How New Voters May Determine the Outcome - Election 2008

Posted: Wednesday, October 01, 2008 9:32 AM by Carrie Dann
Filed Under: First Thoughts, 2008, McCain, Obama

...*** Bubba watch: For the first time today, Bill Clinton hits the campaign trail for Obama. He’ll be in the battleground of Florida, holding rallies in Orlando and Fort Pierce. Of course, given his recent tepid praise of Obama and effusive comments about McCain, Clinton’s events today will receive a bit more scrutiny. And they come just as the McCain campaign unveiled a new TV ad yesterday that uses a quote from Clinton that appears to blame Democrats (in part) for the current economic mess...

...*** In need of a new game-changer: Indeed, as a slew of new state and national polls are suggesting, McCain is now behind. It's no longer fair to call this a dead-even race; it's moving in Obama's direction. The question is: How does McCain stop this momentum? The fastest way is with the upcoming VP debate -- and it's not about Palin, it's about Biden. Palin's No. 1 job may be to attempt to bait Biden into a gaffe. They need Biden to step in it and become the weekend story in some form. It may be too big of a slog to try and resuscitate Palin at this VP debate. But if the campaign can make Biden seem like a net-negative for Obama, then maybe they blunt the Palin issues. It's not going to be easy. Biden has been one of the more disciplined debaters during the primary season, and it's one of the under-remembered aspects of his unsuccessful candidacy. How many times in this race, by the way, have we seen the worm turn just as it seems one candidate is running away with things?...