It may take the Left blogs a few days to catch up, but Obama has his game changer - the economy. No more Palinpalooza. Carville rules again - "it's the economy, stupid."

The tracking polls show small movement towards Obama - DKos/R2000 (8/12-14) has Obama by 3, 48-45. Ras has a tick in Obama's favor with McCain's lead trimmed to 2, 49-47. Hotline says Obama by 2, 45-43. And Gallup says McCain by 2, 47-45.

After today, expect an Obama poll resurgence as he sledgehammers on the economy and McCain's fealty to the policies of George W. Bush. And if he rolls out a Big Dog tour, expect a huge bounce for Obama.

This is a game changer. This campaign is back to real issues, starting today.

By Big Tent Democrat, speakng for me only

John McCain has demonstrated that when it comes to politics and governance, he is a clone of George W. Bush. A know nothing blusterer whose political resurgence has been on the back of the Bush/Rove politics of the personal attack and the trivial ("Lipstick on a pig" anyone?). When it comes to actual policies, particularly on the economy, McCain himself has said he is is a know nothing:

Which explains why McCain said "I don’t believe we’re headed into a recession, I believe the fundamentals of this economy are strong and I believe they will remain strong.”

It is now time for the Obama campaign to demonstrate the Democratic record of competence and concern regarding the economy. Yes, it is time to roll out the Big Dog. On the campaign trail. With Obama. Now. Right now. Politics matters. Governance matters. Democrats can govern. Democrats can help the American People through these economic woes. Bush-McCain Republicans clearly can not. Now is the time to talk about that.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Via Attaturk, John McCain would deal with Social Security and the economy like George Bush would:

As part of Social Security reform, I believe that private savings accounts are a part of it—along the lines that President Bush proposed,” McCain told the Journal.[Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08; Campaign Website, accessed 3/3/08]

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

The State of Georgia, seemingly unafraid of the risk of putting an innocent man to death, has denied clemency for Troy Davis (TalkLeft coverage collected here). He is scheduled for execution on September 23.

A county jury in 1991 convicted Mr. Davis in the 1989 murder of Mark Allen MacPhail, an off-duty police officer moonlighting as a security guard who was shot to death while responding to a late-night fight at a Burger King in Savannah.

Mr. Davis testified he was at a nearby pool hall and left before Officer MacPhail arrived. The prosecution offered no murder weapon, DNA or fingerprints tying Mr. Davis to the killing but instead relied heavily on testimony from witnesses. Since the trial, seven key witnesses have recanted, saying they were bullied by investigators into lying under oath.

Why is the recantation of seven witnesses something the State of Georgia is prepared to ignore? [more ...]

Even someone with as little knowledge of stocks and big business as I have knows that this is another failure of the Bush Administration's economic policies.

• Lehman Says It Will File for Bankruptcy (pdf)
• Bank of America to Buy Merrill Lynch
• A.I.G. to Plan Restructuring and Asset Sales
• After Frantic Day, Wall St. Banks Falter
  
• Banks Fear Next Move By Shorts
• SEC Sunday Night Press Release
  

Can anyone explain for those of us who are economically challenged what this means to our day to day lives and pocketbooks?

Proposition K, on the San Francisco ballot in November, would decriminalize prostitution. The L.A. Times reports it is dividing the city's liberal community.

Sex workers, the county Democratic committee and a health official support Proposition K as a boon to prostitutes' and the public's safety. The mayor, the D.A. and the business community oppose it.

....Proposition K would ban San Francisco police from using any public resources to investigate or prosecute sex workers on prostitution charges. Critics say the law would attract pimps, human smugglers and others who profit from the sex trade.

I'm in favor of decriminalization.

We've had a request for an open thread. Here it is.

Congrats to TChris for his win in a Wisconsin Appeals Court this week. A sad case, but a good outcome.

Police who videotaped a man having sex with his comatose wife in her nursing home room violated his constitutional rights, an appeals court ruled Thursday.

David W. Johnson, 59, had an expectation to privacy when he visited his wife, a stroke victim, at Divine Savior Nursing Home in Portage, the District 4 Court of Appeals ruled. Therefore, police violated his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches when they installed a hidden video camera in the room, the court said.

More....

Given the previous discussion of Roe, I wanted to give some excerpts from the decision for the consideration of our readers. Follow me to the flip.

I just returned from Tampa/Clearwater/St Petersburg. What a welcome surprise this morning to pick up the St. Petersburg Times and see the editorial, Campaign of Lies Disgraces McCain . It details the blatant falsehoods in his ads about Barack Obama and sex education and Obama and the lipstick on the pig statement, and concludes:

[McCain] has been a serious public servant willing to say unpopular truths when he thought it best for the country, but he's more than willing in this election to put his name on campaign lies. The leader who says he would rather lose an election than lose a war now risks losing his reputation in an attempt to win the White House.

When even Karl Rove says McCain's ads went too far in the truth department, you know it's going to backfire.

mcjoan reviews James Piffner's "Power Play":

James P. Pfiffner's book Power Play: The Bush Presidency and the Constitution, succinctly and convincingly lays out the historical backdrop for the development of our system of government, based on the rule of law, and just as convincingly presents his argument that the Bush administration has put that very system on a precipice. . . . Pfiffner argues that, in pursuing an agenda developed by Cheney, Addington, Yoo, Bybee and others, Bush "abrogated the rule of law by taking actions not authorized by law and sometimes directly against the law."

No kidding. A WaPo article yesterday detailed how Cheney and his henchman David Addington perverted the Constitution:

Les Gara, a state representative from Anchorage, explains the background of the Troopergate investigation that the McCain campaign "is now trying to spin like an amusement-park tilt-a-whirl."

This summer, this started out as a Republican investigation. Former Republican legislator and gubernatorial candidate Andrew Halcro came out with a story that the press, then, reported on, that the governor had inappropriately fired -- or worked to try to fire a state trooper. ... And the first calls to move ahead with an investigation were from Republican Party members. ... Today’s spin by the McCain camp that this is somehow some sort of democratic effort is just nothing but -- but a falsehood.

In the same conference call, Borough Assembly member Michelle Church from Wasila (who was working as a community organizer when she first met Gov. Palin) discusses "Palin’s decision to accept state travel per diems for 312 days ... that she has actually spent at home." She says "Governor Palin got paid to sleep at home." Nice work if you can get it.