Hugh Hewitt and Bill Kristol tell Republicans not to despair. Hewitt lays out why McCain can win and Kristol spells out what McCain has to do. I met Hewitt in 2006 and he was a good guy. Here is hoping he is right. And Kristol is right that the Obama Campaign and the MSM want people like me to think the election is over to kill our spirits. Steve Hayes of the Weekly Standard says look back to 1976 for some answers as to how to close the gap. I'd like to see a commercial run like Ford did about Carter (on page 2).

Hot Air links to a Washington Post story: Sources within the campaign say that they will become much more aggressive in exposing Barack Obama’s ties to radicals and his lack of experience and judgment in the final four weeks of the campaign. This strategy entails significant risk, but they need to regain the edge they had before the conventions. Risky? Yes. Necessary? Yes.

Bailout passes. Like I have said, I have no idea as to whether it was needed or not. I do know that the story had to be moved off the front pages politically for McCain. McCain and Palin will be in Greater Cleveland Wednesday. Location not announced yet. Probably going for me. Also on the bailout, I noticed Betty Sutton (so also did two other GOP House members) switched her vote from no to yes in less than a week. Buckeye RINO has what could be called an "informative" video of Sutton.

Ohio.com takes a look at the contest (often talked about here) between Rich Nero and Mike Moran for the 42nd House District. Gonna be a tight race in a district that is split about dead evenly between Republicans and Democrats.

Ohio University switches to semesters, effective in 2012. I was always a fan of the quarter system – probably the only thing I liked about that communist loving school. There is nothing left to like now. Wonder what the results from precincts where OU students and faculty will be voting will like November 4? Obama 94 Other 3 McCain 3? Too high a result for McCain? I remember how miserable the papers and hate speech there were in 2002 – for a midterm election. God help the few Republicans down there now. I feel for you.

Canton Repository endorses Kirk Schuring over John Boccieri in the race to take Ralph Regula's seat in OH-16.

Lastly, not politically related, but a good story from the Plain Dealer on the 12 year old captain of the football team at Holy Name High School.

Well I guess this has nothing to do with politics either. Had to mention it though. Sorry…..but I held out this long.

Rally. Wall Street ends down only 40 for the week. Tough end to a promising week for the Democrats. Turning on CNBC and seeing all those green arrows pointing up has to hurt. Sorry.

The Senate Gang of 20, originally known as the Gang of 10 and then the Gang of 16 disbanded. They will not offer their terrible energy bill – the one that would have "opened up" some of the Outer Continental Shelf for drilling. The entire bill was a CYA and was a sham. This also means that the off-shore drilling ban will expire October 1st, throwing the issue back in the news. It only helps one candidate. Not the one who just wants you to inflate your tires and shut up. And wants his supporters to get in your face.

Unhinged. Charlie Rangel says Sarah Palin is "disabled." Rangel should be worrying about paying his taxes instead of hurling insults. If this guy was a Republican he would have been run out of town long ago. But as is usually the case, if you are a Democrat it doesn't matter. Tom at Bizzy Blog says this is another example of democrats showing PDS, "Palin Derangement Syndrome."

Turning Around. Ohio's August unemployment figures are in. 7.4%. I wonder if Ohio and Michigan are going to just merge. Obviously all the fault of George W. Bush and Bob Taft. It just keeps going up and up. Is there any end in sight?

Potential game at Lambert Field: Joe Biden says the University of Delaware (1-AA) would "kick Ohio State's ass" in football. As bad as Ohio State looked against USC, I somehow I doubt that. Via Taxman Blog. I feel like this blog has mentioned Joe Biden more than we should have over the last week. Those rumors he will be dropped off the ticket still aren't going away, though I don't know who starts these things. For better or worse (depending on your point of view) he isn't going anywhere.

Lastly, a state of the race update by Jay Cost of Real Clear Politics. A good read for supporters of both sides.

Good one!! Obama's new ad, which I mocked yesterday, gets even better. It tries to make McCain look old and makes fun of him for not using a computer. Obama spokesman Dan Pfeiffer: "It’s extraordinary that someone who wants to be our president and our commander in chief doesn’t know how to send an e-mail." Yes, it is true. McCain can't use a computer. He can't type on a keyboard. Nor can he tie his shoes or comb his hair. That is because his arms were repeatedly broken in Vietnam. Well played, Chicago! It will go down as one of the worst campaign ads ever. I guess this is what "taking off the gloves" entails.

