McCain still down in the polls; stock market still tanking

thanks to dave for holding down the fort today. just a few things for your evening viewing pleasure.

mccain brings up ayers at an event, and misrepresents hillary to do it.

barack is buying up 30 mins of tv time in late october. hmm.

mccain/palin's current campaign strategy is not working.

really good info on what to look for in polls (and advice on when, and when not, to be worried). nate recommended. here's the cliff notes:

--8.5% is the maximum victory: First, as I warned on Monday, please keep in mind that an 8,5% national victory is the maximum. In the last sixteen national elections (U.S. House and Presidential), the largest victory was Bill Clinton's 8.51% victory in 1996. The simple fact is that no one wins by double digits anymore.

--even if you accept that it is impossible for Obama's lead to continue rising, don't expect it to remain static, either. Polls are using non-static means (statistical ranges with margins of error) to measure a non-static subject matter (public opinion). So, when there is nowhere to go but down, when the polls inevitably start moving again, it isn't a shock to see them move down.

--Within the last three days, Obama had surpassed or equaled his all-time high in every single tracking poll. With Obama hitting his all-time high in four tracking polls yesterday, one two days ago and one three days ago, for both of the reasons mentioned above, the idea that his standing in these polls was gong anywhere but down is wishful thinking. When dealing with polls that have a track record of several weeks and, in some cases, seven months, it is highly unlikely that a record will be immediately followed with another record.