As Big Tent Democrat wrote here, the New York Times/CBS poll shows Obama regaining the momentum in the presidential race and leading John McCain.

It's not just the economy. It's also McCain's opportunistic pick of Gov. Sarah Palin for Vice President. A majority of those polled (pdf)find her unqualified and 3/4 of them believe she was selected primarily to help McCain win.

More than half of registered voters do not think she is prepared for the job of Vice President, and a majority express concern about Palin being able to take over the presidency, if necessary. Even supporters of John McCain cite “inexperience” as what they like least about her. Palin’s unfavorable rating is also up eight points from last week.

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NYTimes poll, Obama 48, McCain 43:

Despite an intense effort to distance himself from the way his party has done business in Washington, Senator John McCain . . . is widely viewed as a “typical Republican” who would continue or expand President Bush’s policies, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

. . . The poll was taken during a period of extraordinary turmoil on Wall Street. By overwhelming numbers, Americans said the economy was the top issue affecting their vote decision, and they continued to express deep pessimism about the nation’s economic future. They continued to express greater confidence in Mr. Obama’s ability to manage the economy, even as Mr. McCain has aggressively sought to raise doubts about it.

McCain needs a new game changer. Right now, "it's the economy, stupid." If that does not change by Election Day, this election is over.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

A Survey USA Today poll of New Mexico voters released today finds Sen. Barack Obama ahead of John McCain by 8 points:

In an election for President of the United States in New Mexico today, 09/17/08, Democrat Barack Obama defeats Republican John McCain by 8 points, according to this SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for KOB-TV in Albuquerque. Today, it's Obama 52%, McCain 44%.

McCain leads by 11 among whites; Obama leads by 41 among Hispanics. Obama leads by 12 among voters younger than Obama. McCain leads by 10 among voters older than McCain. Half of voters say the economy is most important. Among those voters, Obama leads 3:2. Obama leads among the more educated. McCain leads among the less educated. Obama leads among the less affluent. McCain leads among the more affluent.

The Washington Post gives four Pinocchios to Gov. Sarah Palin for her claim that as Governor of Alaska, she oversees 20% of the U.S. oil and gas supply. First, the claims:

Gov. Sarah Palin "knows more about energy than probably anyone in the United States of America." (Sen. John McCain, NBC interview, Sept. 10)

"My job has been to oversee nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of oil and gas." (Gov. Sarah Palin, Golden, Colo., Sept. 15 )

The truth: [More...]

Well I used to be disgusted

Now I try to be amused

That's my reaction to Gov. Sarah Palin's offer in Michigan to have voters play "Stump the Candidate."

This is an open thread.

The Reuters/Zogby poll released today has Sen. Barack Obama leading John McCain by 2 points, wiping out McCain's pre-convention lead.

Obama leads McCain among likely voters by 47 percent to 45 percent, within the poll's 3.1 percent margin of error. He gained ground in the last month among independent and women voters and on the question of who could best manage the faltering U.S. economy.

Obama wiped out McCain's 5-point edge in a Reuters/Zogby poll taken in August before the nominating conventions, a sign the Arizona senator could be drifting back to earth from what other opinion polls showed was a post-convention surge.

Sarah Palin isn't helping McCain with anyone except his core base. [More...]

The National Jewish Democratic Council is calling on the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations to rescind its invitation to Sarah Palin to participate in the protest rally against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

Monday’s protest against Ahmadinejad is too important to be tainted by partisanship. Unfortunately, the campaign of Senator John McCain is much more interested in scoring political points than insuring there is bipartisan solidarity around the anti- Ahmadinejad efforts. Therefore, we call upon the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations to withdraw the invitation to Governor Sarah Palin and we applaud Senator Hillary Clinton’s decision to not attend the rally after the attendance of Palin was announced.

By withdrawing Palin’s invitation, the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations will be able to return the focus to America’s outrage towards the genocidal musings and nuclear ambitions of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

My earlier post on Hillary's refusal to appear with Palin is here.

Yesterday John McCain opposed federal intervention to keep AIG alive. Today he supports it. Sen. Obama had a great line today when commenting on McCain's changed position:

"But it sounds like he got a little carried away, because yesterday, John McCain actually said that if he's president, he'll take on the - quote - 'old boys network' in Washington. I am not making this up. This is someone who's been in Congress for 26 years - who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign - and now he tells us that he's the one who will take on the old boy network.

"The old boy network? In the McCain campaign, that's called a staff meeting," Obama said.

Good one.

Great ad.

CNN just aired the McCain Palin Michigan town forum live here. (Link no longer working since it's over.) I caught the last ten minutes or so.

Question by young woman on health care. McCain answered that Government run health care is not in the best interest of Americans.

He favors a $5k refundable tax credit for people to get the health plan they, not their employer, chooses. He favors Community health centers, outcome- based treatment, instead of paying for evey conceivable test, we cover people for a year. Stresses wellness and fitness, citing an increase in child obesity. He will reward you when you succeed.

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Today is Constitution Day. The ACLU launched a new campaign today encouraging voters to consider the Constitution in deciding whom to vote for.

• This is Your Bill of Rights on Drugs

• The (Constitutitonal) Aches and Pains of Over-Incarceration

Take the pledge (pdf):

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Dos Caras...Two-Faced. That's the theme of Sen. Barack Obama's new ad airing in Spanish in Colorado and New Mexico.

The Obama campaign has released new radio and TV ads in Spanish that seek to tie Sen. John McCain to anti-immigrant comments made by radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. The ads also suggest the Republican has "dos caras" -- "two faces" -- when it comes to his relations with Latino voters. The new messages, airing in Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, come in response to recent Spanish-language ads by the McCain campaign that suggest Obama is responsible for the collapse of last year's bipartisan immigration reform efforts.

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