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McCain caught Obama off guard
Chicago Sun-Times (excerpt) ^ | September 25, 2008 | Lynn Sweet

Posted on 09/24/2008 11:36:15 PM PDT by HAL9000

Excerpt -

WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama and his team were caught off guard by John McCain's suspension of his campaign and his call to delay the first presidential debate so he could return to Capitol Hill to work on the financial crisis -- just as they were surprised when McCain tapped little-known Sarah Palin as his running mate.

The Obama team has not figured out yet that McCain is waging an asymmetrical campaign, meaning at times he will take a risky, counterintuitive course, just as he did on Wednesday.

The Obama campaign is very smart, but in the closing weeks of this long presidential campaign, perhaps Obama needs more "red cell" thinking. Red cell is a term used by the intelligence community to describe wild, out-of-the-box approaches to potential situations.

Obama, I'm told, was frustrated with McCain and it showed during Obama's press conference from Clearwater, Fla., where Obama is conducting his debate prep. Obama called McCain at 8:30 a.m. to discuss issuing a joint statement ahead of President Bush's speech to the nation Wednesday night about the meltdown of the economic system.

~ snip ~


(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.suntimes.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: debateondebates; debates; electionpresident; financialcrisis; mccain; mccainpalin; obama
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1 posted on 09/24/2008 11:36:15 PM PDT by HAL9000
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To: HAL9000

This is beautiful. Barack Studies hard, practices his answers, preps for days for the debate, then Lucy pulls the football out.

McCain has had him off his game since the Paris Hilton ads.


2 posted on 09/24/2008 11:40:20 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (Looks like I squandered my 401K just in time. Who's the fool now?)
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To: HAL9000

Senator Obama was caught off guard BECAUSE he doesn’t have any idea what public service and patriotism really means - it means not thinking of self but of sacrifice for the good of others.

Barry is way, way out of his league. McCain will be a good President.


3 posted on 09/24/2008 11:40:26 PM PDT by SatinDoll (Desperately desiring a conservative government.)
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To: HAL9000

Obama: teleprompter whiz
McCain: townhall meeting

Obama: greek columns after mocked for weeks as a celebrity
McCain: cuts first day of convention, completely changes stage for his acceptance speech

Obama: picks old white senator guy for experience
mcCain: picks Palin to shake things up

Obama is static and McCain is dynamic


4 posted on 09/24/2008 11:41:42 PM PDT by ari-freedom (We never hide from history. We make history!)
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To: HAL9000

Youth and strength will always lose out to age and deceit. :-P


5 posted on 09/24/2008 11:43:56 PM PDT by uglybiker (1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d 2 g3t l41d)
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To: SatinDoll

Very good response. Although just “Senator Obama was caught off guard BECAUSE he doesn’t have any idea” is enough. The O is without smarts. A big Zero.


6 posted on 09/24/2008 11:44:21 PM PDT by roadcat
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To: HAL9000

Barry is way out of his league. If McCain can pull his chain like this, think what Ahmadinejad or Putin could do.


7 posted on 09/24/2008 11:44:41 PM PDT by BigBobber
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To: SatinDoll

Agreed. Obama cannot act in times of crisis. Shallow, deceitful lacking the instincts of leadership.

Hugh Hewitt said tonight Obama failed the leadership test.
This is his Katrina. (paraphrase)

The 300 advisors to Obama don’t help. The boy wonder
can’t act. He’s frozen in the headlights!


8 posted on 09/24/2008 11:48:12 PM PDT by ChiMark
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To: BigBobber
The media is reporting that 0Bama has chosen to, um, um, hmm, huh.

I predict,
Obama will fly the coop, and run back to Hawaii for an undisclosed hiatus.

9 posted on 09/24/2008 11:49:01 PM PDT by MaxMax (I'll welcome death when God calls me. Until then, the fight is on)
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To: HAL9000
Ok article except for right at the end.

