McCain Meltdown

This graph from FiveThirtyEight.com tells the story: after falling slightly behind during the Republican convention, Obama has pulled away from McCain in every national poll and is heading towards an Electoral College landslide of 336-202.

The key swing states of Florida and Ohio are now leaning Obama, as are Red states like Colorado, Virginia Nevada, and even North Carolina.

What happened? The market meltdown became McCain's meltdown, both politically and personally.

On September 15, after Lehman Brothers failed and investors went into shock, McCain once again declared the "fundamentals of our economy are strong." Then when a bailout deal was near on September 26, McCain went to Washington DC to nail it down and nuked it instead. Meanwhile Sarah Palin was interviewed by Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric, and the results were disastrous.

Obama barely had to say a word; McCain dug his own grave, with Palin shoveling on the dirt.

McCain knows it, and he's furious. He couldn't bear looking at Obama during the first debate because of his anger, contempt for Obama, and visceral fear that defeat is at hand. Then he almost spat at the editorial board of the Des Moines Register.

And here's the report from last night from David Nather's Beyond the Dome:

Let the record reflect that Barack Obama made the approach to John McCain tonight.

As the two shared the Senate floor tonight for the first time since they won their party nominations, Obama stood chatting with Democrats on his side of the aisle, and McCain stood on the Republican side of the aisle.

So Obama crossed over into enemy territory.

He walked over to where McCain was chatting with Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida and Independent Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut. And he stretched out his arm and offered his hand to McCain.

McCain shook it, but with a "go away" look that no one could miss. He tried his best not to even look at Obama.

Finally, with a tight smile, McCain managed a greeting: "Good to see you."

Obama got the message. He shook hands with Martinez and Lieberman -- both of whom greeted him more warmly -- and quickly beat a retreat back to the Democratic side.

And a later report from Ryan Grim of Politico, which is completely "in the tank" for Republicans and McCain:

We just followed McCain down the steps following the vote to ask him about the reaction of House Republicans to the vote.

He didn't appreciate the company.

McCain: "Excuse me, you're bothering me."

Politico: "I'm bothering you?"

McCain: "Excuse me, I have to go." 

After 10 years of running for President - including 7 years of selling his soul to Bush to finally get what Bush stole from him - McCain is melting down.

I don't think we'll see a concession speech on Election Night. I think we'll see McCain turn into white-hot plasma and burn his way to the center of the earth...

Update 1: Matt at ThinkProgress chronicles McMeltdown day by day:

Sept. 15: On the same day that two of Wall Street’s major banking institutions collapsed, McCain declared that he “still” believes “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.”

Sept. 16: During a round of network interviews, McCain flip-flopped on his support for “excess regulation” in less than an hour.

Sept. 16: Attempting to talk about the financial crisis, McCain twice incorrectly referred to the “SPIC,” when intending to refer to the SIPC (the Securities Investor Protection Corporation).

Sept. 17: After saying the day before that he opposed it, McCain flip-flopped and said he supported the bailout of insurance giant AIG.

Sept. 18: McCain declared that if he were president, he would fire the chairman of the SEC, which the president doesn’t have the constitutional authority to do.

Sept. 19: Attempting to walk back his SEC gaffe, McCain said that that “the chairman of the FEC” — not the SEC — should resign.

Sept. 21: In a 60 Minutes interview, McCain defended his past support for deregulation, saying “I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy.”

Sept. 21: Despite the looming $700 billion bailout legislation, McCain told CNBC that he “can still balance the budget” during his first term.

Sept. 25: After McCain abruptly suspended his campaign in order to inject himself into bailout negotiations, the bailout talks broke down during a “contentious” White House meeting called for by McCain.

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