Palin Agrees With Cheney That Veep Belongs to Neither the Executive Nor Legislative Branch

Asked whether she agrees with Dick Cheney that the Vice President belongs to neither the executive nor legislative branch of government, Sarah Palin incredibly said yes.

You may recall that a while back Cheney told Congress that his office is not fully part of either branch to exempt it from an executive order regulating federal agencies' handling of sensitive national security information. This claim was discredited by everyone from the news media to the President himself. It was so preposterous that Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel mockingly proposed withholding appropriations for the Office of the Vice President until Cheney decided which branch he belonged to.

Article II of the U.S. Constitution provides unequivocally that the Vice President is part of the Executive Branch. One would have thought the Republican nominee for Vice President would have taken the time to read it.

McCain to Abandon Michigan

John McCain knows he's in trouble. National polls put him roughly 6 points behind Barack Obama, and if the election were held today, he'd lose by a landslide in the Electoral College. So with just over a month until election day, campaign manager Rick Davis has confirmed that McCain is pulling out of the Great Lakes State.

Republican sources say that McCain will no longer air TV ads and or continue direct mail and other outreach in Michigan, but will instead redirect staff and resources to states like Wisconsin, Ohio, and Florida, which the campaign believes to be more competitive. As the latest polls show McCain behind in Ohio and Florida, and well-behind in Wisconsin, they clearly have their work cut out for them. Particularly when one considers that as the electoral map currently stands (353 to 185), McCain could win all three states and still lose handily.

Quinnipiac: Obama Up Big in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania

New surveys by Quinnipiac University show Barack Obama building commanding leads in the battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Boosted by his performance in Friday's presidential debate and Sarah Palin's declining favorability, Obama now bests John McCain by 51 percent to 43 percent in Florida, 50 percent to 42 percent in Ohio, and 54 percent to 39 percent in Pennsylvania.

"It is difficult to find a modern competitive presidential race that has swung so dramatically, so quickly and so sharply this late in the campaign," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Sen. John McCain has his work cut out for him if he is to win the presidency and there does not appear to be a role model for such a comeback in the last half century."

As it stands, Real Clear Politics shows Obama trouncing McCain in its Electoral College projection, 348 to 190.

Spain in Latin America, Venezuela in Middle East?

At an economic roundtable today in Des Moines, Iowa, John McCain stressed the importance of "ensuring that America is secure, and not dependent on oil from people like Hugo Chavez or other parts of the Middle East..." For crying out loud, will someone please give him a crash course in geography? Chavez is president of Venezuela, a country in Latin America. And no, senator, it does not share a border with Spain.

Palin Can't Name Supreme Court Case Other Than Roe v. Wade

We already know that Gov. Palin's interview with Katie Couric was a complete and utter disaster. When prompted to defend her claim that geographic proximity makes her some sort of expert on U.S.-Russo relations, she observed that Putin flies over Alaska to get to the lower forty-eight. When asked to identify a single market regulation that McCain supported in his 26 years of service, Palin said "I’ll try to find you some and I’ll bring them to ya." (She didn't.) When queried about the bailout, she responded with a cadre of incoherent rambling about healthcare, spending, and trade. And unfortunately for Palin, it's not over.

Yesterday, Howard Kurtz revealed in his column that "the worst may be yet to come for Palin; sources say CBS has two more responses on tape that will likely prove embarrassing." As media insiders held their fire to avoid looking like they're piling on, a number of prominent conservatives jumped ship. Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker summed up sentiments well: "If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself."

Last night, the substance of one of the ill-fated responses leaked. Couric's interview had turned to the highest court. Palin noted Roe v. Wade but was apparently unable to identify any other Supreme Court cases. Marbury v. Madison? Nope. Brown v. Board? Nuh uh. Bush v. Gore?! Not so much.

But why sweat the small stuff? She's a 'maverick' and can see Russia from her house.

DOJ: Rove, Miers Behind U.S. Attorney Firings

A Justice Department report to be released today is said to offer harsh condemnation of the political motivations that led to the dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys. While former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez will likely not face criminal charges, sources close to the investigation tell The New York Times that criticism in the report centers on Gonzalez's chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, who carried out the firings.

Perhaps most significant, the report is expected to produce evidence that Sampson's orders came down from senior White House staff; namely, former Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and White House counsel Harriet Miers.

Update (11:15 am): The report has been released and Attorney General Michael Mukasey has appointed a special prosecutor to examine whether criminal charges are warranted.

Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine and Office of Professional Responsibility Director Marshall Jarrett said that a special prosecutor is necessary because "serious allegations involving potential criminal conduct have not been fully investigated or resolved."

Investigators were particularly troubled by the circumstances surrounding the David Iglesias's firing, but said they were unable to get the complete story because Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, Monica Goodling, New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, and others have thus far refused to cooperate. That notwithstanding, Rove and Miers remain lead characters in the 392 page narrative.

