The N.Y. Times reports this nice bit of news, that Obama has opened up a sizable lead over McCain in the latest CBS poll. Obama’s favorables are up to the highest they’ve ever been, McCain’s are down to the lowest they’ve ever been.John McCain: Reppin' on the mic

I’m not foolish enough to believe that this is the end of the campaign or even the beginning of the end. There is a long way to go till November 4th and five weeks is a lifetime in presidential politics. After all, the bailout fiasco which apparently did so much damage to McCain’s image, was a very unusual development. One doesn’t know how the fallout will play out from this. Does the bailout have “legs” as a political issue (as I suspect it does)? Or will it recede into the political woodwork as Katrina did for Bush, in a few days or weeks? As long as it continues to occupy the public’s attention, McCain remains wounded.

And this is not a helpless candidate by any means. He can still land serious blows on Obama and potentially derail his campaign in any number of ways.

Bush's favorability rating is down to 22%! The lowest since Harry Truman in the Korean War. Who'd a thunk it only five years ago when he rode high in the saddle into the Iraq War?

One of the most delicious pieces of news from this story concerns Sarah Palin’s receding prospects:

The Pew poll found that 51 percent of respondents said she was not qualified to be president, compared with 37 percent who said she was. That is a reversal from early last month, when 52 percent of respondents said Ms. Palin was qualified to be president.

She’s lost 15 percentage points in less than a month. That’s a candidate in free fall, perhaps without a parachute given her recent performance in Katie Couric’s CBS interview. When I first started writing about her after McCain chose her I wondered why the American public wasn’t seeing what I was seeing. My hope and conviction was that this would be a process that wouldn’t happen instantaneously. But that a campaign of a thousand paper cuts, perhaps inflicted by liberal bloggers and her own hubris, would eventually bring her to her knees, which is more or less what has happened. Now, let’s see if this impression is reinforced in tomorrow’s V.P. debate.

Election 2000: Important enough for a movie?If there is one thing that unites all media coverage of the current campaign, as well most of our breathless analysis and punditry, it is this: The 2008 election is the most important in a generation, perhaps in history. 

Every election I can remember has been the most important in my lifetime.  Either presidential selections are getting more and more important with the passage of time, or a great many of us tend to lose perspective every four years. 

All presidential elections are important, of course, and this one is no different.  The next occupant of the White House will determine the direction of our foreign and domestic policy...but they all do that.  He will choose one or two new Supreme Court justices.  But they all do that, too. 

Establishing the unique, crucial importance of this election seems particularly important to the McCain campaign message.  Elect Obama, we are told, and catastrophe will befall the United States.  Al Qaeda will go on a rampage.  Putin and Iran will be unstoppable.  Your children will be in grave danger (if you love them, you'll vote McCain!). 

McCain appears to think that his only route to victory is making people believe that the fate of the earth lies in the balance.  A skeptic might suggest that scaring the bejeebus out of everyone is hardly presidential...but nobody really likes skeptics anyway.

There is good reason to believe that this election might not be as decisive as our candidates and hyperbolic media would have us believe.  First of all, from the looks of things, the next president is in real danger of being a one-termer.  Rarely do voters look kindly upon presidents who preside over tough economic times (FDR is the lone exception), and all indications are that the next few years will be somewhat grim. The next president is also going to be handed a few very difficult dilemmas by his incompetent predecessor.  The violence has gone into remission in Iraq, but the patient is hardly cured; Afghanistan and Pakistan teeter on the edge of chaos; Dancing with the Stars is one of our most popular TV shows.  Why anyone would want to be president right now, I have no idea.

And second, the threats facing the United States in 2008 are hardly more dangerous than those from years past.  Sure, al Qaeda still exists, and remains a problem.  But through good investigative work and international information sharing, our intelligence services have gained the upper hand in our struggle with Osama and the boys.  Terrorists will always be able to kill people, but they cannot change our society.  Only we can do that.

Both campaigns seem ignorant of one of the most important facts about current world politics:  War seems to be disappearing from the planet.  As a number of political scientists have been proclaiming for years, the incidence and intensity of all kinds of wars - interstate, civil, ethnic conflicts, etc. - are at historically low levels, and still declining.  Entire continents are experiencing their greatest stretch of peaceful relations.  Europe, South America, North America, Australia, and most of Asia are virtually war-free.  Even in Africa conflict levels are lower than at any time in history.  I go into more detail about this in the book.

