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- Apparently the fact that McCain/Palin received a convention bump in the polls is supposed to be cause for panic amongst Democrats, but isn't this yet another rehash of the "why isn't Obama winning by ten points" argument? The source of the panic, incidentally, is a whole gaggle of national polls confirming McCain either ahead or -- gasp! -- tied with Obama in the polls. We've got the Gallup Daily Tracker with McCain up over Obama 49-44, Rasmussen 48-47, and Diageo/Hotline [PDF] shows a 44-44 tie. CNN also shows a tie, 48-48, and 45-45 when Barr and Nader are included. The numbers causing the most consternation, however, are in this Gallup/USA Today poll that has McCain with a ten-point lead, 54-44 among likely voters. When the same poll was conducted among registered voters, the lead shrunk down to 50-46. I'd recommend Democrats take a look at this Public Policy Poll [PDF] of Michigan to boost their spirits. Sure, Obama's only up by one point, 47-46, but even after the veepstakes/conventions avalanche, the best McCain could do in the Wolverine State was catch up to Obama.
- New McCain ad: "The Original Mavericks." Shoot me now. Perhaps most egregious is the repetition of the lie that Sarah Palin opposed the Bridge to Nowhere, which, thankfully, the Obama campaign is calling out by name.
- Over the weekend, the New York Times Magazine ran a David Frum-penned piece on the "vanishing Republican voter." Consider it a good primer to the news that the Obama campaign assisted in getting 49,000 new voters on the Virginia rolls in August, and the fact that since 2006, Democrats have registered 2 million new voters while the Republicans have lost 344,000 in the same period. Final word on the topic of voter registration: Hilzoy has compiled a list of voter registration deadlines in all fifty states.
- Barack Obama and John McCain plan on making a joint appearance on Thursday to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. What I find puzzling is the joint statement that observes the obvious: "On Thursday, we will put aside politics and come together to renew that unity, to honor the memory of each and every American who died." So after that I assume it's fair game to divide the country along faux-populist lines, question your opponent's patriotism, and steal their convention flags while claiming they were callously thrown away. Isn't that in the GOP playbook?
- Sarah Palin doesn't realize that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were privately held before they were bailed out by the Fed to the tune of $5 trillion. Matt Yglesias wonders if this criticism is a little too highbrow for the average American rube: "Palin doesn’t understand the basic structure of the GSEs and neither do most Americans. All this liberal sneering at public officials for not having, you know, a in-depth knowledge of policy matters is exactly why we’re seen as out of touch" (italics in original).
- Turns out Sarah Palin was extensively vetted by Alaskan Democrats prior to the 2006 gubernatorial race and their 63-page report is available here [PDF].
- Harry Reid puts Joe Lieberman "on notice" after the latter's uplifting speech at the RNC. That's great, but in the meanwhile, the 110th Congress is back in session, discussing such serious policy proposals as "drill, baby, drill."
- And finally, some right-wing churches are testing the waters for making legal political endorsements. I assume it will look something like, "vote Republican or spend an eternity in hell. I'm Jesus Christ, and I approved this message."
--Mori Dinauer