And really, is insulting a large segment of the voting population that is probably in the same boat and are uncomfortable with computers a good idea anyways?

Cleveland Frowns which sometimes gives out advice on sports betting has a call for the 2008 election. Put your money on John McCain at the current odds.

Sarah Palin from the ABC Interview: ""I think he's regretting not picking her (Hillary) now, I do." Yes, but he also probably regrets not picking Sarah Palin.

Whoopi Goldberg, to John McCain, on The View: "Should I be worried about being a slave again?" Goodness.

Scott MacFarlane of WTOV 9 (Wheeling / Stubenville) has interviews with both candidates in OH-18, incumbent Democrat Zack Space and Republican challenger Fred Dailey. The pieces discuss each of their plans for the current housing market and what to do. Worth taking a look at.

Ohio State – USC. I am in the minority, I think OSU plays a good game and it comes down to the end. Plus, even if we lose we have a built in excuse that Chris Wells didn't play. I went with my dad to watch Wells his senior year at Garfield in their opening game against Hoban (2005). I could not have been less impressed with his performance. He didn't run hard, he didn't want to get hit, and generally looked like he would have rather been anywhere else. I said he was going to be a bust. That is why I don't recruit for college football teams or give advice on that front anymore. Speaking of Wells, and I know this is way off topic, but Maurice Wells should never get another carry ever for Ohio State. They should have told him the wrong time the plane was leaving for Southern California and left him in Columbus. He is just not good. Lets hope he doesn't get too many carries tonight.

Lastly, Ohio.com launched another new blog this week. It is a style blog titled "See Jane Style." Many people often tell me I am need of style tips. Probably accurate. Anyhow, I know Jane and had a heads up this blog was coming, and so far I have enjoyed reading it. Check it out.

And of course, there are the other two great political blogs on Ohio.com – All Da Kings Men (from the right) and Blog of Mass Destruction (from the left). Both authors are frequent commenters here. Be sure to check out their pages if you haven't already. Yes, Reverend, I don't like your politics, but you are a talented blogger.

So Oprah won't have Sarah Palin on, if this is to be believed. Whatever…this probably helps our side (more on the media below). Oprah is free to do whatever she wants, she obviously has a side in this election. I don't see why so many people care or are surprised over this. She is under no obligation to have anyone on her show if she doesn’t want to. She is a successful billionaire and will do what she wants. No need to get worked up about it. If you are mad at her, then just don't watch. Same with Us Weekly. Just cancel your subscription if you are upset.

Running Behind: Keno, the Ohio Lottery's newest game, finished up its first month of operation this week. As of Sunday, Keno brought in $7.2 million and awarded $4.6 million in prizes, Ohio Lottery officials said. $292 million in yearly sales was the projection.

Flags rescued from the garbage at Invesco Field used today at a McCain event in Colorado Springs.

"Jobs Americans Wont Do": Bizzy Blog on the raid in Mississippi that took place last week.

Ohio State sure looked impressive today! On to USC!

Now some more thoughts on Palin (of course):

1. Overlooked by many is the fact that this race is now essentially a 2 on 1 (at least in terms of candidates). No one cares what Joe Biden says. People will go see him speak because he is a VP nominee, but the only news he is going to make is when he messes up. Obama will still get his big crowds, McCain will still draw his below average size crowds. Palin will draw huge. What was there, about 15,000 in Michigan yesterday to see the two of them together? Same thing in Wisconsin. Think McCain would have got even a third of that on his own?

2. A hallmark of GOP campaigns as of late is the charge that the media are a bunch of biased liberal leaning fake independents who distort stories and go against the Republicans to try and influence the election. The last week was gift wrapped perfectly to bring that issue back to the front. Some people are of the opinion that the GOP/McCain attacks will backfire, that they will need them down the stretch. Wrong. They weren't going to be on our side in any event, and it is more important to have the base enraged at them (rightfully so).

