I was reading something over at Politico and scanning the comment thread quickly and I noticed the following comment from someone who goes by "anybody out there":
It's like McCain is putting Palin in front of him to take the fire because he is afraid to do it himself. Then she cries victim. They're both deceitful and pathetic.
I have a question. Where are the democrats (sic)? Is Obama running by himself here?
Leaving aside the observation about anyone crying victim as he/she/it does so himself/herself/itself, it occurred to immediately that the Democrats are cutting their losses and covering their asses. They can see the writing on the wall and like Governor William J. LePetomaine have their own phony baloney jobs to think about.
Surfing away, what do I see but this:
Democrats are beginning to worry about losing the presidential election.
After months of leading in voter enthusiasm, fundraising and most surveys, Barack Obama lost momentum to John McCain after the Republican convention last week. McCain has gotten a boost from his pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate and has surged ahead of Obama in some national polls, while running even in others.
Arizona Senator McCain, 72, is drawing larger crowds to his rallies than ever before. Illinois Senator Obama's campaign, meanwhile, may struggle to keep up the record fundraising pace it has maintained all year.
The campaign's "novelty has worn off," said Representative Bill Pascrell, a New Jersey Democrat. The Obama campaign "seems to have lost its speed, its response time."
When the press turns on him, it will all be over but the crying -- especially on MSNBC.
DOWNDATE: As I was saying:
Democratic jitters about the US presidential race have spread to Capitol Hill, where some members of Congress are worried that Barack Obama’s faltering campaign could hurt their chances of re-election.
Party leaders have been hoping to strengthen Democratic control of the House and Senate in November, but John McCain’s jump in the polls has stoked fears of a Republican resurgence.
A Democratic fundraiser for Congressional candidates said some planned to distance themselves from Mr Obama and not attack Mr McCain.
“If people are voting for McCain it could help Republicans all the way down the ticket, even in a year when the Democrats should be sweeping all before us,” said the fundraiser, a former Hillary Clinton supporter.
“There is a growing sense of doom among Democrats I have spoken to . . . People are going crazy, telling the campaign ‘you’ve got to do something’.”
People are going crazy. Going?
DOUBLE DOWNDATE: Uh huh, uh huh:
A potential shift in fortunes for the Republicans in Congress is seen in the latest USA Today/Gallup survey, with the Democrats now leading the Republicans by just 3 percentage points, 48% to 45%, in voters' "generic ballot" preferences for Congress. This is down from consistent double-digit Democratic leads seen on this measure over the past year.