ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style2 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style3 { height: 69px; } .MsoNormal {} .style4 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } .style5 { font-size: small; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2">&nbsp;</td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style2">Voters Finally Decide</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright November 3, 2008<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style4">&nbsp;P</span><span class="style5">r</span>esidential nominees Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) and Sen. John McCain will stop spinning and leave their fate to voters when they go the polls to pick a new president Nov. 4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>All the billions of dollars spent on positive or negative ads, all the mud slinging by both candidates and all the blood, sweat and tears left on the campaign trail finishes the most costly and contested election in U.S. history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Every election seems pivotal but this one presents dramatic choices to fix the nation s broken economy and manage two bloody wars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain and his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarach Palin guaranteed an upset on Election Day, proving national and statewide polls wrong, showing Obama with a commanding lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain and Palin s last-minute spin involves convincing GOP voters that that the biggest upset since Truman beat Dewey in 1948 is in the works.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <![endif]>Republican National Committee deputy chairman Frank Donatelli insisted that voters will witness a shocking upset.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> I don t acknowledge it s a long shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>It s a realistic shot, said Donatelli, despite aggregate national polls showing Barack increasing an already unbeatable 7% lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While some typically Republicans battlegrounds remain in play, the vast majority show Obama s momentum heading into Election Day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>One day before voters head to the polls, the campaign must not allow a  bandwagon effect to discourage GOP voters, especially important for Republicans currently running from behind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While Democrats fretted about the so-called  Bradley Effect, where respondents fib about their intent to vote for a black candidate, the McCain campaign worries far more about GOP voters giving up to the growing inevitability of an Obama landslide.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Gamesmanship continues to the end, keeping the psychology positive for the underdog before voting begins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Obama also doesn t want to show overconfidence to supporters, less inclined to vote because they think the outcome is already and done deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> I don t thin it s outrageous, said Doantelli,  to think we are going to do much better with party turnout than some of the models indicate, preserving for GOP added incentive to go to the polls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>At almost every stop, McCain and Palin tell voters not to not listen to the polls showing them lagging behind, reminding them that in the end only voters count.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Donatelli believes McCan can win all the battleground states, including Florida, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, all showing Obama with a sizable leads heading into Nov. 4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>McCain s road to the White House has become a dangerous tightrope.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>Obama has many ways to reach the needed 270 electoral votes, now running in scarce supply for McCain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama s momentum and ground game has to screech to a halt, handing the election to the underdog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Liberal Democrats should not control the whole federal government, said Donatelli, warning GOP voters about the impending GOP rout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Telling voters to expect big losses on Election Day doesn t reassure beleaguered Republicans heading to the polls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>November 2008 looks like a continuation of 2006 where voters vented frustrations and handed the House and Senate to Democrats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Just when the GOP though things couldn t get worse, the recent financial mess gave Obama supporters new urgency for change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether voters understand the issues or not, doesn t prevent them from the common sense idea that the incumbent party shouldn t return to the White House.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Republicans have taken heart from the relatively close race, sporting Obama an aggregate lead of 7.5%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>A CBS News poll, for instance, shows Obama leading by 14%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>What GOP optimists don t get is that McCain, a 26-uear veteran of the U.S. Senate and decorated Vietnam war hero, is losing to a little known junior African American senator for Illinois.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While McCain expressed satisfaction with his pick of Palin, polls show that she hurt the ticket with independents, moderate Republicans and Reagan Democrats, all find her too inexperienced and extreme for mainstream voters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> McCain and Palin will continue to spin the imminence of a Truman-like comeback.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They know the polls show an Election Day rout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> All signs say we are headed to an election that may easily be too close to call next Tuesday, said Ed Goes, blowing more smoke, one of McCain s personal pollsters<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>McCain knows that only his internal polls show a close race Tuesday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>All the prayers for a  Bradley Effect can t stop the superior numbers of Democratic voters likely heading to the polls..<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain s spin machine has done their best to stem the  Bandwagon Effect, that even partisan voters may switch parties and vote for the expected winner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain handed Barack an early Christmas gift picking Palin, someone most voters including women believe is not qualified for VP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While Palin looks to 2012, McCain must figure out what went wrong in his campaign to pick someone that hurt the ticket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>In his lust for victory, McCain miscalculated her appeal to undecided voters, especially independents, Reggan democrats and moderate Republicans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When the dust settles after Obama s historic win, McCain will have a long time to figure out his mistakes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;<bAbout the Author</u><b>John M. Curtis</b> writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.&nbsp; He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <i><a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> </i>and <i><a href="books.html"> Operation Charisma</a></i>.</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Home</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>