STARTING THE FOURTH QUARTER, THEN AND NOW:

● “The word McCain fans are looking for is ‘daunting.'”

— Steve Green of Vodkapundit, “Wargaming the Electoral College,” October 3rd, 2008.

● “On Tuesday, New York Magazine reporter and co-author of Game Change, John Heilemann, slammed President Barack Obama’s response to his lackluster debate performance last week on MSNBC. Heilemann said the president has made a bad situation worse, and his campaign’s response has been ‘horrible’ and ‘flailing.’ He stressed that things like the Big Bird ad are symptomatic of a campaign that appears externally to be virtually rudderless.”

— “John Heilemann: ‘Flailing’ Obama Campaign ‘Has Been Horrible Since The Debates,’” Mediaite today.

Oh, and speaking of the D-word, Mark Hemingway of the Weekly Standard explains how everyone’s favorite Killer Rabbit Muppet “Just Made the Debate Even More Daunting for Biden.”