Quotes From Around Yon Blogosphere

McCain is looking increasingly shaky, whether he’s repeating his "Miss Congeniality" joke twice in the same debate or speaking from notecards even when reciting a line for (literally) the 17th time ("The fundamentals of our economy are strong") or repeatedly confusing proper nouns that begin with S (Sunni, Shia, Sudan, Somalia, Spain). McCain's "dismaying temperament," as George Will labeled it, only thickens the concerns. His kamikaze mission into Washington during the bailout crisis seemed crazed. His seething, hostile debate countenance — a replay of Al Gore’s sarcastic sighing in 2000 — didn't make the deferential Obama look weak (as many Democrats feared) but elevated him into looking like the sole presidential grown-up.

. . . So how can a desperate G.O.P. save itself? As McCain continues to fade into incoherence and irrelevance, the last hope is that he'll come up with some new game-changing stunt to match his initial pick of Palin or his ill-fated campaign "suspension." Until Thursday night, more than a few Republicans were fantasizing that his final Hail Mary pass would be to ditch Palin so she can "spend more time" with her ever-growing family. But the debate reminded Republicans once again that it’s Palin, not McCain, who is their last hope for victory.

You have to wonder how long it will be before they plead with him to think of his health, get out of the way and pull the ultimate stunt of flipping the ticket. Palin, we can be certain, wouldn’t even blink.

-- FRANK RICH

By claiming that Democrat Barack Obama is "palling around with terrorists" and doesn't see the U.S. like other Americans, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin targeted key goals for a faltering campaign.

And though she may have scored a political hit each time, her attack was unsubstantiated and carried a racially tinged subtext that John McCain himself may come to regret.

-- DOUGLASS K. DANIEL

There is a real chance that McCain's attack on Obama's radical associations will backfire and he will fall further behind. If that happens, Election Day will see a triumphant Democratic party with the presidency, a veto-proof Senate, and much larger margin in the House.

In short, conservatives worst nightmare would be upon us; an ultra liberal president who can do anything he wants. And judging by what we know of Obama, he will attempt to remake America in the image of a European social democracy.

-- RICK MORAN

McCain himself is not doing the dirty work, although this week's debate will surely put him in the position of having to approve or disown these despicable tactics. He won't be able to hide behind the skirts of his transgendered Dick Cheney.

-- ROBERT STEIN

Had Hillary Clinton merely lost the nomination, she'd still have a sterling reputation among Democrats and within the black community. Unfortunately, she didn't content herself with a gracious loss, but started talking about her appeal to 'white, working-class Americans, real Americans.' Damage done. Senators can come back from a fall from grace. Teddy Kennedy revived his reputation after Chappaquidick by putting his nose to the grindstone and working for the next 40 years to help the poor and the middle class. John McCain recovered enough from the Keating 5 scandal to win his party's nomination. He did it by pushing for campaign finance reform. But, the best course is not to cover yourself in shame in the first place. And, for McCain, he's shaming himself anew.

The decision to unleash, or tolerate, racially-tinged and overtly racist attacks on Barack Obama is an act of desperation. It's very, very unlikely to change the outcome of this election, but it will be the final death-knell to the idea that John McCain has honor, or that he is a different kind of Republican. Lose with grace, you stupid bastard.

-- BOOMAN

Explaining the campaign's intention to shift from policy to personal attacks, Greg Strimple, one of John McCain's top advisers, told the Washingtn Post that the campaign is "looking forward to turning a page on this financial crisis." It's a quote Strimple probably wishes now he hadn't made.

-- HILZOY

Incredible.Sarah Palin's message to undecided women is "Support me, or burn." Is she out of her mind? Has she mistaken Sean Hannity for America? Does she really think this is going to sway women who are on the fence? Does she think Madeline Albright is going to give her cover? Does she have any concern for her own career?

. . . What manner of Christianity is this? I can't talk because I'm not exactly a believer, but seriously -- is claiming to know who will burn for eternity Christ-like? If you're a serious Christian isn't this offensive? There's something almost Taliban-like about it. Imagine Barack Obama saying "there's a special place in hell for black people don't support other black people."

-- TA-NEHISI COATES

Palin reminds me of nothing so much as those fine "Christian ladies" I used to encounter back in the days I taught Sunday School. They were well dressed, perfectly coiffed and pillars of the church, mainly because they donated lots of money. Usually they had a stained glass window or at least a pew named after them with a little brass plaque. They were sugary sweet to everyone to their face, but would make oblique insults about parishioners they didn't like behind their backs, subtly mocking their clothes or their social status. They took their greatest delight in making themselves feel bigger by tearing others down. That's Palin in a nutshell.

-- LIBBY

Palin is the aroma that rises from the corpse of American conservatism. And they find it invigorating.

-- ANDREW SULLIVAN

No one will say that Palin is not a patriot; she is. To say that she understands the threats we face is, to put it generously, a gross exaggeration. She is opposed to Al Qaeda, as are we all, but beyond knowing that there are terrorists what exactly does she understand about the threats they or any other group pose to American security? She imagines that Ahmadinejad and the Iranian regime as a whole represent a grave threat, which is not so much evidence of understanding as it is of ideological programming. Understanding is a product of reflection. Who among her defenders truly believes that she has reflected on any of the problems on which she now holds forth so confidently? More to the point, what proof do we have that she is reflective and thoughtful and not, like her running mate, prone to letting visceral and emotional reactions shape her views? Lack of reflection, lack of understanding and self-confidence do not make for a good combination.

-- DANIEL LARISON

Way, way back in February of 2006, Senator John McCain invited a shiny new Senator from Illinois to a meeting to discuss campaign finance reform. A day after the meeting, the junior Senator, a polite young man named Barack Obama, wrote to McCain, "I know you have expressed an interest in creating a task force to further study and discuss these matters, but I and others in the Democratic Caucus believe the more effective and timely course is to allow the committees of jurisdiction to roll up their sleeves and get to work . . . " McCain's brain somehow translated that to mean, "Go fuck yourself, ass." Because this is what he wrote back . . .

-- IAN SPIEGELMAN

With 30 days until Nov. 4, Karl Rove projects that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) would get at least 273 electoral votes – three more than are needed to win – if the presidential election were held today.

But Rove warns that this race is "susceptible to rapid changes," so no definite prediction is possible.

The remarkable forecast from the architect of the last two nationwide political victories underscores the straits that have rapidly enveloped Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as the banking and credit crisis spread.

-- MIKE ALLEN