Post Politics Hour
washingtonpost.com's Daily Politics Discussion

Lois Romano
Washington Post National Political Reporter
Thursday, October 9, 2008 11:00 AM

Don't want to miss out on the latest in politics? Start each day with The Post Politics Hour. Join in each weekday morning at 11 a.m. as a member of The Washington Post's team of White House and Congressional reporters answers questions about the latest in buzz in Washington and The Post's coverage of political news.

Washington Post national political reporter Lois Romano was online live Thursday, Oct. 9 at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the latest in political news.

The transcript follows.

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Archive: Post Politics Hour discussion transcripts

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Lois Romano: Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us today. We'll get started in just a few minute.

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Richmond, Va.: Obama basically taunted John McCain yesterday by saying he won't "say it to my face" regarding Obama's friendship with Ayers, the unrepentant terrorist. Doesn't that just open the door for McCain's campaign to keep hammering the issue? Most people still don't know much about Ayers -- there's been very little reporting on it. Isn't this risky for Obama?

Lois Romano: Good morning, Richmond. First let me address the last comment: There has been an enormous amount of reporting on this, including several stories in this newspaper. Given that you are doing this chat, I assume you are computer literate, so with a modest search you'll find all you need to know.

As to the first part: I'm not sure how much more They can hammer, becausee nothing new has emerged in a year. The gist of what I've read is that they know each other but are far from close. No one has said otherwise.

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St. Paul, Minn.: Hi Lois -- Thanks for taking questions today. Maybe it's just me, but something about seeing Cindy McCain in attack dog mode feels very jarring to me, and it appears like the McCain camp is wildly throwing punches in every direction, hoping something lands. Also, if Michelle Obama came out and did that, the Republicans would be apoplectic. What do you think?

Lois Romano: I think this is turning into an ugly race from all sides. The McCain campaign does seem to throwing a lot more punches, and saying Obama "pals around with terrorists" was tough. They are behind in the polls and trying to change the subject. I don't know what to make of Cindy getting into the act -- but it does seem like all hands are on deck for the attacks.

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New York: Hi Lois, thanks for the chat. During these crucial last weeks of the campaign, with so many battleground states leaning to Obama, why doesn't Cindy McCain campaign separately from her husband to cover more ground? I know she hates campaigning, but I still find this strange. Most spouses put out the effort when crunch time comes, even the reluctant ones. Also, why is Palin back campaigning with McCain? I don't understand the tactic.

Lois Romano: I don't know about the Cindy strategy. But McCain gets more energized crowds when Palin is there.

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College Park, Md.: Hi Lois. If McCain does stage a comeback and win the election he'll have done it via a very nasty campaign -- one in which, for example, his VP openly called the Democratic candidate a friend of terrorists. This won't leave a good taste in the mouths of Democrats, who will in all likelihood still control both houses of Congress. Will McCain's new attack campaign undermine his credibility as a bipartisan leader if wins the presidency?

Lois Romano: That's a good question, and I don't know the answer. But a more immediate question is whether the voters will be turned off. They want issues discussed -- not a food fight.

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Norfolk, Va.: Lois, it looks like this week's media message is "Barack Obama is inevitable" despite the fact that the polls are still within the margin of error. Are these the Obama campaign's talking points? Or is the media trying to push him across the goal line here?

As I recall, voters didn't break towards Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter until the very weekend before voting day. Until then, Jimmy led, right? Aren't the Democrats ALWAYS in the lead in media polls right up until Tuesday?

Lois Romano: Well, Obama is leading in national polls and battleground state polls, which is the first pull away for him. So the media is just all over it. The Obama campaign doesn't want to be considered a front-runner -- expectations get too high.

And yes, anything can happen. This has been a wild, volatile race for two years -- just when we think it's going one way, it turns. So no one should get too settled in a mindset.

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Marietta, Ga: It may be "getting ugly on all sides" But from what I've seen, the Obama campaign criticizes McCain's policy positions. The McCain campaign is accusing Obama of hanging around with terrorists and saying he's risky and can't be trusted. These are not equivalent things. What the McCain campaign is engaged in is character assassination, and it should be pointed out that the accusations are false.

Lois Romano: I think you are largely correct. The Obama campaign pulled out references to the "Keating Five" scandal this week, but only after the terrorists references.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: Dear Ms. Romano, it is clear that some very incendiary rhetoric has been offered by McCain and Palin at recent rallies. The fact that audience members are screaming "kill him" and "terrorist" speaks to the effectiveness of their incitement to anger. Is this a McCain strategy to win back voters or to win over undecideds? Has such a strategy succeeded in the past? Do you think the McCain campaign has ceded issues to Obama and is now only trading in character assaults? Thank you.

washingtonpost.com: Rage in the Town of Bethlehem (The Washington Post, October 9, 2008)

Lois Romano: Fear tactics have worked in the past, but I don't think they will work this year. Voters do not want all this hate and mud thrown -- they want to hear about issues.

