Reading Bill Kristol's colunmn in today's New York Times, I had the following thoughts...

1.  I think his column today is a trial balloon. It looks like a plant from the McCain camp.

2.  It underscores the rock and a hard place position that McCain has put himself in.

3.  If McCain follows Kristol's advice, does a little mea culpa, and then moves on in a positive tone it creates huge problems for him:

   A.  Anything even the slightest bit negative will ring of hypocricy, and the MSM will take great pleasure in calling McCain on it.

   B.  It undermines McCain's unique value proposition, "seasoned judgement."  If he has such good judgment, why did he choose to run his brand, and his campaign into the ground with negative attacks, which he concedes was the wrong thing to do?

4.  If McCain continues as is, then only some kind of earth shattering external event can bring him within reach.  This could be another attempt by Bin Laden to influence the election, or it could be some truly disturbing dirt on Obama, but it has to be of that magnitude.

5.  My prediction...  McCain will do a little of both.  He will not attack Obama on Wednesday, and he will try to take a more positive tone, but he will not issue any mea culpa, and it will be framed by EVERYONE except his immediate campaign staff as a last failed opportunity to change the trajectory of the election.

Stability is the consistent name of the game this season.  Barack Obama has proven himself stable in the face of John McCain's erratic behavior, but Obama also has proven himself consistent in his lead of McCain.

The morning trackers are out.  Rasmussen shows a steady race:

Obama 50
McCain 45

Rasmussen observes:

The data continues to suggest a very stable race with Obama as the clear frontrunner. This is the eighteenth straight day that Obama's support has stayed in the narrow range from 50% to 52% while McCain has been at 44% of 45%

Research 2000/Daily Kos similarly shows a steady race:

Obama 52
McCain 40

DemFromCT notes:

Obama's percentage has been at or above 50 since 9/29.

Battleground/GWU similarly calls it a steady race with their numbers the same as they were at the last report:

Obama 51
McCain 43

Diageo Hotline has its numbers out:

Obama 48
McCain 42

Significantly, I think, the poll observes, "The IL Sen. leads 51-38% among LVs in CO, MI, NH, NM, NV, FL, OH, PA, VA and WI."

WORLDWIDE SHORTAGE OF CAT FOOD LOOMS

The UN Committee on World Hunger reported that demand for cat food, mainly in industrialized countries, has soared, resulting in severe shortages. In the United States, supply problems and higher prices have been particularly prevalent in Florida and Arizona, but officials note that problems exist throughout the country.

Social agencies have reported that many of its senior clients are suffering from early stages of malnutrition. Complaints of price gouging have risen dramatically and several states have enacted laws and are imposing fines. The Association of Community Senior Centers has called for congressional hearings.

Several pet food manufacturers are working round the clock and all deny any unwarranted price increases.

A spokesman for AARP issued a statement that, although acknowledging that the world is overrun with too many cats, there is no truth to the rumor that it is preparing a cookbook with recipes for cooking cats.

homer   www.altara.blogspot.com

Poltifact.com has given a long analysis of the ties the McCain campaign has made between William Ayers and Obama, the major one being that they ran a "radical education group" together.

They are referring to the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (founded by conservative multi-billionaire Walter Annenberg's organization), where Obama served on the Board from 1995 until it's dissolution in 2001 and where he was Chairman for 4 years.

Crossposted at Motley Moose

Quick diary to alert everyone that McCain might well take another impetuous maverick move before the debate on Wednesday.

The balloon has been hoisted up by Bill Kristol in today's New York Times:

It's time for John McCain to fire his campaign.

He has nothing to lose. His campaign is totally overmatched by Obama's. The Obama team is well organized, flush with resources, and the candidate and the campaign are in sync. The McCain campaign, once merely problematic, is now close to being out-and-out dysfunctional. Its combination of strategic incoherence and operational incompetence has become toxic. If the race continues over the next three weeks to be a conventional one, McCain is doomed.

Over at Fivethirtyeight Nate Silver has been reading the runes...

I think this is a well deserved prize for someone who has been giving us the warning signals for many years. As a columnist in NYTimes, Krugman has been a fearless and very balanced commentator taking on both the right and sometimes the left. He has been attacked from both sides but in most cases his analysis has been spot on.

The Sewdish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Science, or to use it correct title The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

Was awarded today to Dr. Paul Krugman of Princeton University.

for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity.

Congratulations to Dr. Krugman!

Ladies and gentleman, it's the start of the week, so you know what that means!   Welcome to another edition of Manufacturing Monday!  This week, one could possibly say, is the first in our new financial post-apocalyptic age.  Last week we saw the market face a level of decimation not seen in almost a generation!  The heart of the problem was, well actually still is, credit.  Credit is the life blood of our economy, from aiding customers buy products to helping businesses meet payroll.