Thread: McCain abandons Michigan

Not good.........

Bye-bye, M.I.: McCain all but concedes Michigan, slashing staff, visits, advertisting

Bye-bye, M.I.: McCain all but concedes Michigan, slashing staff, visits
BY RICHARD SISK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Thursday, October 2nd 2008, 3:45 PM

WASHINGTON - John McCain quit the fight for battleground Michigan yesterday, a stunning admission that the twin albatrosses of the economy and Sarah Palin's fading star have put the state's 17 electoral votes out of reach.

Team McCain pulled out staff, canceled TV ads and called off a McCain rally in Plymouth, Mich., next week.


Campaign aides tried to maintain that the efforts in Michigan were never more than a "head fake" to draw off Barack Obama's resources in a traditionally blue state. But McCain had been spending more than $1 million a week on ads there.

With the Wolverine State written off, "the (electoral vote) map still plays in our favor," a campaign source said, and the investment of time and money in Michigan will be shifted to other tossup states - Ohio, Florida, Missouri, Virginia and North Carolina.

Team McCain believed that the four electoral votes in blue-leaning Maine might be up for grabs, but the campaign was also fighting off a strong Obama push for traditionally red Indiana.


Obama drew an estimated 20,000 to a rally in the GOP stronghold of Grand Rapids, Mich., rally yesterday, and hammered McCain on the failing economy and rising unemployment rolls.

"Nine straight months of job loss," Obama said. "Yet, just the other week, John McCain said the fundamentals of the economy are strong."

McCain won Michigan in the 2000 primaries, defeating then-Gov. George W. Bush with the help of crossover Democrats who wanted to embarass then-Gov. John Engler R-Mich.) He campaigned in Michigan with Alaska Gov. Palin to large and enthusiastic crowds on the day after the GOP national convention.



Palin's initial appeal to white suburban women initially made Michigan look competetive. But her quick drop in voter approval after several stumbling TV interviews have pushed Obama's lead in Michigan to as high as 10 points in statewide polls.

The leak that McCain was quitting Michigan came shortly after the campaign put former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.), who has strong family ties to Michigan, on a conference call to trumpet McCain's chances in the state.

Romney charged that Michigan was close to a "recession state" because of the policies of Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who played the part of Palin in debate prep for Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.).

Romney defeated McCain in the GOP primary in Michigan last winter, seizing on McCain's statement that Michigan jobs shipped overseas would not be coming back to the state.

Originally Posted by busyLivin

Obama staff leaves North Dakota - USATODAY.com

Difference between the 2 is that both are blue states, no surprise here with Obama but with McCain it did raise a few eyebrows.

Barack Obama, who has deployed more than 50 staffers in North Dakota in an attempt to become the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1964, is pulling out.

McCain's campaign has no paid staff or offices in North Dakota

They will soon!