The Wall Street Journal has news of McCain's ridiculous new attack against Barack Obama that Palin will be launching in Pennsylvania today.
Also, NeimanMarcusGate continues with Palin's denials and the Los Angeles Times takes a look at the rampant cronyism in her administration.
And, Obama picks up another Republican endorsement.
The Wall Street Journal reports this morning on John McCain's new line of attack against Obama:
Looking for fresh ways to press the tax issue, John McCain plans to roll out a new attack against Barack Obama on Friday, claiming the Democrat's plan would increase the burden on families with special needs children.
A top adviser to Sen. McCain said the attack was designed to show the "bizarre, unintended consequences" likely to result from Sen. Obama's proposed tax increases. Raising taxes on top brackets, including trusts, could ensnare special needs families who set up "special needs" trusts to pay for medical and other expenses that come with a disability.
What about the "bizarre, unintended consequences" of McCain's across the board spending freeze? The Obama campaign response:
Senior Obama advisor Jason Furman said the attack is a "blatant lie" and said that Sen. Obama has always said he would work with the Treasury Department to adjust thresholds in order to make sure tax rates do not inadvertently increase on any family making less than $250,000 a year.
Does anyone else find this new attack completely ridiculous? Does McCain really think this is the argument that is suddenly going to make people think he knows how to handle the economy and is the right choice for President?
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David Brooks of the New York Times predicts Obama will win the popular vote by 9%.
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The Moscow News Weekly reports that Audacity of Hope has been translated into Russian and hit the bookshelves in Russia this week. It costs 260 rubles.
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Day 3 of NeimanMarcusGate continues! Now, the headline is Sarah Palin denies accepting $150k in designer clothes:
Palin, who is John McCain's vice presidential running mate, said the clothes were not worth $150,000 and were bought for the Republican National Convention. Most of the clothes have never left the campaign plane, she told the newspaper.
"It's kind of painful to be criticized for something when all the facts are not out there and are not reported," Palin said.
So... if they weren't worth $150,000 what were the other charges for? This has got to be the lamest denial ever. But thanks, Sarah, for ensuring this gets another day of media coverage!
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If we needed any more indication of what kind of politician Palin is, the Los Angeles Times is reporting this morning that 100 of Palin's appointments in Alaska went to campaign donors:
* More than 100 appointments to state posts -- nearly 1 in 4 -- went to campaign contributors or their relatives, sometimes without apparent regard to qualifications.
* Palin filled 16 state offices with appointees from families that donated $2,000 to $5,600 and were among her top political patrons.
* Several of Palin's leading campaign donors received state-subsidized industrial development loans of up to $3.6 million for business ventures of questionable public value.
Not that we need any more evidence to convince us that she is such a maverick reformer.
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Obama is endorsed by much of the Spanish-language press in Nevada:
El Tiempo, a weekly published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and El Mundo, the state's oldest Spanish-language newspaper, announced the endorsements Thursday. Other Nevada outlets endorsing Obama include La Prensa Latina, Mía Tu Revista and La Voz Hispana.
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Now's not the time to stop donating to Obama! I've been donating every month and just gave my October contribution yesterday. The AP reports:
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's fundraising clip slowed down in October to about a half of his torrid September pace even as he increased his spending to record levels.
Obama reported raising $36 million for his campaign during the first two weeks of October. He spent more than $105 million during that same period, a pace that would more than double his spending from September.
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Obama is picking up the endorsement of another Republican, former Massachusetts Governor William Weld. He'll make his announcement in New Hampshire.
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Matthew Kaminski of the WSJ says McCain doesn't look competitive in Pennsylvania:
The Barack Obama campaign occupies a storefront on N. Main Street across from the county courthouse. A stream of people filters through to pick up buttons or leaflets. The bulletin board lists a dozen staffers in this office and another in Bristol.
Now try to find a John McCain outpost in Bucks County. Armed with an address, you'd get an unmarked, low, stand-alone office building on a four-lane state highway 15 minutes' drive from here. On the front door a small sign directs visitors to the McCain campaign around the corner and down the stairs to the basement. Two volunteers man phones, McCain posters or signs aren't readily available. Three paid staffers direct the Republican's campaign from a single office in this critical battleground.
Good thing he's staking his entire campaign on PA!
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(Photo by Matt Dial, Indianapolis Star)
So Obama is off the trail today visiting his grandma. How will the McCain campaign react? If the WSJ article is any indication, they won't let up on the attacks... just as they continued to attack Joe Biden while he was at his mother-in-law's funeral. McCain and Palin - always classy!
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So what else is going on? Sorry to say I won't be doing any Morning Reaction this weekend... I'm running a marathon on Sunday and will be away from my computer all weekend. But I'll see you on Monday!