Slog - Comments on McCain Pulling Out of Michigan http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan This is huge. John McCain is pulling out of Michigan, according to two Republicans, a stunning move a month away from Election Day that indicates the difficulty Republicans are having in finding blue states to put in play. McCain will go off TV in Michigan, stop dropping mail there and send most of his staff to more competitive states, including Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida. Wisconsin went for Kerry in 2004, Ohio and Florida for Bush. The AP confirms it here. Go ahead, try to figure out how McCain realistically gets to 270 electoral college votes if he can't win Michigan.... Copyright 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:45:25 -0800 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:26:41 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by lilzilla "Two Republicans" isn't much of a source . . .

]]> lilzilla http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160133 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160133 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:47:00 -0800 Comment by Andrew Don't get excited until we see Obama on the Capital diaz on January 20 2009 taking the oath of office at 12:01pm EST.

And NEVER trust what the Republicans, er ah people who prefer the GOP, say.

]]> Andrew http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160143 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160143 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:51:41 -0800 Comment by David Schmader As Bristol Palin has taught us, pulling out always works.

]]> David Schmader http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160152 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160152 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:54:20 -0800 Comment by AK This is on par with McCain suspending his campaign. He makes rash decisions that portray weakness rather than strength. Yes!

]]> AK http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160154 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160154 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:54:57 -0800 Comment by BN This was confirmed to me by a contact in the MI Republican party.

It certainly makes the numbers complicated for McCain. I wonder what he has up his sleeve. "Whitey" tape?

]]> BN http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160156 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160156 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:55:26 -0800 Comment by douglas what a quitter. although, i would like to see more sources on this before i get all excited and stuff.

]]> douglas http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160163 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160163 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:56:56 -0800 Comment by mama4obama now CNN is reporting it, too: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/02/campaign.wrap/?iref=hpmostpop

]]> mama4obama http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160173 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160173 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:00:02 -0800 Comment by DCista Hey! Stop linking to RCP - they lean republican and may be cooking their books. For polls, go to fivethirtyeight.com (and read their analysis of RCP's cherry-picking polls) or pollster.com (which includes all polls)

]]> DCista http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160179 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160179 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:01:17 -0800 Comment by TheTruthHurts Give McCain, Virginia, Florida, Nevada, Ohio and Minnesota.

]]> TheTruthHurts http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160208 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160208 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:08:39 -0800 Comment by w7ngman #8, you know 538 leans Democratic, right?

]]> w7ngman http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160219 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160219 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:13:33 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Their commentary does but their poll data does not. RCP is manipulating the poll data, which is very different.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160235 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160235 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:20:07 -0800 Comment by Original Monique I'd like to say something here (slightly off topic):

I have been questioning this whole thing. This whole republicans picking McCain, picking Palin, etc.

A friend of mine, around 2 years ago said that whoever was nominated for the GOP would basically be a fall guy. They didn't want to win this election. The next president has to deal with the war, and the economy and they don't want a republican to do it. American minds are very short term, and they'll blame any failings on the current president. The GOP could possibly skate by and blame the democrats.

I think that a couple things went wrong with their stratagy:

1) McCain did better than expected against the democrat (who they thought would be Hillary)
2) The economy melted sooner than expected
3) With the pick of Palin they knew it could go either way, and since they were polling close, they threw the dice.

All in all, I don't think the GOP actually wants to win. I really don't. I mean, they can't just fall over and be obvious about it, but really...what else explains the erratic behavior and choices?

And lastly, I am very excited that Obama will win. I am not going to be all doom and gloom about this anymore. I am stoked and I am confident! I think he can turn this country around and not fail like the GOP would like.

]]> Original Monique http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160254 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160254 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:27:39 -0800 Comment by michael strangeways I agree with Original Monique. The Republican National Committee isn't stupid; it's been very obvious for quite some time that the Republicans are in some deep crapola. What better strategy than to back off for 4 years to let the Democrats try and clean up the mess as well as give the Republicans time to reorganize. (Whether they can or not, is another question. They seem to have lost focus in recent years and keep on insisting on pandering to the far-right when their only hope lies in appealing to the conservative young, who tend to skew centrist if not slightly left on many social issues...)

The only problem is, I don't think they passed this strategy info along to McCain. I think he really wants to win, but he's getting little help from the Republican powers that be and he's flailing miserably.

]]> michael strangeways http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160334 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160334 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:49:11 -0800 Comment by east coaster We applaud Senator McCain's courageous and patriotic decision to put the well-being of Michigan ahead of his own pleasure.

]]> east coaster http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160561 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160561 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:31:08 -0800 Comment by Big Sven I dunno, Mo. Can you ever see us taking that road? "Well, things are gonna suck for the next four years. Best let the Repugs cut their teeth on this problem."

They're wrong about the issues, and governance, but they're not dispassionate.

]]> Big Sven http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160563 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160563 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:31:48 -0800 Comment by Bellevue Ave @15, Some people here HAVE been taking that road.

]]> Bellevue Ave http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160573 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160573 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:33:03 -0800 Comment by east coaster 12 and 13, I disagree. The Republicans DO want to win, and they want to win desperately. They chose McCain as their candidate because he, with his maverick reputation, is the only Republican in existence with even a prayer of winning the general election this year. His erratic behavior is because he knows his prospects are bleak and therefore is taking big risks, hoping that one will pay off big and hand him a victory. Needless to say, it hasn't been working. His bets have gone bad and made his prospects even worse.

]]> east coaster http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160615 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160615 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:41:22 -0800 Comment by COMTE Doesn't Michigan even get a reach-around?

]]> COMTE http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160871 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1160871 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:49:45 -0800 Comment by Dianna Wahoo, best news I've heard all day!!!

]]> Dianna http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1161376 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/mccain_pulling_out_of_michigan#c1161376 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:26:41 -0800