Slog - Comments on Don't Read The Following if You Like Suspense or Fear Jinxes

Comment by sleestak

sleestak — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:58:30 -0800

I generally agree, but one problem is that the media (well, cable news, anyway) has a vested interest in pretending like it's a tighter race than it is. To that extent they can keep McCain in the game longer than he would otherwise be able to stay.

Comment by flamingbanjo

flamingbanjo — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:58:56 -0800

So in other words, it's only the fact that it's not over that's preventing us from believing that it's over?

Comment by Providence

Providence — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:00:43 -0800

It is not over until you VOTE, BITCHES!

Comment by Moxietex

Moxietex — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:08:18 -0800

Following the 'if it bleeds, it leads' concept, the more the (ahem) 'Liberal Media' can jerk McCant around, the more likelyhood that they will have a gusher of a story.

Comment by Cookie W. Monster

Cookie W. Monster — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:09:05 -0800

It's not over until I vote, and I'm not voting unless Obama wins.

Comment by Karlheinz Arschbomber

Karlheinz Arschbomber — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:12:30 -0800

Real Americans in small shithole towns are the only True America-loving Americans, and they support the only True American candidate, John McCain! Like the fat lady says, America is a Christian (R) country, and we can't trust no black guys with Moslem and Terror connections.

I hope that little idiot paragraph motivates -ONE- person to open that ballot, fill it out, and send the fucker in. Now.

Comment by Chris in Tampa

Chris in Tampa — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:23:22 -0800

I hear a lot about how it's in the Media's best interest to pretend that this is a close campaign, but it's really in everybody's best interest. It's not just a salable story; it also motivates the McCain campaign not to give up, and the Obama campaign not to sit around doing nothing.

You can complain about the Media for a lot of things, but this isn't some sort of scam.

Comment by raindrop

raindrop — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:27:33 -0800

Obama is to Dewey as McCain is to Truman.

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:34:19 -0800

Have they finished packing for their journey to the wilderness for the next 40 years?

Buh bye!

Comment by Julie in Chicago

Julie in Chicago — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:00:27 -0800

@8. Good luck with that analogy. Come back in two weeks and we'll see how it worked out for you.

Comment by Metrics don't lie

Metrics don't lie — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:50:14 -0800

Today seems to have been "Let's say it's still a race" day in the media. However, with the current electoral map, even if McCain were to get ALL of the supposed "toss-ups" (which he ain't gonna do), he loses. Every report I've seen clearly has the map there, yet never actually states this fact. Which most people are too dumb to figure out for themselves. Which means they still have their "story".

Comment by Don't forget to vote!

Don't forget to vote! — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:52:39 -0800

That and the fear that the Republicans are trying to steal the election. I'm worried that Obama will have to win by an overwhelming margin to overcome Republican shenanigans. So don't get complacent. Volunteer, donate, and vote!

Comment by flamingbanjo

flamingbanjo — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:00:15 -0800

@10: I don't think he means McCain is like Truman in that he'll come from behind to win. I think he means he's like Truman in that he'll use nuclear weapons at his earliest opportunity.

Comment by John Bailo

John Bailo — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:56:13 -0800

It was once said that genius loves a dictator.

And that's about it for most of you here. You don't want someone who the People would actually like to elect (Palin/McCain)...you want a cultural dictator like Obama to impose your Lib ideas on the country, and make sure that taxes are high enough to sap the middle class and keep you and your cronies in office.

Comment by rewind

rewind — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:41:56 -0800

the presidential election has been over in OUR state (Washington) since before it started; we all know exactly who our 11 electoral votes are going to. if you want to make a change in the presidential election, call your friends in swing states (or Maine or Nebraska). however the general election has plenty of other positions and initiatives to vote for. look at your voters pamphlet and make a real difference with things that matter close to home.

Comment by Chris in Tampa

Chris in Tampa — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:19:09 -0800

John Bailo has gotten increasingly more glum as time has passed. I wonder why that is.

Comment by raindrop

raindrop — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:34:09 -0800

@13: You are correct, except that 99.99% of our politicians we elect to office from both parties never want to use nuclear weapons, so it's rather silly to make that joke. That percentage include John McCain and Barack Obama.
But I must admit, that if John McCain loses, it will be mostly because of Sarah Palin. If he had selected any of the other GOP candidates for his VP, this polls would be significantly closer.

Comment by whatevernevermind

whatevernevermind — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:08:07 -0800

@17 Because Lieberman, Romney or Giuliani would have gone over oh so much better than Caribou Barbie.

You want to be careful with even a ham-handed "no, really, I'm reasonable" act. Your employers at the Republican party aren't known for their intelligence or senses of humor and you need every paycheck you can get in this economy.

You know, the economy that would have been in place no matter what loser McCain picked as a running mate? The economy McCain helped create and is running away from? Yeah, that economy.

Comment by raindrop

raindrop — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:33:54 -0800

@18: Oh Please. Acknowledging dizzy Sarah is something that I�m sure John has whispered to Cindy at times. In regard to the economy, both parties are pretty soiled.

Comment by Seajay

Seajay — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:13:19 -0800

"John Bailo has gotten increasingly more glum as time has passed. I wonder why that is."

I diagnose an overdose of polls.

Metrics can mean something. Honestly administered (which is often a hazardous assumption), at best they only measure the effects of things that happened yesterday. No metric in the world can measure the effect of something that's gonna happen tomorrow. I agree that the metrics at this time appear to favour Mr Obama. And if nothing happens, he might go to a win. But things have a way of happening. At least we're almost certainly safe from a terror strike in the next eleven days.