Daily Tidbits: October 7, 2008

The Pennsylvania Secretary of State Reported Today that

PA has Gone Very Blue Since 2006

• Politico: Obama has been outspending McCain by a 3-to-1 clip.
• Politico: GOP insiders and aides say they fear the “grumpy” McCain.
• 538 projects a 69% chance that Obama will hold all of the “Kerry ‘04″ states, particularly as new polls show PA and NH moving into double digit leads for Obama.
• Eugene Robinson/WaPo: Media has a responsibility to not give voice to transparently false attacks from McCain camp’s desperate effort to distract voters from real issues.
• New Indiana poll:  tied at 46%.
• Newsweek fact-checks McCain’s ads on Obama’s troop funding votes and comments on Afghanistan and finds them false and misleading.
• Economy: Crisis hits real economy.  Anemic auto sales unnerve economists.
• CNN/Time Poll:  Obama makes strong gains in red states.
• Daily Tracking Polls: In Gallup, Obama ties all-time high of +9, 51-42%.  Obama leads in Research 2000 +11, 52-41.  Rasmussen matches yesterday’s all-time high for Obama, +8, 42-44%.
• Dana Milbank/WaPo: Palin works up crowd into an anti-Obama froth (lynch mob?):  one Palin supporter yells racial epithet at a black TV soundman and tells him to “sit down, boy!” Another yells “Kill him!” when Palin repeats irresponsibly false smear implying Obama has ties to terrorists.
• WaPo/Richard Cohen:  Media is giving Sarah Palin a pass and failing to do its job by focusing comments on superficial optics rather than what a disaster she is substantively.  If anyone else (e.g., Hillary Clinton) had made the comments she did during debate, the media would have had a field day.
• MSNBC breaks down the NBC/WSJ Poll, which gives Obama a 49-43% lead.  Peter Hart said a +6 margin is bigger than it might appear: it could mean an electoral college landslide.  Poll shows voters (but perhaps not the pundits) found that Obama-Biden convincingly beat McCain-Palin in the debates.  McCain’s negative turn has driven up McCain’s negative ratings with voters and caused him to lose majority of independent voters since last poll two weeks ago, while Obama has maintained his high favorability ratings.  Bush is viewed favorably by only 10% of Democrats and Independents.
• MSNBC.  McCain launched his political career with assistance of right wing loony, John Singlaub, who was at heart of Iran Contra scandal.
• WaPo/ABC: Obama takes 6-point lead in Ohio, 51-45%.
• Lynn Sweet/Chicago Sun-Times has the skinny on the debate rules and procedures.
• WSJ: McCain plans to cut $1 Trillion from Medicare and Medicaid, because winning Florida is overrated.
• Alaska Daily News:  Sarah and Todd Palin’s underpaid their U.S. income tax.  It’s a secessionist thang…
• NY Times:  Even the business community dislikes McCain’s health plan.
• AP/Yahoo News:  Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) to endorse Obama at a Northern Virginia campaign event with fellow Obama suppoter Susan Eisenhower.