# Is McCain forked yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 25, 2008, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604 "2008-05-25T23:58:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 40
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/781 "2008-10-01T21:18:02Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Thing is that McCain is unlikely to go quietly into the good night. He will start coming up with more a more desperate moves trying to do anything to get one more chance at the dice. It’s a classic story arc for the compulsive gambler. The losing phase segs into chasing losses with larger and larger bets until the desperation phase kicks in completely as the losses just increasingly mount. > > He will end this election looking quite pathetic but swinging all the way. > > For example, tossing Palin overboard now makes no sense, but it would shake things up. If she tanks tomorrow night then he might just do it because any shake-up is a chance of a lucky roll, and this time Daddy’s goin to buy a new pair of shoes baby! Illogical stupid things, you pick which one - he might just do them - it’s the desperate pathologic gambler way. > [@](#): > > [Nervous GOP urges McCain to attack](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/14146.html) > > . . . > > Several state GOP chairmen in interviews urged the McCain campaign to be more aggressive in hitting Obama’s vulnerabilities, such as his past relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and other problematic associations from Chicago. > > . . . > > GOP officials also believe that a sustained attack on Obama’s ties to his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, scandal-stained businessman Tony Rezko and former radical war protester William Ayers could sway undecided voters. > > Among those goading McCain to be more aggressive is Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Robin Smith, who said that “people need to see a gladiator who’s willing to defend what exactly he stands for.” > > “We’re not talking, for instance, about the radical associations that Barack Obama has, with Mr. Ayers, Tony Rezko and so on,” Smith said. “More could be done.” > > Murray Clark, the chairman of the Indiana Republican Party, said he is eager for Obama’s “troubling relationships” to be aired in his state. “I think those things will come up in Indiana again and they do have an impact on mainstream voters in Indiana. You call it going negative, [but] whoever … is in a position to point out these relationships, I think it’s helpful.” > > . . . This whole “troubling relationships” thing not only pisses me off, but stuns me, as well. Do they _really_ want to go there? If McCain, as opposed to state party people and 527 groups, goes with the “troubling relationships” thing, how long do you think it’ll be before we start seeing official ads about the Keating Five? ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/782 "2008-10-01T21:22:50Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > This whole “troubling relationships” thing not only pisses me off, but stuns me, as well. Do they _really_ want to go there? If McCain, as opposed to state party people and 527 groups, goes with the “troubling relationships” thing, how long do you think it’ll be before we start seeing official ads about the Keating Five? With which I have no problem. Rezko and Ayers are smoke and mirrors, but the Keating Five was a prelude to what’s happening now. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/783 "2008-10-01T21:24:15Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > This whole “troubling relationships” thing not only pisses me off, but stuns me, as well. Do they _really_ want to go there? If McCain, as opposed to state party people and 527 groups, goes with the “troubling relationships” thing, how long do you think it’ll be before we start seeing official ads about the Keating Five? Same day. Those babies are ready to roll at a moment’s notice. Plus, financial scandal that most adults actually remember is much more compelling than some underground hippy group doing stupid shit 40 years ago that many people haven’t even heard of until this year. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/784 "2008-10-01T21:27:09Z")
It would just give Obama more fuel for the “doesn’t get it” fire. Nobody cares about that shit except the losers who spend the entire day floating from blog to blog posting NOBAMA! comments. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/785 "2008-10-01T21:27:49Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Plus, financial scandal that most adults actually remember is much more compelling than some underground hippy group doing stupid shit 40 years ago that many people haven’t even heard of until this year. Associating Obama with the Weather Underground aims at exactly the same people that were still pissed at Kerry’s VVAW activities. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/786 "2008-10-01T21:29:32Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Same day. Those babies are ready to roll at a moment’s notice. > > Plus, financial scandal that most adults actually remember is much more compelling than some underground hippy group doing stupid shit 40 years ago that many people haven’t even heard of until this year. And for those of us who do remember, we remember one was a group who may have bombed buildings, but were doing it in protest of the Viet Nam War, and bent over backwards to avoid getting people. It was wrong, but it was a principled kind of wrong, if you know what I mean. The Keating Five was about money. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/787 "2008-10-01T21:42:56Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > Yeah, those numbers look wonky to me, too. How about these, just in from _Time/CNN_. . . > > **FLORIDA:** **Obama 51, McCain 47** > \*\*MINNESOTA: \*\ ***Obama 54, McCain 43** > **MISSOURI:** **Obama 49, McCain 48** > \*\*NEVADA: \*\ ***Obama 51, McCain 47** > **VIRGINIA:** **Obama 53, McCain 44** > > _Dates conducted: Sept. 28-30. Error margin: Ranges from 3.5 to 4 points._ > > [http://thepage.time.com/2008/10/01/more-data-shows-obama-battleground-strength/](http://thepage.time.com/2008/10/01/more-data-shows-obama-battleground-strength/) I just got back from Oktoberfest with friends, my wife is on a trip with her friends to Italy and she left the Iron Man DVD on my desk as a gidt…this is the best news I’ve heard all day. Thanks **Shayna.** ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/788 "2008-10-01T21:48:56Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > I just got back from Oktoberfest with friends, my wife is on a trip with her friends to Italy and she left the Iron Man DVD on my desk as a gidt…this is the best news I’ve heard all day. Thanks **Shayna.** The real Oktoberfest, in Germany? Cool! ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/789 "2008-10-01T21:52:39Z")
