Contrary to what was predicted here, and elsewhere, after the debate on Friday, the latest polling shows that there was a bounce, and it bounced in favor of Obama. He may also have been helped by the erratic McCain response to the bailout fiasco, and Palin's widely ridiculed CBS interviews. In any case, the Gallup tracking poll has Obama up 8 points today.

"Two days after a presidential debate many commentators scored as a tie, it's beginning to look like the public saw things differently, as several polls show a small but significant post-debate boost for Barack Obama," says Politico.

And, the collapse of the bailout agreement in Washington is going to put Palin/Biden on the back burner, and instead give Obama and McCain an opportunity to step into what may be a morass.

One hint of what they will do may have come in their initial statements.

Obama, speaking in Colorado, told everyone to stay calm, while McCain blamed the Dems.

But it also didn't take long for Obama to become more partisan.

Early reports are that there will likely be a Senate vote before the House takes up consideration again, which all but assures both candidates are going to step up and declare their support, or opposition. The first may mean they'll be called on to lobby their party's House members, the second that they come up with an alternatives.

For us citizens, it's a lot more fun to worry about Palin's sentence structure.

Meanwhile, the The Weekly Standard posted this observation yesterday:

"John McCain is having a “Small Business Roundtable Discussion” in Des Moines, Iowa tomorrow morning. Should be an upbeat discussion!

McCain can explain why his fellow Republicans defeated legislation that McCain had basically endorsed, apparently because Nancy Pelosi was mean to them."

Some conservatives are still claiming the banking collapse was not a deregulation problem, and are blaming it on Fannie and Freddie, even though the problems extended far beyond those two firms. Anyone remember credit swaps, for starters? 

"Congressional Democrats, and specifically Mr. Obama, are now saying that the problem underlying all this is “deregulation,” pushed by the Republicans...

First, this is not deregulation. This is not the private sector. Fannie and Freddie are government creations, that pay their executives millions of dollars but are shielded with your tax money from suffering the downside risk of the market. Engage in racetrack-style financing, they must be strictly controlled. Deregulation is about keeping government from hobbling the private sector and hamstringing its ingenuity and productivity. Deregulation does not apply." 

And over on the left, the Daily Kos was slipping into invective:

"Pelosi thinks we are stupid" was the head on a morning post by the Koster.

He then suggested this:

 "As for "doing something" in this crisis, there's a perception that Bush's plan is the only one. It's not. It's just that none of the others alternatives have been allowed to see the light of day. But for one, how about taxing any number of Wall Street transactions, as well as temporary increasing the tax rate for those at the highest income levels -- you know, those who have most benefited from this "party"? Make this thing revenue neutral, and my opposition melts away."

Someone might note that even Democrats aren't saying more taxes are the answer.

Meanwhile, everyone have a happy and healthy New Year. (It's Rosh Hashanah.) 

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