Is the presidential race over?

“The race is over,” said Howard Wolfson in The New Republic online. John McCain’s campaign had collapsed when the Wall Street did, because most Americans believe Barack Obama is better equipped to fix the economy. And trumping up Obama’s relationship with ’60s radical Bill Ayers won’t change that reality.

The economy doesn’t have to work against McCain, said Donald Lambro in The Washington Times. He can regain the offensive by “tearing into Obama’s plan to raise taxes on corporations and investors at a time when businesses are struggling to survive.” Voters afraid of losing their jobs will see they have reason to fear the Democrats.

“The odds are against John McCain and Sarah Palin winning this election,” said William Kristol in The Weekly Standard online. It's hard to make up a six-point poll deficit in four weeks. But if McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, can emphasize their record of reform and convince voters they’re not offering a “third Bush term,” they can climb back.

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McCain made that task harder by picking Palin as his No. 2, said Tristram Korten in Salon. Jewish voters, who could tip the crucial swing state of Florida, don’t seem comfortable with Palin’s level of religious conservatism.