In such a climate, countries are safe.  The strongest is the safest.

So I am not convinced this election is actually that important.  The truth is that we don't know how important any election is until the administration is over.  As it turns out, those who told us that Bush vs. Gore was the most important election of our lifetimes were probably right.  At the time, though, who knew?

Christopher Fettweis, author of Losing Hurts Twice As Bad, is guest blogging on Jewcy, and he'll be here all week.  Stay tuned. 

Te’DeVan “Rocketman” Kurzweil is the quintessential Jewish New Yorker bohemian weirdo. A six-foot-seven-inch faith healer, freestyle rapper and former nude comedian, Te’DeVan is a local legend who makes his living in tips from those whom he cures and entertains. (I first interviewed him for New York Press in 2002 when he tried to convince everyone in Times Square that terrorists were operating a Queens grocery store.)

Now he is taking his message to the national stage through a bizarre presidential campaign. He has garnered supporters at numerous music festivals and university campuses—from California to Tennessee to Washington, D.C.—and on the Internet at his personal blog.

Six feet seven inches of presidential candidate: RocketmanAre Americans ready for a six-foot-four Jewish faith healer as their leader? Can you "heal" this nation with your supernatural abilities?

Actually it is six-foot-seven-inch Jew. See how the media is already lying trying to diminish my physical size? Because everyone knows that height matters in political campaigns.

I would not consider my healing to be mine, but rather God's healing. With enough willpower, clarity of mind, and compassion we can all heal this country.

Are you running an actual campaign or is this a work of performance art?

I am not honestly sure if the two differ these days.

When you don't have a lot of money or the high brand name visibility, you have to incorporate a high level of entertainment to get everyone's attention.

Are you registered as a candidate in any state? Can people actually vote for you?

Our team of lawyers is attempting to get me registered as a candidate, but the combination of ageism and anti-Semitism might make this a serious challenge. Since we live in a democracy, of course people can vote for me and my wing-mate Smiley along with our ever-expanding Infinite Cabinet. People are voting for me as a write-in candidate while other people are merely voting for me in their hearts and minds.

Anti-Semitism is keeping you off the ballot? What?

Ageism, not anti-Semitism. The Constitution supposedly says you have to be 35 years old, but the government doesn't really follow the Constitution anymore on most matters. To follow it because I am not of legal age seems absurd to myself and the Infinite Cabinet.

He's no Lieberman: Te’DeVan's running mate Who the fuck is "Smiley"?

He is a lifeguard, Ferris wheel operator, bouncer and philosopher, currently residing in New Jersey until we get the biodiesel buses ready to roll. His first words to me on top of a beach pier across from a police station were: "Hey, you want to start a revolution?"

My response was "Hell to the yeah." A great friendship was forged.

What is your platform?

1) Stop killing people we don't know. Start helping people we do know right at home who are struggling with healthcare, the economy and the price of education.

2) Fess up to global warming and take serious initiatives to clean up the planet. We need clean air, water, and organic apple pie.

3) End the war on drugs. If we can't keep drugs out of prisons, why are we spending billions to keep them out of the country? Decriminalize pot. We have too many people going to jail for this -- it's flooded the courts and it's a waste of taxpayers' money. In many cases, prescription pills are more dangerous gateway drugs.

4) It's insane how many people we have in prison. We went from a prison population of 300,000 in 1981 to 2.1 million in 2004. At that rate, by 2027 we'll have 14.7 million people in prison. That is absurd.

5) Lower the voting age to 12. We will settle for 16. If we're going to turn these kids into pill poppers, we might as well make them lever-pullers, especially if we're going to try them as adults for murder.

6) Bring sexy back to the White House. Justin Timberlake was onto something. All these other politicians don't know how to act.

7) Give out three million college scholarships. Being educated and being in debt should not go hand in hand.

Eyes like Isaiah and a beard like Moses: Te’DeVan the prophetWhat inspired the campaign?

Once the primaries are over, it's business as usual for the major candidates. Issues become forgotten. Voters focus on the next pop star instead. Who can blame them? We have unlimited choices of shampoos and conditioners but only two choices for our world leader.

How are you using the Internet to campaign?

We are using MySpace, Facebook, Tribe, and YouTube, and we're selling the campaign on eBay. Smiley said that if big tobacco and the oil companies can buy a campaign, why not the American taxpayer? So eBay just might save the American democracy.

What do you mean, you're "selling the campaign"?