3. By Obama right away going after the "small town mayor" and then Palin using that Scranton / San Francisco line in her speech, it did re-ignite the culture wars and the small town America vs. the urban areas and the elites. She didn't even have to mention any hot button issues to do it. That is not Democratic turf, not where they want to fight. (I actually read this one somewhere and am using it, but I forget where, so if someone else remembers seeing this point somewhere let me know where it was. I would like to attribute it properly, since it was such a great point).

4. Democrats won't take my advice here, but they should. Every personal attack on Palin will be beaten back by our side – I think it is now clear that the base and a lot of others have her back and it will keep blowing up in their face. It is such a waste of energy. Every attack on her is one less lobbed against McCain, who they should really be targeting. But they won't be able to stop from doing it.

You know, I keep hearing how this won't matter at the end, historically VP's have no effect, blah blah blah. We shall see, but I couldn't disagree more with those who are saying that. I guess looking at historical trends Obama would be up by 15% too. The barely above water economy still may pull Obama to victory, but for anyone to deny the race has now shifted is either in denial or delusional.

Believe it or not, there is other political news this weekend outside of Joe Biden.

Ashland Times Gazette: Health care, free trade, education, jobs and the economy topped the discussion as he attended a gathering of about 10 people at Lyn-Way Restaurant during a stop in Ashland. (John) Boccieri, a Youngstown Democrat, is a candidate for the Ohio 16th Congressional District.

Sunday Polls. National: WaPo/ABC Obama +4, Gallup Tie, Rasmussen Obama +3. States, Mason-Dixon: Colorado Obama +3, Nevada McCain +7, New Mexico McCain +4. Quinnipiac, Colorado McCain +1. Good news for Obama leading in Colorado after recent polls there had shown McCain taking the lead there. Bad news for Obama in Nevada. Assuming McCain wins Ohio (and that is no given) whoever wins 2 of 3 of Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico wins the White House. These latest Mason-Dixons seem to be a little different than what we have seen recently from the three Western swing states, but they are considered the gold standard in state polling.

Washington Post: In Denver, police and protesters prepare.

Sean Parnell, Lt. Governor of Alaska, proposes a land swap in which Alaska trades 2,000 acres of state land to the federal government in exchange for 2,000 acres of the ANWR area – just a small part of it's 19 million acres. This seems like a fair trade.

How conciliatory: Full votes restored to Florida and Michigan delegations. Easy to do now.

AP: 25 things you didn't know about Barack Obama. Includes such facts as "he doesn't like to shop."

OH-14: This is old, but it slipped through the cracks. When the biggest news about Bill O'Neill is that someone wrote a diary about the campaign you know you're in trouble. Ohio Daily Blog tells us that Donna Smith, a communications specialist for the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee wrote a front page diary entry on some left-wing blog site. This race is over.

Lastly, nice win overnight for the US Basketball team. I stayed up to watch it.

The comments from the previous post illustrate the dislike between the Romney and Huckabee camps. It is all about the potential 2012 GOP (sorry, the "white party") nomination fight. Off to an early start, considering we are about 80 days away from this year's vote. To me at least, Romney seems focused on helping the party this year. Huckabee seems focused on helping himself. Anyhow…..

John Kerry for VP? I don't think it is that unrealistic. Kerry would love – love – to be out there and go on the attack. I am sure he would relish going after McCain after he rejected his overtures in 2004 to be his VP. He is obviously still bitter he lost last time around and would do it in a heartbeat.

This was a good week for McCain in the polls. State wise we had him +1 in CO, closed to within 4 in MN, +1 and even in VA, +3 in NV. Talked to a candidate running for local office this week who told me that while he has been going door to door he has noticed a real upswing in Republican enthusiasm for McCain in the last couple of weeks. In April he told me there was none.

Who is the biggest jackass in Greater Cleveland politics? Political Science 216 kicks off a contest to find out. From the post: To be eligible, the political jackass must live in Greater Cleveland, which is defined as Cuyahoga County and every county that touches it (Lorain, Medina, Summit, Portage, Geauga and Lake). A politician must be an elected official, a party chair (the Alex Arshinkoff rule), a recent elected official or a current candidate. My vote is pretty clear.

