According to the transcript, mentions of "middle class"

Obama: 4
McCain: ZERO

(That's a repeat from the first debate.)

John McCain has now gone through both debates without mentioning the middle class!

Lets think about this for a second.......

If the commission goes forward with the debate, as they promised.

If Obama shows up at the debate, as he promised.

If McCain doesn't show up at the debate, as he as promised.

What happens?
The only thing i know for sure is McCain not showing up would be an unprecedented event.

My thoughts........

CPD will probably cancel
or
They go ahead and ask Obama all the questions.

The reactions to McCain's stunt after the debate or non-debate
i have no clue

Any thoughts or theories?

Further evidence that this is all just a political stunt by McCain:

How could Jim Lehrer, a newsman, not ask about the economy?

Well, he will.

A senior Obama adviser says that the CPD has told both campaigns that there will be questions about the economic crisis during Friday's debate.

They were told this last week...

Last week!!!

McCain knew last week that the first debate would give the candidates a chance to discuss the economic situation on national t.v. with a huge audience.  

He doesn't want that.  He prefers the drama.  

McCain's erratic behavior gets more disturbing by the hour.

This is a stunt.

McCain wants to look like he's really addressing the issue and at the same time slow down Obama's momentum.

If Obama refuses, he will appear as being more interested in politics than the well-being of the country. If he agrees, McCain will still get the impression that he is the adult in the room who took the initiative and considers the largest finacial crisis in US history more important than a presidential debate. Obama looses either way.

This is what happens when campaigns let reporters into photo ops.  They get all uppity and ask questions.

From the pool report account of what happened after McCain and Palin's meeting with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilli and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko:

McCain then looked around the room and gestured as if to welcome questions. The AP reporter shouted a question at Gov. Palin ("Governor, what have you learned from your meetings?") but McCain aide Brooke Buchanan intervened and shepherded everybody out of the room.

Palin looked surprised, leaned over to McCain and asked him a question, to which your pooler thinks he shook his head as if to say "No."

Politico

Lobbyist leading McCain's tranistion team has been lobbying for Freddie

blockbuster news that John McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, made millions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Sarah Palin and John McCain have been railing about those companies out on the campaign trail.  You'd think McCain would fire Davis.

There's more.

William Timmons, who is leading John McCain transition efforts (which will hopefully never come to be), is a "prominent Washington lobbyist" according to Time Magazine.  That's bad enough.  It gets worse in light of McCain's feigned outrage at Fannie and Freddie.  McCain's transition leader had been lobbying for Freddie Mac "through this month" -- until Freddie had to stop lobbying :

The lobbying firm of the man Republicans say John McCain has chosen to begin planning a presidential transition earned more than a quarter of a million dollars this year representing Freddie Mac, one of the companies McCain blames for the nation's financial crisis.

Timmons & Co., whose founder and chairman emeritus is William Timmons Sr., was registered to lobby for Freddie Mac from 2000 through this month, when the federal government took over both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

Newly available congressional records show Timmons's firm received $260,000 this year before its lobbying activities were barred under terms of the government rescue of the failed mortgage giant. Timmons, 77, is listed as a lobbyist for Freddie Mac on the company's midyear financial-disclosure form.

While Republicans say Timmons is making plans for the transition if McCain wins in November, the campaign wouldn't confirm his role. Timmons didn't return a phone call seeking comment.

McCain has labeled Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as prime culprits in creating the financial storm that has roiled Wall Street and Washington.

This is just another example of McCain's blatant hypocrisy.  McCain has been making stuff up about Obama's ties to Freddie and Fannie. Meanwhile, McCain's top guys have hauled in tons of dough from them.

Somehow i missed this........
Palin now says she's going to bring accountability and transparency to Washington by passing a law that Obama has already put in the books. Ugh.

Yes, this is the same Obama who she says has "ZERO" leglislative accomplishments.

CNN:

Sarah Palin likes to tell voters around the country about how she "put the government checkbook online" in Alaska. On Thursday, Palin suggested she would take that same proposal to Washington.

"We're going to do a few new things also," she said at a rally in Cedar Rapids. "For instance, as Alaska's governor, I put the government's checkbook online so that people can see where their money's going. We'll bring that kind of transparency, that responsibility, and accountability back. We're going to bring that back to D.C."

There's just one problem with proposing to put the federal checkbook online - somebody's already done it. His name is Barack Obama.

... Palin might also have noted that her running mate, John McCain, was a co-sponsor of the 2006 transparency bill that became law.

To All Readers!

How many times?
Reader John writes:

How many times do we have to hear:

We don't have ENOUGH MONEY to fix Social Security.
We don't have ENOUGH MONEY to fix Medicare.
We don't have ENOUGH MONEY to provide health care to ALL Americans.
We don't have ENOUGH MONEY to help out Americans losing their homes.
We don't have ENOUGH MONEY to help all our veterans returning from war.
We don't have ENOUGH MONEY to rescue "no child left behind".

BUT...

We DO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
We DO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY to bail out Bears Stearns.
We DO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY to bail out AIG.
We DO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY to pay for an unnecessary TRILLION DOLLAR war.

When the LITTLE GUY needs help, they scornfully say, "GET A JOB!"
But when one of their BIG GUY CRONIES need a bailout, what do they say? SURE, NO PROBLEM. Where's the checkbook?

"But what about the debt we're leaving on the backs of our childen and their future?"
"Children? WHOSE Children? OUR children won't have to pay for this. YOUR children will."

The Republicans have had their hands in our pockets for well over 8 years.
Now they are robbing us blind IN BROAD DAYLIGHT and smiling about it!!!!
The Republicans have shown their true colors and now they expect us to vote them back into office?

What's next? Should we bend over and spread 'em? Oh, I'm sorry, but we've ALREADY DONE THAT!!
SEVERAL TIMES!!!

Vote for REAL change this November.

VOTE BLUE!