Peter Brown, the Quinnipiac pollster, writes about the McCain/Palin campaign against the Media:

Whether the charges [of Media bias] are true or not, they have energized the GOP voter base -– which doesn’t need an excuse to hate the news media -– and the message seems to be resonating among non-Republicans as well. A Rasmussen Reports poll taken before Gov. Palin took the podium showed that 51% of voters surveyed said they felt reporters were trying to hurt her candidacy. Among self-described independents, 49% felt that way. One in four said they were more likely to vote for her because of the coverage, while 18% said they were less likely.

All true, but Brown ignores one other important factor - charges of Media bias resonate, with strong merit, with Clinton supporters. Attacking the Media implicitly appeals to Hillary Clinton supporters as well.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

The day John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate I wrote:

Believe it or not, if not taking the Romney path and hoping for some campaign event to change the math, I think Palin is McCain's best bet. It is a gamble, but when you are going to lose if you do not gamble, you might as well take the shot. I think McCain is taking a clear eyed gamble.

For now, McCain's gamble has put him in the game. But the fundamentals of this election remain the same. If Obama can make this election about whether we continue George Bush's disastrous policies by choosing McCain or whether we change the direction of the country, he will win comfortably. Right now, that message has been lost. Time to get it back. More . . .

The LA Times reports on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's leadership style and follow-through, based on interviews of individuals involved in Alaskan politics and Government. While she's praised for some things, she's raked up criticism in many areas. Key points those interviewed made:

She often failed to follow through on her initiatives, including ethics reform.

Yet a strange thing happened on the ethics issue once Palin became governor: She appeared to lose interest in completing the task of legislating comprehensive reform, some who supported the cleanup say.

The ethics bill she offered was so incomplete that its supporters had to undertake a significant rewrite. Moreover, when it came to building support for the bill, politicians in both parties say the new governor was often unaccountably absent from the fray.

A similar criticism was levied against her on the oil rebate checks: [More...]

USA Today/Gallup poll says McCain/Palin by 4 Over Obama/Biden:

McCain leads Democrat Barack Obama by 50%-46% among registered voters, the Republican's biggest advantage since January and a turnaround from the USA TODAY poll taken just before the convention opened in St. Paul. Then, he lagged by 7 percentage points.

Here's why:

McCain has narrowed Obama's wide advantage on handling the economy, by far the electorate's top issue. Before the GOP convention, Obama was favored by 19 points; now he's favored by 3.

Clearly, McCain/Palin is not being perceived as Bush's Third Term. Too much Troopergate, too much Palin. Not enough Bush. With the demotions of Olbermann and Tweety, and the clear signals from the Obama campaign, perhaps Dems will get the message - let's get back to McCain and how he represents more of the same.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

As Big Tent Democrat noted in his update below, MSNBC has relieved Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews of anchoring duties for the remaining debates and election night coverage. David Gregory will anchor with Matthews and Olbermann appearing as analysts.

The key, I think, is this:

Executives at the channel’s parent company, NBC Universal, had high hopes for MSNBC’s coverage of the political conventions. Instead, the coverage frequently descended into on-air squabbles between the anchors, embarrassing some workers at NBC’s news division, and quite possibly alienating viewers. Although MSNBC nearly doubled its total audience compared with the 2004 conventions, its competitive position did not improve, as it remained in last place among the broadcast and cable news networks.

More...

Jay Ackroyd asks a good question:

So, if Obama will face O'Reilly, doesn't that make McCain a wuss if he won't go on Olberman? KO may want to start asking that question.

A very fair question. I think O'Reilly and Olbermann are pretty comparable. If Obama is tough enough to take on O'Reilly, McCain should be tough enough to take on Olbermann.

Update [2008-9-7 22:23:30 by Big Tent Democrat]: NYTimes reporting reporting Olbermann and Matthews are out as anchors for political nights on MSNBC. Pretty funny. Apparently, NBC did not like being Fox Left.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

The U.S. Open pre-empted Big Brother 10, so I'm left with the MTV Music Video Awards, hosted by Russell Brand. Who? He's a young British stand up comedian and tv host, apparently very popular there.

I would have thought it was a re-run from a past year since Brittney Spears won the award for best female video, but Brand's opening monologue was all about Gov. Sarah Palin -- poking fun at her prospective son-in-law Levi.

Music videos must not be a big business anymore. This sure isn't the Grammy's. It seems very low budget with a high school auditorium feeling. Maybe it's the seating-- it resembles folding chairs.[More...]

Civilian oversight of police departments isn't always a useful mechanism for ridding a department of bad cops. Superintendents in the Chicago Police Department asked the Chicago Police Board to fire 80 officers between 2003 and 2007. The nine member board, appointed by the mayor, dismissed just 21 of them.

Some of the board's decisions are difficult to understand. Officer Gerald Callahan, an alcoholic and manic depressive, cost the city $15,000 after he handcuffed a bartender who refused to serve him. By itself, that incident and the settlement it provoked might have warranted discipline short of discharge. But when Callahan got out of rehab and was about to return to work, supervisors smelled alcohol on his breath. He became abusive when they asked him to submit to a breathalyzer. Callahan had been suspended twice before. How many chances does he deserve? Yet the Police Board decided he deserved yet another suspension, not termination.

[more ...]

After Maryland failed to pass a bill that would have abolished capital punishment in that state, the state legislature created a commission to "study all aspects of capital punishment as currently and historically administered in the state" and to "make recommendations concerning the application and administration of capital punishment in the state so that they are free from bias and error and achieve fairness and accuracy." The commission has held four public hearings. The latest hearing focused on the risk of a wrongful conviction leading to a wrongful execution.

A member of the commission, Kirk Bloodsworth, has unusual insight into the problem of wrongful convictions. He spent 8 years in prison for a rape and murder he didn't commit. Also testifying was Michael Austin, who spent 27 years behind bars for murder before he was exonerated. [More ...]

This is silly. Atrios writes:

Oprah

After all these years I still get surprised at the fact that every single bit of pointless right wing manufactured horsesh!t becomes part of our elite media conversation.

Atrios links to Media Matters complaining that Tom Brokaw incorrectly stated that Oprah hosted Obama after he announced his Presidential candidacy. Of course Oprah did much more than that, she endorsed and campaigned for Obama. And this was a big Media story at the time. It is disingenuous to now pretend Oprah is not a big story this campaign season. Oprah has a perfect right to act in a partisan way, but please stop with the whining when that is pointed out. Oprah injected herself into the political campaign. And now she has to take her lumps for it, as would any other media figure who did what Oprah has done. More . .

The New York Times reports that news organizations applied pressure and the McCain campaign has agreed to make Gov. Sarah Palin available to ABC for an interview.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

CNN reports that John McCain said he'd include Democrats in his cabinet. Since Sen. Barack Obama said the same about Republicans months ago, there's no story there. (Unless it that's McCain gives us Joe Lieberman, hardly something to write home about.)

But, this quote is curious: [More...]