McCain Bails Out Of Michigan

McCain giving up on Michigan

International Herald Tribune:

John McCain's decision to cancel a campaign event in Michigan next week was not a matter of scheduling: McCain is giving up his effort to take the state back into the red column, concluding that economic distress there has simply put the state out of reach, according to Republicans familiar with the decision.

McCain Pulls Advertising In Michigan

CBS News:

In what he characterized as "a stunning move a month away from Election Day that indicates the difficulty Republicans are having in finding blue states to put in play," Politico's Jonathan Martin this afternoon reported that John McCain is effectively ceding the state of Michigan to rival Barack Obama.

McCain pulling out of Michigan

Reuters:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain is withdrawing staff and resources from Michigan in order to concentrate on other states where his prospects are stronger, a campaign aide said on Thursday.

McCain had harbored hopes of winning the state, but three polls in the last week has had Democrat Barack Obama with a double-digit lead in the Midwestern state, which has gone to the Democratic candidate the last two elections.

"Certainly, Michigan was going to be a challenge for any Republican in this climate," said the McCain campaign official.

McCain Pulls Out of Michigan

WaPo:

Sen. John McCain has decided to pull his campaign out of Michigan, deeming it a lost cause after internal polls showed the Republican trailing badly in the economically hard-hit state, according to a senior Republican official.

McCain's television ads will be taken down and most of his staff will be redirected to other places, the officials said, and plans for direct mail in the state will be canceled. There will be no new offices opened as the campaign enters its final stage.

"The numbers have been bad in Michigan for some time," said the official, who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak for the campaign. He said some offices will stay open with reduced staff because the leases have already been signed: "We have infrastructure in the state that will stay there. We just won't ramp it up."

Public polls in the state show Obama with a clear edge, and with momentum on his side. The Illinois senator hit 51 percent in the new Seltzer and Co. poll for the Detroit Free Press, stretching 13 points ahead of McCain.

As in national polling, it appears to be Obama's edge on handling the economy that has propelled him to the top of the polls in Michigan.

McCain Moves Out of Michigan: What It Means

WaPo:

What then does McCain's decision to stop running ads in the state -- an all but certain concession that he cannot and will not win it in November -- tell us about his candidacy?

First, that the damage done to McCain at the national level by the bailout of Wall Street is being mirrored in the states too. [snip]

Second, the pull out from Michigan is a sign that McCain's decision to accept public financing for the general election has tied his hands somewhat. McCain has roughly $84 million to spend on the entire race while Obama, who opted out of public financing, is free to raise and spend whatever he can to win the White House. [snip]

Third, and this is the most potentially dangerous for McCain, the decision to pull out of Michigan may be painted by the media as a sign the entire campaign is going south. "In the 24 hour nonstop news world we live in, the act of pulling out will actually be harmful to his candidacy not only in Michigan but elsewhere," predicted one well-connected Republican operative familiar with the politics of the Wolverine State.