Homeward Bound

When almost 70% of voters pick the economy as their #1 issue, no amount of talk about 60's radicals and Chicago pols can change the dynamics of this race. McCain's new mortgage plan was supposed to make him look like a bold leader willing to offer solutions instead of just placing blame. Instead, doesn't it threaten to undermine many of the initial arguments he's made about the crisis?

-- An "overnight change" in wording has turned what was supposed to be a populist appeal into one now being defined as more beneficial to big, bad bankers than long-suffering taxpayers. It's also given Obama a timely opportunity to tie McCain back to "more of the same" as he does in his latest ad attacking McCain's plan.

-- Meanwhile, instead of empathizing w/other Hockey moms about their economic woes, Palin's been relegated to the role of attack dog. And it's taking a toll. Her fav/unfav is now almost 1-1 (46-43%). Yet, there was a noticeable pivot by Palin on 10/8 off Ayers and onto patriotism. Does this mean that we'll be seeing Palin spend more time talking about her family and less time talking about Obama's pals?