Opportunity's Knocked Out

Looking at two new Diageo/Hotline polls - one among among Hispanics in the battleground states of CO, NV and NM, the other a nat'l sample among all voters - one theme emerges: McCain's missed opportunities.

-- Remember when there was talk about McCain reaching out to Hispanics? Well, that didn't work out so well. Among Hispanics in his own backyard, McCain is trailing Obama by more than 40 pts. And he has a whopping 62% disapproval rating.

-- On immigration, the "Maverick" loses to Obama 52% to 39%. More ominous for the GOP: Hispanic voters overwhelmingly identify as Dems (67%) and give the GOP a paltry 24% favorable rating.

-- While many say McCain's sloppy handling of the bailout bill and his choice of Palin ultimately cost him the "experience" debate, the latest nat'l numbers suggest he lost it long before either event. On the nat'l poll taken 8/18-24, 58% of voters thought Obama was prepared to lead, compared to 74% for McCain. Two months later, those numbers have barely budged - Obama's at 59% while McCain's at 73%.

-- Obama may have passed the threshold of acceptability by 8/08, but it's clear that McCain wasn't able to do much in ensuing weeks to undercut it.