Early AM News and Notes

Facing another day behind closed doors and suffering from withdrawal from the news, I leave you with a few juicy tidbits for the morning.

The Obama campaign's latest innovation (his 2-minute ad about the economy preceded this) - it owns DISH Network channel 73. Reported by Politico
"The channel plays his two-minute ad laying out his economic plan on a loop, over and over. The only explanation: The media buyers think they can reach enough people per dollar to make it worth the odd buy."

ABC reports that 60% think SlickS is not ready.
"Skepticism about Sarah Palin has soared since she entered the national political stage, with six in 10 Americans now doubting her qualifications for office and fewer than half convinced of her grasp of complex issues...just 35 percent say Palin has the experience it takes to serve effectively as president, down a dozen points since early September; 60 percent think not, up 15. And just 46 percent think Palin "understands complex issues," while 49 percent think she doesn't -- a poor assessment on this most basic qualification."

BOY, what's with the 46% that think she does or might "understand complex issues"? What Kool-Aid are they drinkin'?

continuing from ABC: "Biden's ratings starkly contrast Palin's: Seventy-five percent say he understands complex issues, 70 percent say he has suitable experience to take over as president if necessary and just 13 percent say his selection makes them less apt to support Barack Obama."

If you're one of the 60% who is terrified by the prospect of SlickS being "one heartbeat away", this from Americablog won't quell your concerns. Writing about McShame's disorientation when trying to leave the stage yesterday a physician says
"Let me put it like this. If I had seen a 70-75 year old man do that in front of me in the emergency room - that gentleman would be immediately admitted for what is known as a TIA. This is a mini-stroke that often comes before a big huge one.,,I showed this video to 3 colleagues today - AND a neurologist - all of us agreed - this is concerning and should be immediately evaluated. It is, however, impossible to make medical diagnosis via a video - unless you are Bill Frist or Tom Coburn. I would caution you to be careful about making any insinuations about his medical condition based on just that alone. However, I am concerned enough about what I saw of Senator McCain today that he should be seeing a doctor immediately...Just talked to two more buddies - again - they totally agree - one of whom is ardent McCain supporter."

And this from ThinkProgress
"The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology reviewed the cancer taken off McCain’s head in 2000 and found it to be “highly suggestive of a metastasis of malignant melanoma and may represent a satellite metastasis.” Even with the most optimistic scenario, if McCain has a metastatic malignant melanoma, he has only a 38% chance of surviving past 2010."