McCain quits the Mitten

its all over the media. its about the only thing anyone is talking about beside the debate. whats it all mean? i know you turn to mountebank for this type of analysis.

really, it doesnt mean a whole lot for Michigan. Obama has opened up a big ole lead. but what it means for the country at large may be a whole hell of a lot. Michigan has been suffering though its own recession, depression, economic meltdown for the better part of a decade. it has become a financial catastrophe over the last few years. the economy is the issue in Michigan. McCain had hoped to make my homeland into a battle, but has given up on the state that preferred him to Bush back in 2000. this is also a state thats become bankrupt under Democratic leadership and a city that became morally bankrupt under Kwame Kirkpatrick. there is plenty of political ill will toward the Democrats, but the voters there still cant bring themselves to vote for policies that brought us to the verge of a great economic precipice.

so what this may mean for the rest of the country is that when the economy becomes the huge elephant in the room that cant be ignored, McCain may not be able to deal with it. he's been inept on the issue so far, as Biden pointed out in last night's debate. the economy already weighs heavily on the minds of most, so this is not good news for McCain.

September's job data is expected today, and folks are speculating losses in the 100k to 200k. i dont think those folks are going to be in tune with McCain's deregulation rhetoric that mimics Bush's when it was the very lack of regulation and oversight that got this snowball of doom a rollin. thats what i see. i see in Michigan what the rest of the nation might be without the changes that would bring more regulation and oversight to the market and push investment in R&D. i think thats what Michigan voters see too. i do keep in mind that Michigan is pretty firmly a Democratic state, but its not by huge margins. Obama's double digit leads there show that he has appeal with a large amount of swing voters, and really, thats where the election lies.

McCain out of Michigan is the first big chink in McCain's armour. Palin gave him a boost, briefly, but thats worn off. i must admit that she did a good job in the debate, though she did dodge some questions. i dont really think that debate is going to have much of an effect on the votes. Biden did very well and proved he is a man of experience and an asset to the campaign and an asset to the White House. Palin proved that she isnt an utter liability, but she did stumble at times and i really dont think she is ready for the national stage, and especially not to lead the nation.

the real news is McCain leaving Michigan. it was announced the night of the debates so that it would get drowned out in all the pundits espousing about the debate, but it shows weakness. it could be the beginning of another snowball rolling. weve only got about a month to see...