PD: Ohio's ad warning of flu pandemic overdone? Yes. They have run about 9,081 commercials about it during the Olympics, at least the parts I have been able to see. Michael Phelps last night – amazing. How did he win that race?

McCain has his best fund raising month yet, though of course he was out raised by Obama. Too much being made of how he will have "only $84 million" for public financing when it kicks in after his convention. He will have what he needs with that money coupled with RNC help, which will be sizable. Contributions will just go straight to party headquarters and they can then put up ads that don't have to be approved by McCain at the end of the spot. It might end up being a blessing.

Ohio, continuing to TurnAround: 7.2% unemployment. Highest in 16 years. That mandatory sick leave law that is being tossed around will only make things worse. That is worthy of it's own post next week.

Wonder if anything will come out of that church forum tonight in California.

Obligatory mention of Mike Gravel (kind of former candidate for Democratic nomination) telling a group of people to find out where the kids of an assistant U.S. Attorney go to school to harass them. Of course the crowd cheered this idea. Pretty sick stuff.

The Tax Foundation has a list (PDF) of state tax burdens: Top 10 highest burdens: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Hawaii, California, Ohio, Vermont, Wisconsin, Rhode Island. Bottom 10: Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona.

See any red/blue differences there? H/T Taxman Blog.

Al Franken has a campaign event. One person shows up. Obama aside, there is no one I want to see lose more in November than Franken.

Obvious headline of the weekend: "Uniform shops are fans of Akron policy," in a reference to the K-8 school uniform policy that starts this month. I would think they would be due to their business going up over 40%.

Lieberman still on the VP short list, at least according to this report. I believe it. I believe that is who McCain really wants to take. The article says Lieberman is a long shot. Not how I would classify him. BTW, the Dems will have a decision on their hands after November whether to keep Lieberman in their caucus or not. If they pick up fewer Senate seats than expected, and they have in between 51-53, they can't afford to lose him. If they gain more than expected, and have 57-59 seats, they will be too close to 60 to give him the boot. In between and he is expendable. Though I bet if McCain wins without him on the ticket it will be a moot point; he will resign and allow the Republican governor of Connecticut to appoint his replacement when he joins the cabinet.

PD: Cleveland's new medical mart and convention center will cost $136 million more than advertised, and last year's sales tax increase to pay for the project will generate — all of a sudden — $90 million more than expected. Cost overruns and not a hole has been put in the ground yet. Very shocking. This whole thing will end up costing Cuyahoga County (the taxpayers) in between $750,000,000 and a billion dollars when it is all said and done. At least. Book it. This thing has been such a mess. If this blog was on the PD site and not the ABJ site I would probably hit on this debacle 3-4 times a week. I have the Summit County Republican Party instead.

Surprise: Rielle Hunter will not take a DNA test. No wonder Edwards told Bob Woodruff, "I'm only one side – I'm only one side of the test, but I'm happy to participate in one."

Lastly, the great story out of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, that of 9 year old Lin Hao. Even though I am a mean conservative, I have a heart. He stole the show Friday, and deservedly so. If you read just one of these links provided in this post, this is the one.

48 hours after telling us peasants to fill up our tires and suck it up, Obama reverses course on off-shore drilling. There is nothing he won't change his position on – and then tell us that we are wrong, that his position never actually changed, we just didn't understand it the first time. No wonder he won't agree to any townhall debates with McCain before the real debates. He doesn't want to be exposed.

CNN: Obama says offshore drilling stance nothing new. Key excerpt: But on Saturday morning, Obama said this "wasn't really a new position."

Obama did reverse course, but his fellow Democratic senator, Ken Salazar from Colorado sure didn't. Salazar said $10 gallon gas won't make him change his mind………………….

Great scene yesterday on the House floor where Republicans kept talking about energy even after Speaker Pelosi shut off the lights and turned off the microphones and TV cameras. One Democrat did stay and watch for a little while – Dennis Kucinich. Regardless, it was the most attention garnered by the Republicans since the 2006 loss of control. For a great write up on this, check out what Da King wrote about it.

Late last week, we did interviews with both Kirk Schuring (me) and John Boccieri (Kyle). Expect to see them here early this week.

