Archive - October 28, 2008 - The Page by Mark Halperin

The Page

Politics up to the Minute

Oh, The Expectations They'll Set

McCain camp's lead pollster says in late Tuesday night memo that the race is "functionally tied across the battleground states" and all signs point to a late election night. Read it here. Permalink

Hasselbeck: Obama 30-Min TV Block "Repulsive"

“The View” co-host lashes out at the Land of Lincolner’s Wednesday night ad buy, pointing to a poor economy and spending, in an interview with Barbara Walters on her SIRIUS radio program. “That to me is, in terms of the economy is - that is repulsive.” Also talks about the media’s focus on Palin’s wardrobe, appearance, labeling it “sexist.” Read more here. Permalink

Palin to Return to Alaska to Vote

An adviser says the GOP veep candidate plans to go back to her hometown of Wasilla on Election Day to cast her ballot. She plans to leave the campaign trail next Monday to fly to Anchorage, and will then drive to Wasilla to vote before returning to the lower 48 for election night with McCain in Phoenix. Permalink

POLICY CORNER

--NY Times looks at the rivals' tax and spending proposals. Permalink

FLORIDA, FLORIDA, FLORIDA

The Sunshine State is where it is at on Wednesday. --OBAMA and BILL CLINTON will hold a late-night joint campaign event in Kissimmee. --MCCAIN is set to participate in a national security roundtable in the afternoon in Tampa. --OBAMA and BIDEN hold a joint rally in the evening in Sunrise. --MCCAIN hosts two "Joe the Plumber" rallies in Miami and Palm Beach, while BIDEN campaigns at an early voting rally in Jupiter in the afternoon. Palm Beach Post: "Both presidential candidates will be in Florida on Wednesday — John McCain because he must, Barack Obama because he can afford to contend in states that voted Republican in 2004." Permalink

Oprah, Senator McCaskill; Senator McCaskill, Oprah

SHOCKER: Land of Lincolner seems to say super-powerful Queen of All Media has helped him less than the Missouri Senator has. See what he said in an interview with St. Louis TV station KSDK-- click here. Permalink

New Polls: Obama Ahead in Buckeye, Sunshine States

From LA Times/Bloomberg, among likely voters: Ohio: Obama 49, McCain 40 Florida: Obama 50, McCain 43 Dates conducted: Oct. 25-27. Error margin: 4 points. Read more here. Plus: ABC News/WashPost daily tracking poll finds Obama 52, McCain 45. More here. Permalink

OBAMA BLASTS MCCAIN'S "RADICAL" HEALTH CARE PLAN

The Land of Lincolner goes on the attack on his rival's health care plan during a rally in Harrisonburg, Virginia Tuesday. Points to McCain aide Holtz-Eakin's remark published Tuesday that people can get better health insurance currently from their employer than under McCain's plan, calling it "an October surprise." "And the truth is, John McCain's health care plan is radical, it's unaffordable, and it's not the change we need right now." Read more excerpts here. He also speaks to overflow crowd before event. Pool report here. McCain camp fires back with a memo about Obama's "health care reform lie." Read it here. Plus: Obama camp releases 30-second TV ad on the ailing economy and need for a change in the White House. Watch it here. Permalink

McCain Senses "Momentum Building"

The Arizonan tells Fox News' Sean Hannity that the final days of the campaign remind him of the early primaries with the polls showing him down but supporter excitement building him up. “And that isn't just my impression, that's what our pollsters are showing, and that's what even some of the pundits are saying.” Also talks about voter fraud, Obama's "spread the wealth" remark and more. Watch Part 1 of the video here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here. Read excerpts here. Permalink

Anti-Obama Rezko Flier Hitting Florida Mailboxes

St. Petersburg Times: The state GOP is circulating the above mailer attempting to link Obama to the indicted Chicago developer. Permalink

Plouffe Does Cable

Obama's semi-reclusive campaign manager does a rare interview with MSNBC Tuesday, says they're "confident" there's a path to victory in all of the states they are targeting. Agrees with the suggestion the polls will tighten in some of those states: "We've designed our entire campaign to win close elections." Watch clip above. Permalink

Hildebrand Does Cable

Obama's semi-reclusive deputy campaign manager does a rare interview with MSNBC Tuesday, says Florida is a toss-up state but voters are responding to Obama's economic message. Denies the Obama campaign is arrogant, suggesting its workers are more committed than McCain's. "If we're overconfident, I don't know why we're working so hard." Watch clip above. Permalink