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Chicago: Thanks for taking my question. Is it really possible that a candidate for national office is actually never going to hold a formal press conference or appear on the Sunday morning talk shows before the election?

Lois Romano: Not for president. But if you're talking about Palin -- yes.

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Plymouth Meeting, Pa.: Does Sarah Palin have a national political career ahead of her even if the McCain-Palin ticket goes down in flames?

Lois Romano: She's pretty young, so it would be hard to rule her out.

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La Vale, Md.: Good morning and thanks for chatting. For the sake of this question, assume that the final Gallup poll before election day is the same as yesterday (Obama up by 11%). What impact, if any, do you think such a large lead in the polls is likely to have on the actual vote?

A. None because the voters most likely to be swayed by polls are unlikely to know what the polls are before they vote.

B. Obama gains a few percentage points because some of the last minute deciders want to go with a perceived winner.

C. Obama loses a few percentage points because some of his weakest supporters stay home thinking "he's got it in the bag."

D. Obama gains a few percentage points because McCain's weakest supporters stay home thinking "Obama's got it in the bag."

E. C and D cancel each other out and Obama wins by 11%.

F. D is more likely than C because of the enthusiasm gap between Obama and McCain supporters.

G. None of the above.

Lois Romano: The biggest unknown is how people ultimately will react, once they pull the curtain shut to vote, to the first black man in history on the ballot for president.

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Austin, Texas: What's the latest on the Franken/Coleman race? Is the incumbent likely to win?

Lois Romano: The race has been swinging toward Al Franken. He's up a few points in the polls.

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Polling: With all due respect, isn't polling a lot more sophisticated now than in the Carter/Reagan era? While there is still a possibility McCain could turn it around, given the frequency, number and sophistication of these polls, shouldn't the pollsters are a bit more confident?

Lois Romano: The pollsters will tell what I just said: Few would admit to even a pollster that they won't vote for a black man. But some who says they will vote for Obama may not. It won't account for 10 points, but it's a concern.

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Austin, Texas: Good morning, Lois. Has there been any consideration that the McCain camp decided to avoid the Ayers issue during the debate because it exposed them to the chance that Obama might defuse it on the spot, thereby taking away one of their biggest attack points on the trail?

Lois Romano: Yes. Also, it's Palin who mostly has been the attack dog on that.

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Germantown, Md.: I know at some point in October of 1992, James Baker advised President Bush (the first) that he was probably not going to win a second term in his race against Bill Clinton based on the polls at that time.

My question is, at what point (assuming things keep going as they are) do Senator McCain's advisers deliver a similar message to him? Do you think they are close to being at that point yet? Perhaps after next week's debate? Or will Senator McCain and his advisers maintain a facade of impending victory to avoid completely turning off what support he has left to try to staunch an utter rout on November 4?

Lois Romano: No they are not close to that point at all. There are four weeks left. Anything can happen. They'll tell him when they are sure -- which wouldn't be earlier that a week before the election, when there's little time to recover.

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Georgia: Lois -- what do you make of the 'fellow prisoners' slip by Sen. McCain? If it were just one, not a problem. But this seems to be repeatedly happening: getting lost on stage, misspeaking, forgetting words (I am convinced that was the genesis of the "that one" remark), etc.

Does this worry others? Why so little coverage about it in the MSM today?

Lois Romano: I don't know what to make of it. Because of McCain's age, these slip-ups get amplified. And maybe they're just slip-ups that happen to all of us. The man is campaigning 18 hours a day. He has got to be exhausted -- as Obama is.

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Reston, Va.: Why do the media continue to cover speeches by Governor Sarah Palin when she refuses to talk to reporters or hold a press conference? Why are reporters being cordoned off at her events and not allowed to speak with supporters? And why is no one talking about her hypocrisy in raising Barack Obama's tenuous connection to William Ayers when Todd Palin was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party until 2005? Certainly it would not be a stretch to say that a radical secessionist group with ties to Iran is worrying, to say the least, yet Sarah Palin sent the AIP a video welcome for their conference this year, supporting their work.

Lois Romano: Palin is a legitimate story on so many levels, but right now, reporters have to cover her because she's the designated attack dog.