Politicians are bought and sold all the time. Campaigns are commodities. They spend over $300,000,000 to get a job that pays about $400,000. Obviously something is skewed here. I don't know of any servant position-public or private-that pays less then .013 of what it costs to obtain it. That is total insanity.

We are offering a service to bring back democracy in America. We will spend the money on biodiesel buses, food, and video equipment to document our great adventure.

What is your most memorable campaign experience so far?

I would say the overwhelming response we received at Bonnaroo (a music festival in Tennessee) where the other candidates dared not tread. We got some coverage from Current Television and Country Music Television. A lot of hands were shaken and pictures were taken. A lot of support was pledged.

Are people volunteering to help your campaign? Do you have any kind of staff?

We have staff working around the clock. We can't even keep up with all the different efforts. The staff is affectionately known as the "Infinite Cabinet" and is always expanding.

I think it's gonna be a long long time: On the campaign trail How many states have you campaigned in? How many do you plan to campaign in?

We have Infinite Cabinet members in all the states, including overseas, spreading the word about our campaign and the Infinite Cabinet. I am pushing to focus mainly in Hawaii knowing full well that surfers love us and that victory will be assured. Of course, the Infinite Cabinet in their infinite wisdom have a different plan of action.

How have colleges responded to you showing up and spreading the gospel to students?

We have rocked the college campuses hard, but until last month we were understaffed. We move more rapidly than plates of cocaine through the White House. And sometimes we garner too much attention. We're the bad boys of American politics. Just like the Pistons back in the days of Isaiah.

You have told me that you consult with psychic advisors. What do they say about your political quest?

According to our spiritual consultants, we are certain to be a factor in the outcome amongst the spirits polled in the Gallup poll. There is a margin of error of about three to five percent. We are certainly one of the most unique and all-encompassing campaigns, and we are going the long haul to the finish line.

What do you want to accomplish with this campaign?

We want to galvanize the apathetic, disenchanted, disenfranchised masses. We want to make the election prospects better for politicians who actually want to enact changes. We want to say, "Your vote may not always count but your voice certainly does, so speak up."

According to a high ranking official in Obama's campaign, JEWCY was informed this weekend that plans have been discussed for a joint Gore/Edwards endorsement of Barack Obama.

Why hasn't it already happened?

According to the official, the endorsement's value for Super Tuesday would be relatively minor given that it would only have 24 hours to circulate.

It would seem that the Obama campaign has determined that a Gore/Edwards endorsement would be more effective coming after what most expect to be a narrow Clinton win on Tuesday, helping the presidential hopeful rebound and regain some momentum going into the weekend's carousel of political talk shows.

Barack Obama: He has 99 problems, bitch ain't one.On the Left: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have called a ceasefire over the race issue. Hillary had previously said that Martin Luther King, Jr. wouldn't have accomplished his goals without President Lyndon Johnson, who was (get this!) white. Hillary's staffers accused Obama's campaign of distorting her remarks. Former President Bill Clinton described Obama's supposed superior judgment on Iraq as a "fairy tale," and many African-Americans felt that Clinton was referring to the notion of a black president -- which isn't crazy considering that a Clinton aide described Obama as voters' "imaginary hip black friend." Meanwhile, Obama entered a rally accompanied by the lyrics: "I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one." The political guru Dick Morris, occasional toe-suckler (seriously, how the fuck does this guy have a career?), argues that John Edwards should end his candidacy like Bill Richardson, so that he might boost Obama's chances of winning the nomination. Another hopeless candidate, Dennis Kucinich, won his lawsuit to appear in tonight's debate. (Kucinich is fun, but he can't rock a mic like Mike Gravel.)

This week's winner: Clinton -- but she's playing dirty.

On the Right: Rudy Giuliani is in T-R-O-U-B-L-E. The former New York mayor is unable to stay ahead of John McCain in the polls and can't afford to pay his own staffers. Ron Paul is dead. Mitt Romney, who has money to spare (you sure save a lot of cash when you never purchase booze or pornography), is investing heavily in TV advertisements to regain his status as front runner. (A Mormon president? Isn't that kind of a fairy tale?) Mike Huckabee pandered to pro-lifers in South Carolina by visiting a "pregnancy counseling center." He also proclaimed that wives should "submit" to their husbands, and wouldn't answer whether he believes that only Christians go to heaven. But he has God's digits, so he should know.

This week's winner: McCain -- but his comeback is very fragile, and he looks awful.