Ben Smith is undoubtedly correct that the situation with Lehman Brothers (and to a lesser extent, Merrill Lynch) will suck up most of this week:

With the Wall Street Journal reporting that liquidation is the likeliest option for Lehman Brothers, it’s going to make it hard for the candidates to talk about anything else this week.

Again, this is bad news for Barack Obama because his change argument is not at the top of the agenda. Instead of talking about change, he is going to need to address the substance this week.

John McCain also has an opportunity here. The Dems are sitting on (dishonest) ads with McCain’s statement about not knowing much about the economy. If McCain actually talks sensibly about the economy this week, that will defuse the effect of those ads.

I would also point out that Barack Obama received $365,922 from employees of Lehman, while McCain received $115,800. Obama will not have that populist attack on McCain.

Categories: Syndicated

Soren Dayton

Soren Dayton is an advocacy professional in Washington, DC who has worked in policy, politics, and in human rights, including in India. Soren grew up in Chicago.