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Fairfax County, Va.: May I just mention that there has been no "curtain to pull shut" in Fairfax County (while voting) for at least a decade? Is this just an outdated expression or do people in other parts of the country actually get to close a curtain behind themselves to create a little "room" in which to vote? Sounds cozy!

We have machines with screens turned toward the back wall, so while you are voting on them the people in front of you can't really see what part of the screen you are pressing, although they can watch which direction your arms are pointing. It is not ideal.

Lois Romano: Just an outdated expression from all those photo ops over the years, when the candidate slips into the cubicle to vote.

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Sydney, Australia: Why does the media feel the need to start writing articles asking if McCain has already lost? Obama is only a few points ahead with a month still left and anything can happen. If I was in the Obama camp I would be extremely worried if the press keeps this up, surely the last thing they want is the voters believing he is so far ahead and therefore they don't need to turn up and vote.

Lois Romano: I am not familiar with articles that say he lost. The media legitimately is reporting that Obama is on an upward trajectory right now. By watching McCain's campaign strategy, journalists who have watched these trends for decades can see that McCain is struggling. That gets reported.

You are correct in saying that the Obama campaign doesn't want to create the impression he will win in a walk.

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Down South: Hi, Lois. Maybe I am just a cynic, but why are you so sure that voters want issues and not a food fight? I know a whole raft of people who are voting for McCain for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with issues. And some of the people, like my sister in law, say they are voting on issues (healthcare) but can't describe, even in simplistic terms, where each candidate stands. I will be worried about the effect of the negative campaigning until Nov. 5.

Lois Romano: Okay, well, they think they want issues. At least that's what people say.

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Roseland, NJ: In modern politics, what is the political benefit of a rally headed by one of your principals? Is it just getting TV time, or is it generating local press, or getting people to sign up in the hopes they'll volunteer? Does that result in the McCain camp being seriously hampered by keeping their ticket together all the time, while Obama and Biden can split up and double their coverage?

Lois Romano: In the case of McCain and Palin, they get a lot of bang for the buck together. They are just about guaranteed a segment on the evening TV news -- which is 20 million-plus viewers.

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Laurel, Md.: The McCain campaign has sunk to new lows of sleaze and hate mongering that even Karl Rove would blush at. The rallies with Sarah Palin screeching her garbage and lies about Obama and Bill Ayers are bad enough, but now we hear people in the audiences yelling "kill him" and "off with his head," and telling black journalists to "sit down, boy."

When does the Secret Service start arresting people? When does the press finally say enough is enough and stand up against this type of hate speech that could end up with someone taking a pot shot at Senator Obama? Where is the outrage at this crap?

washingtonpost.com: Unleashed, Palin Makes a Pit Bull Look Tame (The Washington Post, Oct. 7, 2008)

Lois Romano: There is outrage, but you can't arrest someone for exercising their right to free speech.

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Montreal: Hi Lois, thanks as always. Where are you reporting from these days? How does the increasingly negative stuff play out on the ground?

Lois Romano: I was in St. Louis for the vice presidential debate, and people were appalled by it. At a focus group, conducted by Peter Hart for the Annenberg Center, voters were intently interested in health care and the economy and homeland safety. They are tired of the mudslinging.

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Romano says: "She's the designated attack dog." No wonder she won't talk to the elite liberal media, you are not showing her the proper deference.

Lois Romano: It's not a matter of deference., it's a fact. Have you been listening to her? Her stump speech is 90 percent anti-Obama -- instead of pro-McCain. In our business, we call that the attack dog.

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Bloomfield, N.J.: Lois, here in Bloomfield (just outside New York) we do enter into a curtained alcove to cast our votes, and this is on new digital voting machines. So the reference is still valid in 2008.

Lois Romano: Thanks!

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But you can't arrest someone for exercising their right to free speech.: The Constitution does not give you the right to yell "fire!" in a crowded theater, nor to incite riot. I think that is the point here.

Lois Romano: Good point. And it doesn't give the right to make death threats.

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Dunn Loring, Va.: Would you consider someone your friend if they held a party in your honor at their house; hired you for your first noteworthy job; ensured you were appointed to the board of directors for several organizations; and asked you to write the forward to their book? If that same person (and his wife) had conspired to bomb government buildings, government officials and their families, wouldn't that make you a friend of a terrorist?

Lois Romano: "Hired you for your first noteworthy job; ensured you were appointed to the board of directors for several organizations" There is no evidence this is true.

In the political world, strangers have parties for candidates all the time, and strangers write book blurbs. So, no.

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Lois Romano: Unfortunately, the chat comes to an end. Its really inspiring to see so many people following the race. Please join us for politics every day here at 11.

Thanks.

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