonable alternative to Obama.

There is a vast silent population in America whose views are not reflected in lawn signs, bumper stickers, or polls. Regular middle-of-the-road people who live their lives within their financial means expect government to do the same — they do not want a tax and spend liberal like Obama. Regular folks who treat their neighbors with courtesy and respect do not appreciate being called racists based on whom they support for office or “clingers” because they own a gun or go to church. Ultimately, these folks want to live their lives and pursue the American dream in peace and security — I do not think they will trust Obama to keep them secure.

At the end of the day, McCain needs to be true to himself and let the chips fall where they may. Personally, he showed me a lot when he picked Palin. It is too early to give up on her or McCain. I’m content to let McCain be himself — a “centrist” who at least shows a willingness to consider more conservative viewpoints. The difficulties Palin has experienced in recent interviews show us what happens when a candidate is overly coached. They both — McCain and Palin — need to be themselves and communicate as directly with the people as possible.

Manly, thank you. You are too kind. You had me at “Revolution.”

Terrye. I understand where you are coming from. “Bi-partisanship will win the day”. Unfortunately, the other side is tearing us apart with partisan sniping. All I am saying is that I am tired of fighting out here in the trenches while our elected representatives forget to put on their stones before they go off to battle. That’s all.

Oh, and the Americans that are voting for the One will never “educate” themselves. They are too busy waiting for the next season of Real World and American Idol.

The commentors here at Hot Air are great people, but they are not a typical cross section of America. What sounds like a winner to some of us, might not work with a national audience. – Terrye on September 30, 2008 at 5:01 PM

Shyeah…because we can see how well he is doing with the typical cross section of America.

Here’s a clue: conservatism works every single time it’s been tried.

Thank you, they are. Texas women are feisty, though. We don’t take guff off anyone. – HornetSting on September 30, 2008 at 4:00 PM

You are a sweetheart, Hornet.

Tell them not to get to close. Haven’t you heard, ManlyRash has “found Allah” and is about to become a puff of blue smoke (”Allahu Akbar!”) on his way to getting his 72 virgins. – NightmareOnKStreet on September 30, 2008 at 3:59 PM

Aw, c’mon K. Let’s be friends…you know…in the spirit of bipartisan cooperation.

Manly: Let’s say your right and everything goes to hell in a handbasket. What are you accomplishing by your negativity? Sure, you can say I told you so but I would rather you channel that negativity into maybe a constructive plan or idea to pull the nuts out of the fire.
Be a hero! – Vince on September 30, 2008 at 4:28 PM

I used to be like you, Vince. Then I got mugged by McCain. You can have him and the Obama presidency. There are bigger battles ahead.

Terrye on September 30, 2008 at 4:56 PM

It’s that kind of thinking that put the Republicans in the minority, Terrye.

If McCain started going on about Dodd and Frank and all that it would not make the slightest difference. People would just think it was a partisan attack in an election, it might even backfire. After all when Republicans had the majority in Congress they did not do much to stop this.

In fact McCain was one of the few Republicans who went on record to try and reform the system. Where were the other Republicans when he was doing that?

I know we can’t count on the news media to do their jobs and tell people exactly what happened here, but what McCain needs now is a plan that can work and that can pass. For that he needs to have some cooperation from some Democrats.

As far as people being livid, George Bush could have gone in front of the public in 2004 or 2005 and told them this was going to happen. Just like he told them that social security needed reform. They would not have listened. Too many people were making money. So they can be livid, but they can also make an effort to educate themselves about how this came about. If they care that is.

I don’t think you are right about this. I am sure that John McCain knows exactly how those people feel. He lives in that world. But at the same time people just seem to completely ignore the fact that the Republicans are a minority. This is not a figure of speech or a demographic, they do not have enough votes to do anything without the cooperation of at least a few Democrats. That is what the numbers are.

I don’t think McCain is trying to lose the election. He did not ask for this economic crisis to jump up and bite him on the butt right now. And a lot of the people who seem to think they know better than him how to run for office have no experience at this kind of thing at all.

The commentors here at Hot Air are great people, but they are not a typical cross section of America. What sounds like a winner to some of us, might not work with a national audience.

When you are the minority, you do have to act in a bipartisan fashion. There are some young blue dogs out there from places like here in Indiana that had nothing to do with all that stuff Dodd and Frank were doing back in the 90′s. They might be persuaded to work with someone from the other party. They have to do it on a state level all the time.

Let’s say your right and everything goes to hell in a handbasket. What are you accomplishing by your negativity? Sure, you can say I told you so but I would rather you channel that negativity into maybe a constructive plan or idea to pull the nuts out of the fire.

Be a hero!

Doh! What a killer! Love it! What will Bubba say next?!

Badger40 on September 30, 2008 at 4:18 PM

“Come on over, Sarah. Got a cigar for ya’”. He is a skank, but he is our skank right now, huh? Bubba makes a strange bedfellow….ewww.