Stevens Sinks: A new Ivan Moore Research poll in Alaska shows Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) leading Sen. Ted Stevens, 56% to 35%. However, even though Stevens faces six opponents in the Aug. 26 Republican primary, he still holds a huge lead over chief rival Dave Cuddy (R), 59% to 19%. Meanwhile, a new Rasmussen Reports poll shows Begich leading Stevens, 50% to 37%. Alaska Republican primary voters need to wake up. Now.

OH-3: Jane Mitakides, Democratic challenger to Mike Turner, puts out a release saying that 70% of her funds raised have come from inside the district. Interesting, because around 45% of her total contributions have come from her own household. Over 43% of the total amount raised to date was contributed by the candidate to herself – $140,789.45. Seems a little dishonest and deceptive if you ask me. Turner has over 4x the cash on hand than does Mitakides. The quarterly filing of Mitakides here.

Jesse Jackson Jr. would be interested in Obama's junior senator of Illinois slot if it becomes available. I wonder if he is appointed if he would be fortunate enough to see his primary opponent and general election opponent self destruct and then get to face Alan Keyes in his first defense of the seat. Probably not.

Kyle beat me to the punch putting up the newest McCain ad two posts below. I love it. I like both of the new ones. Democrats do not. They are starting their typical crying about the GOP running smears and negative campaigns. These are smears? Kyle tried to use some sarcasm but he knows it hits right to the core of Obama. McCain is getting more aggressive and putting out better ads right now than is Obama.

Buckeye Punditeers said it this way: Obama may still go ahead and win this election. However, the seeds have been planted for a 100 day assault on him that his campaign may not be able to survive. August is the time to start the assault on Obama's record and past statements.

I would be nervous too if I was them………

(President-elect) Barack Obama, touring the world as an incumbent, gets a small bounce from his overseas excursion. I expect it to just be a small bounce and the race will re-tighten by the middle of next week. This is the week I think more soft Republicans will turn to McCain. Speaking of that other guy in the race, more VP rumors. Can we just make our picks please?

All the Reagan and Kennedy comparisons are nice, but when they went abroad to speak in the past, it was about a bigger cause. Obama had a cause in mind – his own. Per the usual.

LeBron to campaign for Obama. Royalty looks out for one another……….

Done: Sirius and XM merger official. As basically an original XM subscriber, I have mixed feelings. Sirius doesn't really have any programming I want; that is why I got XM. Seems like prices will go up since, you know, it will be a monopoly. I don't know how that is in my interest as a consumer. Approved by the FCC on a 3-2 vote. Previously discussed here. How does anyone live without satellite radio?

Mitt Power: "Private polls show Romney could make all the difference in Michigan. A McCain-Romney ticket carries the state by a moderately comfortable margin. With any other running mate, McCain loses Michigan." Not from my previous post; from Bob Novak. If this race is tight and comes down to the end, Michigan going GOP (I'd say 50/50 with Romney on the ticket) changes everything.

Glass City Jungle, via The Blade: Ohio printed 1.02 million backup paper ballots for the March primary and 14,484 — or 1.4 percent — were used. The advice from GCJ: If you are worried about your vote not being safe on an electronic machine, vote absentee. Great comment after the post – Interestingly, you heard no complaints after the 2006 election. I guess the machines are unreliable only when Democrats lose. That is what I have always thought. We found out this week that just like the March primary, paper ballots equal to 25% of the turnout in 2004 will be available at each precinct for conspiracy theory folk. Hopefully the number who request the paper ballots doesn't jump more than an average of 23.6% per polling place in the general or Ohio SOS Jennifer Brunner will sure look dumb! Our primary must have been rigged somehow; Obama didn't win.

Plain Dealer: Never wire money to strangers. Thanks. I was just about to head over to a local Western Union location and do just that.

And this weekend in the Soap Box Derby……oh wait I don't care about kids driving down a hill in homemade contraptions they made in their garage.

Lastly, a video that shows – gasp – McCain attacking Obama.

Powerline: Brutal. In the end, this character-revealing blunder may be the only thing voters remember about Obama's international excursion.