"The McCain campaign started Wednesday with terrible stories: A poll came out with Obama nine points in the lead and campaign manager Rick Davis was in a jam about when he stopped representing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants behind the crisis."

This is BS - Obama basically has and had Leeham, Fannie and Freedie on his campaign and they bring up Rick Davis?????

The bias is getting too deep for his waders!!!

10 posted on 09/24/2008 11:51:00 PM PDT by Brytani (Abortion does not make you a real woman - it makes you a murderer)
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To: ChiMark

Obama mistook those 300 advisors for Spartans. Maybe they look good in togas, standing in front of Greek columns, but they can’t fight.


11 posted on 09/24/2008 11:54:17 PM PDT by ApplegateRanch (The Great Obamanation of Desolation, attempting to sit in the Oval Office, where he ought not..)
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To: uglybiker

This is the third time in the campaign McCain had to make a spectacular counter-move or face being swept off the field. The first time was when Obama pandered to 20,000 cheering Germans nostalgic for their good old days. McCain came up with the celebrity ads and that kept him close. The second was Obama’s Temple of Zeus speech and McCain pulled Palin out of the hat and that reversed momentum entirely. When the economic earthquake hit, McCain got knocked down, and again Obama seized the momentum. What to do? McCain simply had to neutralize this issue. But how? Suspend the campaign and deal with it. Very risky move, but if it succeeds he not only re-establishes his credentials as a decisive leader, but also makes it a whole new ball game again. If anyone else had been facing Obama under the handicap that McCain faced this year, he’d been lucky if he didn’t lose 50-0. Now all Obama can do is whimper he won’t debate me, this from a guy who’s ducked debating McCain now for months.


12 posted on 09/25/2008 12:02:22 AM PDT by idov
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To: Brytani

Fox also had a poll stating Obama was 9 points ahead on “trusted to handle the economy”.

I can’t figure it out at all. Obama was one of the people that got us into this mess, while McCain is fairly frugal. To me, Obama is “Hooveresque” - if he gets in, he is going to spend and restrict us right into a Great Depression.

Have people gotten so uneducated about the way the economy works that they can be so easily decieved by this empty suit?


13 posted on 09/25/2008 12:05:28 AM PDT by I still care (A thousand screaming Germans, some fake columns and swooning girly-men does not a campaign make.)
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To: I still care

he’ll give a speech about hope and change and it will all get better


14 posted on 09/25/2008 12:11:44 AM PDT by ari-freedom (We never hide from history. We make history!)
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To: HAL9000

I have always suspected that Sen. McCain, or someone in his campaign who is a follower of the late Lee Atwater, has a copy of Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’ in his pocket.

I just absolutely love what he did. To me, that’s true leadership.


15 posted on 09/25/2008 12:13:13 AM PDT by Ben Reyes
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To: I still care

You’re being deceived by the polls. It’s not your fault.


16 posted on 09/25/2008 12:18:05 AM PDT by lewislynn (What does the global warming movement and the Fairtax movement have in common? Disinformation)
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To: roadcat

“Call me if you need me” = PRESENT !!!!!


17 posted on 09/25/2008 12:23:11 AM PDT by igoramus08
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To: igoramus08

From another FReeper:

GOING FROM VOTING PRESENT TO NOT EVEN WANTING TO BE PRESENT!


18 posted on 09/25/2008 12:29:04 AM PDT by ScaniaBoy (Part of the Right Wing Research & Attack Machine)
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To: lewislynn

I hope and pray you are right. I’d like to have more faith in people, but the MSM is so huge on disinformation, how can they make an informed choice?


19 posted on 09/25/2008 12:30:13 AM PDT by I still care (A thousand screaming Germans, some fake columns and swooning girly-men does not a campaign make.)
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To: Ben Reyes

As I said on a similar thread:

“McCain, you magnificent bastard!!”


20 posted on 09/25/2008 12:31:42 AM PDT by Marie2 (Everything the left does has the effect and intent of destroying the traditional family.)
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