McCain leaving Michigan to Obama

October 3, 6:31 PMPolitical Issues ExaminerJudah Freed

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John McCain wears a brave face.
(Souce:Dan Raustadt, WikimediaCommons)

Hours before the scheduled debate between Republican vices presidential nominee Sarah Palin and Democratic VP nominees Joe Biden, GOP officials confirmed news reports that Republican presidential nominee John McCain is withdrawing from financially hard-hit Michigan, leaving the battleground state and its 17 electoral votes to Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

McCain has been steadily loosing ground in Michigan in recent weeks because of the growing financial crisis in the state and nationally. McCain suffered from heavy criticism by Democrat and independents over saying the economy is sound, then saying the economy is in danger.

Criticism increase last week when McCain suspended his campaign on Wednesday until Congress acted on the bailout proposal and then resuming his campaign on Friday without any Congressional action. McCain said he would not debate Obama on Friday, and then he went ahead with the debate.

McCain's campaign has further been injured by a general media consensus that Obama won the first presidential debate, if by a narrow margin. Obama has been widely credited with holding his on foreign policy questions while outshining McCain on domestic policy, giving the edge to the Democrat.

Additionally, McCain has been widely criticized for his pick of Sarah Palin as his his running mate. Palin's numerous gaffs in exclusive interviews on ABC News and CBS News, especially a lack of knowledge and a chronic avoidance of questions about foreign affairs, have caused even diehard conservative Republicans to demand her ouster from the ticket.

Consequently, diverse polls have shown McCain losing the bounce he gained after the Republican National Convention and energizing of the base by selecting Palin. Within the past week and since the Friday debate, Obama has regained his statistically significant lead in almost every national poll. Obama also has tied McCain or pulled ahead in at least four states won by George W. Bush in 2004.

McCain officials yesterday told Associate Press and other news outlets that campaign staff and resources will be redirected from Michigan to other battleground states, such as Ohio, Florida, Colorado, Wisconsin, Virginia, and North Carolina. McCain also is going to increase efforts in Maine. This means increased media advertising, mailings and canvassing troops in these other states.

Withdrawing from Michigan gives Obama a virtual lock on the state's 17 votes in the electoral college. Obama, who spoke at a university campus in Michigan yesterday, demurred on declaring McCain's withdrawal as signalling a likely November victory in the electoral college.

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