It's standard operating procedure for McCain to play the POW victim card in an effort to deflect tough (and easy) questions. According to one report, he's been doing this since 1982:

Running for Congress from Arizona in 1982, John McCain was repeatedly assailed as a carpetbagger, which he pretty much was.

At a candidates forum when the matter was brought up yet again, McCain responded abruptly, telling his rival, "Listen, pal. I spent 22 years in the Navy. My grandfather was in the Navy. We in the military service tend to move a lot. We have to live in all parts of the country, all parts of the world. I wish I could have had the luxury, like you, of growing up and living and spending my entire life in a nice place like the first district of Arizona, but I was doing other things. As a matter of fact, when I think about it now, the place I lived longest in my life was Hanoi."

Yeah, I said it. And I'm not just saying  it because I live in the far awesomer SE portion of Pennsylvania (where, incidentally, Joe Biden is proudly considered our third Senator).

I say FRACK SCRANTON for the following two reasons:

Reason 1: The dread I'm feeling about the prospect of having to endure two more months of inane media blather about "scrappy," "Scranton" and "hard working/white."

This narrative is so last March, and data has since convincingly demonstrated that Scranton does not have a monopoly on scrappy, hard-working, blue collar or white. Plus, these themes have no place in a discussion of Obama's merits. McCain, on the other hand, has done a great job proving that he could never relate to people (hardworking, scrappy, white or otherwise) living in Scranton, Boise and pretty much anywhere else outside of"The Hills."

So, to you bobbing idiots on FOX, CNN and even MSNBC: unless you want to talk about how unpalatable mega-rich, uber-pampered diva freaks like McCain are to ordinary people like me, STFU ABOUT SCRANTON! You don't know s### about Scranton!

Reason 2: Scranton does not equal PA.

Obama has overwhelming support in the Pittsburgh area. In addition, Philadelphia (now featuring city money)-->the entire Southeast-->Lancaster-->Harrisburg -->PSU Country=OBAMA COUNTRY. And on the heels of the hotly-contested primary, the ground game will be off the mother fracking chain.

Translation: FRACK SCRANTON; Appalachia will not save McCain from the voters of this state!

To summarize:

1. Biden=great pick overall, a local hero and sure to swing some PA votes.
   
2. FRACK SCRANTON!
   

UPDATE: John King is now swearing on his sources that Obama has offered the VP slot to Biden. King said "this is incredibly sensitive" and acknowledged that the source was not supposed to reveal the information. John King can suck a fat one.

From The Page:

ABC: SECRET SERVICE HEADED TO BIDEN'S

Friday, August 22nd,

The network says a protective detail has been dispatched to the Senator's Delaware home- "indicating in all likelihood that Biden has been officially notified that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, has selected him to be his running mate."

Newsweek/Factcheck.org cover McCain's shamelessness:

On the defensive over the extent of multiple McCain homes, the GOP candidate strikes back. But his TV spot gives an oversimplified and misleading account of how Obama bought his own $1.6 million house in Chicago.

The ad says Chicago power broker Tony Rezko got "political favors" including "$14 million from taxpayers." But there's no evidence of any connection to the Obama home purchase. The $14 million was to build apartments for low-income seniors. Obama wrote a letter supporting the "worthy" project, but both men say Rezko didn't ask for the letter.

It says Rezko "purchased part of the property [Obama] couldn't afford." Rezko's wife did buy an adjoining tract but later sold the land at a profit. Obama paid market price for his home.

Earth to McCain's campaign...Earth to McCain's campaign: this line of attack failed the first time around.

It's embarrassingly clear that McCain has nothing. Everything he's come up with to date has been concocted by someone's pasty, wrinkled imagination. Obama, on the other hand, has been drawing from a bottomless well of caught-on-tape McCain gaffes, misstatements and acts of out of touch. And that's just McCain--his surrogates are another gold mine (not to mention the slew of f###-ups they'll commit between now and November).

It requires the suspension of belief to think that Obama, with his humble roots, has abandoned the middle class he's been fighting for his entire adult life, whereas McMansion is suddenly their champion. But that's all McCain can ask of his voters--suspend your belief. According to Bush's approval ratings, these voters should put 26-30% of the electorate in McCain's corner:

The latest Michigan poll shows Obama with a seven-point lead. From the Detroit Free Press:

Independents, women and Wayne County voters helped boost Democrat Barack Obama to a 7-point lead over Republican John McCain in the presidential race in Michigan, according to a Detroit Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll conducted this week.

Obama's 46% to 39% statewide advantage is especially aided by a 39-point bulge among voters in Wayne County, including Detroit.

Note Obama's advantage when Detroit's counted. Expect John McCain to stand up to this act of race card.

Notably, this poll was taken before McCain could mount his defense of Mansion-Gate. Now that the voters know these are actually Cindy's houses (and McCain was a POW), the tide could turn.

Also, McCain's campaign is going to pull some tricks from their Ayers*-Wright hat. Who knows, maybe this recycled line of attack will work this time around? It certainly doesn't hurt his already tattered brand to try, and--as long as the issues are questioning his five-year incarceration--he'll need all the help he can get.

BUT! The Michigan paper describes the seven point lead as shaky.