Heavy responsibility for the scandal is also laid at the feet of Alberto Gonzalez, who the report says "abdicated" his leadership role and was "remarkably unengaged."

Huckabee: McCain Made a "Huge Mistake"

Speaking to reporters in Mobile, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee called Sen. McCain's decision to suspend his campaign and possibly skip tonight's debate a "huge mistake." A President has to "deal with the unexpected," he said. "You can't just say, 'World, stop for a moment. I'm going to cancel everything.'"

Huckabee said it's more important for the American people to hear from the presidential candidates than for them to huddle with politicians in Washington. Given that McCain's helping hand has thus far torpedoed at least one tenative rescue deal, I think it's safe to say at this point that any excuse to get McCain out of Washington will do.

Palin Incoherent on Bailout

It turns out the Bush doctrine was Palin's strong suit.



PALIN: But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Um, helping, oh -- it's got to be all about job creation too. Shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track. So healthcare reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans, and trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, um, scary thing, but 1 in 5 jobs being created in the trade sector today. We've got to look at that as more opportunity. All of those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.

McCain Photo Op Stymies Progress on Rescue

Congressional leaders and Bush administration officials are close to a deal on a $700 billion rescue plan with greater protections for taxpayers and new assistance for distressed homeowners. But John McCain is floundering and needs the President to help him pull off his peculiar political stunt. So now, at McCain's request, Bush is taking the parties away from work on a package they have effectively already agreed to for a meeting after-the-fact at the White House.

Rep. Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and point-person in negotiations with Treasury Secretary Paulson, called the meeting an unneeded distraction.

"We're going to have to interrupt a negotiating session tomorrow between the Democrats and Republicans on a bill where I think we are getting pretty close, and troop down to the White House for their photo op," he said. "I wish they'd checked with us."

Indeed, one would think the "country first" candidate would have checked with those having actual responsibility for moving the deal forward. But he didn't. So the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression is just going to have to wait. McCain needs his photo op.

Palin Unable to Cite One McCain-Backed Market Regulation

In case you missed it, Gov. Palin took part in a rare interview with CBS's Katie Couric yesterday and was asked if she could name one instance in which Sen. McCain advocated for greater regulation of the market. She couldn't ("I’ll try to find you some and I’ll bring them to ya.") This is relevant, of course, because in recent days McCain has attempted to claim the mantle of market regulation (one of the biggest flip-flops in presidential campaign history).

While Palin's inability to define the Bush doctrine was inexcusable, it's hard to fault her for this one. After all, the correct answer to Couric's question was "No."

Panicked McCain Suspends Campaign to Save Economy He Knows Nothing About

Holy Hail Mary! You really have to hand it to the man -- he's as unpredictable as a wounded elephant. And he just so happens to be a wounded elephant. Well, metaphorically speaking.

Today was quite possibly the worst day of the campaign for John McCain. It started out with his running mate taking flack for banning reporters from her meetings with world leaders yesterday, it veered off course when new Washington Post/ABC and Fox News polls showed him trailing Sen. Obama by 9 and 6 points respectively, and came in for a crash landing when news broke that Freddie Mac paid campaign manager Rick Davis's firm $15,000 a month from 2005 through last month. The revelations concerning the $15,000 payments were undoubtedly the straw that broke the elephant's back as McCain had just told CNBC and The New York Times on Sunday that Davis had not been involved with Freddie for several years.

So what did McCain do? He threw what Congressman Barney Frank called "the longest Hail Mary pass in the history of either football or Marys." That is, McCain suspended his campaign and asked that Friday's debate be postponed, an obvious political ploy meant to divert attention away from the fact that his woefully unqualified running mate won't answer questions, that he has no idea what to do about the economy, and that his campaign manager lobbied until recently for the very reckless, hands-off policies that set the current crisis in motion.

McCain Lied About Campaign Manager's Ties to Freddie Mac

On Sunday, in an interview with CNBC and The New York Times, John McCain stated unequivocally that his lobbyist campaign manager, Rick Davis, has had no involvement with Freddie Mac for several years. Today, however, The Times reveals that Freddie Mac paid Davis's firm $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through last month. The payments ceased only after the beleaguered mortgage giant was taken over by the federal government a couple of weeks ago.

"The two officials with direct knowledge of Freddie Mac's post-2005 contract with Davis spoke on condition of anonymity. One is a Democrat and the other a registered independent. Four other outside consultants, three Democrats and a Republican also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that it was widely known that Davis was being paid though his firm."

These revelations obviously reak of hypocrisy on the part of McCain, who has levied repeated and widely discredited charges that former Fannie Mae executives have served as Obama advisers. But what's worse is that McCain lied to the American people.