Presidential Posturing

Bring on the debates, please.

The latest from the Associated Press on Wednesday, Sept. 10th:
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- Obama accuses McCain campaign of "lies and phony outrage and Swift-boat politics"

This of course following the "lipstick on a pig" remark by Obama that McCain equated to a cheap shot at Palin.

Can't we just get along and stick to the topics.

Oh, and please leave the "race" and "gender" cards in the briefcase.

Not a chance.

The next couple of weeks will involve a whirlwind tour, through battleground states, in an attempt to move the percentage points in the always shifting polls, one way or the other.

Who gets the next big "bounce" will be decided in the next month.

The first of three Presidential debates is in just over two weeks at the University of Mississippi.

It will focus on domestic policy (if the candidates actually stick to the questions).

The only Vice Presidential battle is October 2nd in St. Louis.

The final two Presidential wranglings will be Oct. 7th in a town hall format and Oct. 15th targeting foreign policy.

Even though the debates are little more than a platform for doublespeak, they have historically provided a few zingers (insert "Read my Lips")

Will John McCain be able to ride the Pitbull express all the way to the November election?

Can Barack Obama reclaim the spotlight that was stolen by Sarah Palin?

Palin has stuck to the game plan of avoiding one-on-one interviews until now.

ABC's Charlie Gibson gets the first shot at Palin in a sit down interview from Alaska this week.

The nation's mainstream media is chomping at the bit for any and all Palin news that's fit (and unfit) to print.

But if you're Barack Obama, don't you have to be a little miffed that your DNC speech had a shelf life of about 12 hours?!

He had the pillars, the points and the prominence of a man whose star was on the rise.

Then, Palin stepped in and shot it out of the sky.

Unfortunately, Joe Biden doesn't have the punch or pizazz to battle Palin in front of the cameras.

When was the last sound bite from Biden used on the news that didn't involve a news magazine show on a Sunday.

If he attacks Palin to harshly, he's a bully and if he backs off he's scared of her.

The Democrats need an audible to regain the momentum and that could happen in the debates.

For the Republicans, once McCain takes the stage with Obama, he won't have Palin at his side helping raise the applause meter.

The debates will end in mid-October with a three week sprint to the finish line, and no matter what is said, insinuated or slung between the opponents, it's going to be the winner by a nose.

And it probably won't smell very good.