> [@Oy](#): > > The real Oktoberfest, in Germany? Cool! Yeah. I’ve been here in Bavaria for 3 years, man. I think the one on Stuttgart is better than the one in Munich that everyone knows about. I am so wasted right now. I was with two canadian soldiers and a very hot french female army officer. I’m on auto pilot right now, going to have to sleep soon…but dude, it was a blast! (The food, people and atmosphere at the Oktoberfest is great…I hope you get to go sometime. Very much fun!) ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/790 "2008-10-01T21:54:38Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > Yeah. I’ve been here in Bavaria for 3 years, man. I think the one on Stuttgart is better than the one in Munich that everyone knows about. > > I am so wasted right now. I was with two canadian soldiers and a very hot french female army officer. O’m on auto pilot right now, going to have to sleep soon…but dude, it was a blast! Except that I’m a girl dude, cool! Are you military? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/791 "2008-10-01T21:55:51Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > I just got back from Oktoberfest with friends, my wife is on a trip with her friends to Italy and she left the Iron Man DVD on my desk as a gidt…this is the best news I’ve heard all day. Thanks **Shayna.** Cool. My daughter, who is now in school in Germany, went to the Munich one. I haven’t heard from here since - I hope she isn’t still hung over. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/792 "2008-10-01T21:57:40Z")
> [@Oy](#): > > And for those of us who do remember, we remember one was a group who may have bombed buildings, but were doing it in protest of the Viet Nam War, and bent over backwards to avoid getting people. It was wrong, but it was a principled kind of wrong, if you know what I mean. The Keating Five was about money. Forget the Keating Five. His current campaign chair was in Fannie and Freddie’s pocket for years. If McCain makes a stink about the past. Obama can make one about the present. Losing your campaign chair now would not be good for their side. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/793 "2008-10-01T21:58:59Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > Yeah. I’ve been here in Bavaria for 3 years, man. I think the one on Stuttgart is better than the one in Munich that everyone knows about. Hah! My daughter is in Tubingen, and she skipped the Stuttgart one for the Munich one. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/794 "2008-10-01T22:00:37Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Forget the Keating Five. His current campaign chair was in Fannie and Freddie’s pocket for years. If McCain makes a stink about the past. Obama can make one about the present. Losing your campaign chair now would not be good for their side. Good point. One month ago, fifteen thou, wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/795 "2008-10-01T22:01:22Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Associating Obama with the Weather Underground aims at exactly the same people that were still pissed at Kerry’s VVAW activities. That is going to be a bit difficult. Kerry was very active in VVAW, while Obama knew Ayers years after his Weather Underground activities. If McCain can talk to the North Vietnamese now, why can’t Obama associate with someone who has gone straight? ---
**Author:** ![Influential\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Influential\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Influential_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/796 "2008-10-01T22:01:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Of course, that’s based on the counterfactual “if the election were held right now”. There’s still plenty of opportunity for changes either way. 538’s model focuses on trendlines and the number you see is the projected result of what will happen Nov. 4th, not “if the election were held right now.” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/797 "2008-10-01T22:03:18Z")
> [@Oy](#): > > Good point. One month ago, fifteen thou, wasn’t it? One month ago was his company. He worked directly for them for years, and for big bucks. Well, not directly for them, but for a “let’s keep them unregulated” front organization - you know the kind of thing Sam thinks is responsible for the entire mess. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/798 "2008-10-01T22:03:41Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > I just got back from Oktoberfest with friends, my wife is on a trip with her friends to Italy and she left the Iron Man DVD on my desk as a gidt…this is the best news I’ve heard all day. Thanks **Shayna.** Yay – so glad I could oblige! My hubby is Danish, but was living in Hamburg when we met. I understand Oktoberfest in Germany is rockin’! ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/799 "2008-10-01T22:05:25Z")
> [@Oy](#): > > NJ has more electoral votes than Massachusetts? Who knew? I would never have thought that! > > We’ve got to stop this. We’re feeling too safe. Rev up your paranoia. There’s a month left for things to go terribly wrong. Fuck paranoia. It’s time to push the pedal through the floor and keep executing the plan. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604/800 "2008-10-01T22:18:47Z")
Rasmussen has TX as +9 McCain, and SUSA has GA as +8 McCain. Aren’t those supposed to be very reliably Republican states? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604.md?page=39) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccain-forked-yet/450604.md?page=41)