A McCain victory in the primaries at some point seemed improbable -- his campaign was broke, hemorrhaging staff members and of course there was that unflattering footage of McCain schlepping his own bags. But somehow he inched his way back to the top. And backers of the Republican candidate say McCain -- who is behind in all polls -- shouldn't be counted out so quickly. So, 11 days. Today's buzz:
- The NYT endorsed Barack Obama for president and said the nation's future hangs in the balance this election. Take-away: "We believe he has the will and the ability to forge the broad political consensus that is essential to finding solutions to this nation's problems."
- Charles Krauthammer is voting for McCain. He wrote in today's WaPo that, although he believes the Republican nominee won't win, the financial crisis made Americans lose sight of how dangerous the world is and how much we need a tested leader at the helm. Take-away: "I will go down with the McCain ship. I'd rather lose an election than lose my bearings."
- McCain's judgment was clouded by Sarah Palin because of her sex appeal, wrote Kathleen Parker in the WaPo. Take-away: "Had Antony not fallen for Cleopatra, Octavian might not have captured the Roman Empire. Had Bill resisted Monica, Al Gore may have become president, and Hillary might be today's Democratic nominee."
- Though there is no poll that has McCain ahead of Obama, he's been winning come-from-behind victories for 40 years, wrote Peggy Noonan in the WSJ. Take-away: "No one in politics has so repeatedly relished coming back from the dead."
- A GOP divided cannot stand, wrote E.J. Dionne Jr. in The New Republic. Take-away: "Conservatism has finally crashed on problems for which its doctrines offered no solutions (the economic crisis foremost among them, thus Bush's apostasy) and on its refusal to acknowledge that the 'real America' is more diverse, pragmatic and culturally moderate than the place described in Palin's speeches."