But lead is shaky: 31% say they could change their minds

Of course, CNN would've described a seven-point McCain lead as "double-digits," but that's neither here nor there.

Other aspects of the poll show that it's a good thing McCain brought out his Ayers*/Wright card, because he's going to need it. He should probably  try linking Obama to Keating 5 while he's at it:

Perhaps most striking is Obama's 17-point edge among independent voters -- a bloc McCain has cultivated since he first ran for president in 2000. Most experts say independents will decide this year's race because both candidates have strong support from core voters in their respective parties.

The poll shows the economy is by far the most important issue to voters -- 50% ranked it tops -- followed distantly by the war in Iraq, gas and oil prices and health care. And the poll showed Michiganders think Obama is slightly better equipped to help solve economic issues that have wrought havoc in Michigan.

Social issues such as abortion and gay marriage were top issues for only 10% of those polled.

Update: In an effort to fight this trend, McCain may draft more elite to his ticket:

2 Republican sources say McCain has apparently settled on Romney as his pick, but no offer has been made.

<SMALL>*No relation to Obama.</SMALL>

Based on this quote by Obama earlier (via Mark Assperin):

Says he's chosen someone "to challenge me so we have got a robust debate in the White House."

And from USA today:

In an interview in Chester, Va., the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said he's made up his mind, but he would not say whether he's informed that person yet. "I won't comment on anything else until I introduce our running mate to the world," he said. "That's all you're going to get out of me."

Obama said it was a difficult decision. "We had some great choices."

Obama said he wanted somebody who is "prepared to be president" and who will be "a partner with me in strengthening this economy for the middle class and working families."

He said he was looking for not just a partner but a sparring partner. "I want somebody who's independent, somebody who can push against my preconceived notions and challenge me so we have got a robust debate in the White House."

Some of Barr's key points:

1. McCain, like his mentor, is clueless when it comes to "geopolitics and the ethnic and demographic problems in that part of the world (Georgia)." I should add that this ignorance extends across the globe: he is equally clueless on the Middle East, Asia, Africa, LA and, of course, the Real America (not the one where a person graduates from the middle class after five million dollars).
   
2. McCain, like his mentor, recklessly bases his foreign policy judgments on metaphysical data like that gathered by Bush when he peered into Putin's soul (or spoke with G-d).
   
3. McCain is a moron for his "we are all Georgians" remark. His advisor, Randy Scheunemann, might be a Georgian in the same way that I might  be an Iranian if Ahmadinejad gave me $730,000 for a shoulder to cry on. But, like Barr said, we are not all Georgians.
   
4. McCain, like his mentor, does not understand that American power is not based solely on empty bluster, especially when it can't be backed up.
   
5. Republicans are sucking in the free world (as opposed rocking in it).

Earlier this year, Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to throw his muscle behind John McCain, citing the Senator's record of bipartisanship, as well as his alleged efforts to halt global warming. The former Mr. Olympia, in his appeal to voters, recruited his own ass to deliver the message of support. According to the LA times:

At a solar roofing company in downtown Los Angeles, Schwarzenegger formally backed McCain, praising his record of reaching across the aisle to "get things done" and noting their shared commitment to halt global warming.

"There are people out there that talk about reaching across the aisle, but McCain has shown the action over and over again," Schwarzenegger said. "He's also a crusader to end wasteful spending in Washington, which is so important; and he's a crusader, has a great vision, in protecting the environment and also protecting the economy."

McCain hugged Schwarzenegger and called him "a role model and guide to millions of Americans and people throughout the world."

Ah, nothing tops off a good talking-out-your-ass like receiving a big man-hug from your fellow republican. I bet Lieberman wishes it was Joe in those arms.

Lately, though, Schwarzenegger's ass has ceded the floor to his brain with an increasingly critical view of McCain's shifting energy policy--even going so far as accusing his Republican colleague of "blowing smoke." In the following ad, which takes a few hits on McCain's retohric on energy while defending statements by Obama, Governor Schwarzenegger continues to undermine his party's nominee:

Transcript:

Hello and welcome to Ecodriving. You hear lots of ideas from politicians about lowering gas prices and fighting global warming. Whether it's biofuels, offshore drilling or nuclear power. But none of those will affect the gas prices right now. Only you can do that...just by following the recommendations of this fantastic website. You can reduce your fuel costs by more than 15%. And I am talking about simple things, like proper tire pressure, avoiding rapid starts and stops, and keeping your engine tuned. In fact, if all Americans practiced eco-driving, the reduction in CO2 emissions would be an equivalent of heating and powering of nearly eight cities the size of LA. So we don't have to wait for the politicians to take action; each of us has the power to make a difference right now. So I want everyone across the nation to join in this campaign. And I hope that you will spend some time on the site finding out what you can do to help. Thank you

Click here for video

With energy prices near the top of voter's list of concerns, the above initiative is no small favor to Obama, and it's no discreet diss on McCain. Whether it's his wife's influence or his own guilty conscience, Arnold is proving to be a failed surrogate for McCain. While the McCain campaign encourages advocates to lie, insult, pander, waffle and generally mimic Joe Lieberman's sullied act, Arnold seems to have hopped off the Ass-Talk Express.

In light of this, the following clip fairly illustrates Arnold's current support for McCain: