My column today, btw.

UPDATE

E-mail:

Rich,
Your observation about Obama’s “steady demeanor [that] served him well during the financial meltdown” echoed comments made by Michael Barone in a recent Town Hall piece. Barone noted that “the narrow lead [in the polls] that McCain had after the conventions vanished (if the tracking polls can be trusted) precisely on Sept. 18, the day that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke observed a coagulation of credit that threatened to bring down the economy and, in response, advanced the 1.0 version of their financial bailout/rescue package. In the days that followed, voters seemed to be unnerved by McCain’s impulsiveness and reassured by Obama’s calmness.”
It had once been thought by the McCain campaign and its supporters that their opponent’s penchant for voting “present” on controversial issues would be a liability for Obama, and they likely viewed the Illinois Senator’s “Call me if you need me” comment in response to the Wall Street meltdown as yet another “present” vote and an exploitable moment. Ironically, voting “present” on what may we may look back upon as the crucial turning point of the election could turn out to have been exactly the right political move for Obama. Cynicism we can believe in.