I'm lined up to do a podcast with The Campaign Junkie on Monday. Details when I have them. Which hopefully is soon, since it is tomorrow. TCJ is one of two new blogs added to the blogroll last week along with Buckeye Punditeers. If your site should be on there but isn't, let us know.

Bill Sloat over at The Daily Bellwether makes a great catch: The Ohio Education Association endorses Richard Cordray for AG before the Republicans even have a candidate. I'll be the first to admit that the Republicans aren't exactly hitting it out of the park in finding a candidate, but wouldn't the OEA at least wait to make it appear they were actually going to judge the candidates and then choose? Guess not.

By now I am sure you heard about the San Francisco ballot issue this fall to name a sewage plant after George Bush. Mark Krikorian at NRO raises a good point: If the Bush administration were smart, they'd have leapt at this opportunity, saying that while the president deplored the disdain for working people inherent in such an effort, he would be proud to have his name associated with such a vital service and stood in solidarity with the engineers and chemists and electricians and others that help make modern life possible against the scorn of the lunatic left. Tom Daschle thinks it is funny at least.

This story makes me sick. Self-defense, huh? No printable words for someone who shoots a policeman in the head. King's Right Site links to two very different PD columns about a separate police shooting in Cleveland. A sensible one from Phillip Morris and one that makes you upset to read from Regina Brett. Brett then defends her original column. No surprise on the latter.

I got my McCain bumper stickers in the mail today. I'll save you the trouble of looking through website archives – I did say on my site last year that I would never put a bumper sticker on my car. Things change immensely when your choices are John McCain or Barack Obama. Possible tears when I take the Romney sticker that currently resides on my back windshield off tomorrow afternoon. Speaking of Lord Obama, I don't understand Obama's overseas pre-victory tour. It has major potential to backfire. It might appeal to some nice citizens of Germany and France, but their preference isn't going to play a role in November.

Remember the "rats ad" in 2000? Well now ABC says McCain is running subliminal messages against Obama. They aren't, but who cares if they are. This is a presidential campaign.

Boring Made Dull weighs in on the never ending saga that is the Summit County Republican Party. What I wouldn't give to just work one day there to see things first hand.

Discussed in an earlier post: Jesse "The Mind" Ventura will not run for MN Senate. Two polls this week show different results in that race without Ventura: Rasmussen Franken +2; Survey USA Coleman +13. Nothing like July polling. Absurd.

Finally, thank you for all of the feedback on the Ted Strickland interview. We have some more sit-downs with some of the politicians listed in the newest poll question in the right sidebar in the pipeline.

Norton Councilman Tom Jones survived a recall election on Thursday. I drove through Norton last week and there were signs everywhere in favor of Jones and other ones that said "No Jones." That has to feel nice – people against you when you don't even have an opponent. If Jones lost, his replacement would just have been appointed so he wasn't running against anyone. He won by 52 votes.

Did you know that Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic House "leadership" team are trying to stop any member of Congress from posting opinions on any internet site without first obtaining prior approval from the Democratic leadership of Congress? Step one to the Fairness Doctrine. Dianne Feinstein has something going along these lines in the Senate.

Invincible Armor wrote about this. So did Red State.

Rich Lowry on my McCain pledge for one term only idea: As you know, Ramesh (Ponuru) has long been in favor of McCain taking a one-term pledge. I've talked to two people who used to be agnostic on this idea who now consider it absolutely essential if McCain's going to win. On the theory that he's going to have to take risks to win in this environment and that it will brand him as a different kind of politician—running to fix Washington and not protect his own or his party's interests—in a way nothing else could.

Iran makes up many details about their missile test.

Start Your Engines: Obama to sponsor car at NASCAR event.

Righty blogger survey of their least favorite Republican politicians. Chuck Hagel, Arlen Specter, and Olympia Snowe are the top 3. Olympia Snowe is no conservative but not sure why she is so disliked. She is just kind of there. John McCain finishes 5th.

Update to previous story, kind of: Federal judge has sided with the Washington Redskins in a lawsuit brought by American Indians who consider the team's name racially offensive.

"Great things happen in small places. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Jesse Jackson was born in Greenville."

—Jesse Jackson, 1988 interview

Oh, and I guess that last Newsweek poll was an outlier.