Peter Brown, the Quinnipiac pollster, writes about the McCain/Palin campaign against the Media:

Whether the charges [of Media bias] are true or not, they have energized the GOP voter base -– which doesn’t need an excuse to hate the news media -– and the message seems to be resonating among non-Republicans as well. A Rasmussen Reports poll taken before Gov. Palin took the podium showed that 51% of voters surveyed said they felt reporters were trying to hurt her candidacy. Among self-described independents, 49% felt that way. One in four said they were more likely to vote for her because of the coverage, while 18% said they were less likely.

All true, but Brown ignores one other important factor - charges of Media bias resonate, with strong merit, with Clinton supporters. Attacking the Media implicitly appeals to Hillary Clinton supporters as well.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

The day John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate I wrote:

Believe it or not, if not taking the Romney path and hoping for some campaign event to change the math, I think Palin is McCain's best bet. It is a gamble, but when you are going to lose if you do not gamble, you might as well take the shot. I think McCain is taking a clear eyed gamble.

For now, McCain's gamble has put him in the game. But the fundamentals of this election remain the same. If Obama can make this election about whether we continue George Bush's disastrous policies by choosing McCain or whether we change the direction of the country, he will win comfortably. Right now, that message has been lost. Time to get it back. More . . .

The LA Times reports on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's leadership style and follow-through, based on interviews of individuals involved in Alaskan politics and Government. While she's praised for some things, she's raked up criticism in many areas. Key points those interviewed made:

She often failed to follow through on her initiatives, including ethics reform.

Yet a strange thing happened on the ethics issue once Palin became governor: She appeared to lose interest in completing the task of legislating comprehensive reform, some who supported the cleanup say.

The ethics bill she offered was so incomplete that its supporters had to undertake a significant rewrite. Moreover, when it came to building support for the bill, politicians in both parties say the new governor was often unaccountably absent from the fray.

A similar criticism was levied against her on the oil rebate checks: [More...]

USA Today/Gallup poll says McCain/Palin by 4 Over Obama/Biden:

McCain leads Democrat Barack Obama by 50%-46% among registered voters, the Republican's biggest advantage since January and a turnaround from the USA TODAY poll taken just before the convention opened in St. Paul. Then, he lagged by 7 percentage points.

Here's why:

McCain has narrowed Obama's wide advantage on handling the economy, by far the electorate's top issue. Before the GOP convention, Obama was favored by 19 points; now he's favored by 3.

Clearly, McCain/Palin is not being perceived as Bush's Third Term. Too much Troopergate, too much Palin. Not enough Bush. With the demotions of Olbermann and Tweety, and the clear signals from the Obama campaign, perhaps Dems will get the message - let's get back to McCain and how he represents more of the same.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Jay Ackroyd asks a good question:

So, if Obama will face O'Reilly, doesn't that make McCain a wuss if he won't go on Olberman? KO may want to start asking that question.

A very fair question. I think O'Reilly and Olbermann are pretty comparable. If Obama is tough enough to take on O'Reilly, McCain should be tough enough to take on Olbermann.

Update [2008-9-7 22:23:30 by Big Tent Democrat]: NYTimes reporting reporting Olbermann and Matthews are out as anchors for political nights on MSNBC. Pretty funny. Apparently, NBC did not like being Fox Left.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

CNN reports that John McCain said he'd include Democrats in his cabinet. Since Sen. Barack Obama said the same about Republicans months ago, there's no story there. (Unless it that's McCain gives us Joe Lieberman, hardly something to write home about.)

But, this quote is curious: [More...]

Via Mahablog, the Wall St. Journal reports on one of Gov. Sarah Palin's projects as Mayor of Wasilia, Alaska.

The biggest project that Sarah Palin undertook as mayor of this small town was an indoor sports complex, where locals played hockey, soccer, and basketball, especially during the long, dark Alaskan winters.

The only catch was that the city began building roads and installing utilities for the project before it had unchallenged title to the land. The misstep led to years of litigation and at least $1.3 million in extra costs for a small municipality with a small budget. What was to be Ms. Palin’s legacy has turned into a financial mess that continues to plague Wasilla. (my emphasis.)

On a lighter note, check out the Facebook groups against Sarah Palin. The group called "I Have More Foreign Policy Experience Than Sarah Palin" has over 41,000 members. (You have to be a Facebook member to view it.)

Also check out Alaska Blogger Mudflats who is writing a lot on Palin.

Newsweek has a five page online article examining Sarah Palin's life and career. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but this paragraph on the front page caught my attention and gets it quite right in my view:

A reformer, she faces allegations of exerting improper influence in city and state government. A self-styled regular Red State gal, she is relentlessly driven, a politician of epic ambition who is running against a Washington establishment that, if elected, she will inevitably join, and even rule over.

The election is six weeks away. For those of you who are tired of discussion of Sarah Palin, while we will continue to write about other matters during this period, the election will be the focus. It's that important to our country. Keep in mind there are more than 20 posts a day on TalkLeft. You can either use an rss feeder to spot the non-election coverage and not have to scroll through the election posts or return after the election.

The LA Times reports today that McCain's blatant attempt to target working class women voters with his choice of Sarah Palin to be vice president isn't convincing many of them.

For many of these critical swing voters, economic interests trump any admiration of the Alaska governor's maternal grit, and some are repelled by her sarcastic jabs at Obama.

As one woman put it:

"I wanted Hillary to win so bad, but I saw Sarah, and it just didn't work for me," said Heckman, taking a break in the empty courtyard of J. Paul's restaurant in a downtown struggling to revive. "I have no retirement. Obama understands it's the economy. He knows how we live."

[More...]

Time to panic!! Just kidding, but McCain has jumped ahead in the Gallup tracker with his convention bounce:

The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update shows John McCain moving ahead of Barack Obama, 48% to 45%, when registered voters are asked for whom they would vote if the presidential election were held today. These results are based on Sept. 4-6 interviewing, and include two full days of polling after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention last Thursday night. McCain has outpolled Obama on both Friday and Saturday, and is receiving a convention bounce just as Obama did last week.

Personally, I think the Media and Democratic surrogates have done McCain a great favor by aiming all their fire on Sarah Palin. Time to get back to the McCain/Palin = Bush's Third Term message. It's been lost for more than a week.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

As I've mentioned, I covered the McCain/Palin rally in Colorado Springs yesterday for Salon.com. My report is now up on their site, McCain and Palin Go to Dobsonville. The gist:

Fresh from the GOP convention, John McCain brings his Christian fundamentalist running mate to Christian fundamentalist headquarters –- but doesn't mention abortion or gay marriage.

Not surprisingly, it focuses on aspects much of the mainstream media coverage missed or ignored. Until I saw this CBS report, I was beginning to wonder whether I had attended a different event.

ABC has an article about rock stars telling McCain/Palin to stop using their music at campaign events. Jackson Browne and Heart are among them.

I heard another group yesterday blaring from the speakers at one point during the Colorado Springs event, held in a jet aviation hangar and on the tarmac: The B-52's.