This is pretty wild. I was looking over Google news and this popped up in the Financial Times:

Mark Penn:

It’s 3am and your children are asleep, and the markets are collapsing in Shanghai, and in the White House a phone is ringing. Who do you want to answer it? With the collapse of the credit markets, the gyrations in energy prices and the surge in unemployment, this is becoming the central test facing America’s presidential contenders.

Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama began as an obvious candidate to answer the phone the way Bill Clinton was in America and Tony Blair was in the UK. Neither vice-presidential nominee, Joe Biden or Sarah Palin, is an obvious back-up to answer it either.

Ouch!

He goes further to subtly imply that Al Gore lost due to an economic populist message.

Uh, I don't think so!  He lost because in actuality he didn't have Populist Economic positions!   The entire Manufacturing belt knew full well Al Gore had promoted NAFTA, the WTO and other bad trade deals.

They know what just took their jobs away and what a snow job creative destruction really is.

Now Mr. Penn seems to think those who have the answer on the economy will win.

Let's see, is that from the micro trends on those 3 votes in rural Ohio and tuning the message?

Could it be Americans want real policy based on real facts and real solutions that will actually help the middle class and so far, they sure haven't heard it?

Could it be Americans want lobbyists not writing our laws, policy and platform?

Could it be that voters are looking not for some sophisticated public relations messaging stunt that actually never puts them and their country first but works hard to make it seem so?

Could it be that voters know what they want in real policy terms and to date they sure haven't heard it?

I'll help. Here's a slogan for Ohio:

If Ya pander on that NAFTer you a Goner for Thereafter

(otherwise known as renegotiate the damn Trade agreements, stop the arbitrage and quit with the token BS about environmental, labor standards cause we know you're not going to do jack for us)

Micro cast that one.