'(Near) Panic!!!': Time's Halperin on Dem Reaction to Palin Bounce

If you needed any more evidence that the Democrats and their media minions are in a serious state of panic concerning the bounce that John McCain has gotten from Sarah Palin and a highly-successful convention, you need look no further than a blog posting by Time's Mark Halperin.

On Wednesday, Halperin, the magazine's editor-at-large and senior political analyst, wrote a piece delicously titled "(Near) Panic!!!" which linked to multiple media sources depicting serious consternation within the Obama campaign as well as Democrat circles concerning the groundswell of support for the Republican presidential ticket. 

One source Halperin highlighted was a Los Angeles Times article entitled "Palin Bounce Has Democrats Off Balance" (emphasis added, picture courtesy Time.com):

The emergence of Sarah Palin as a political force in the presidential race has left many top Democrats fretting that, just two weeks after their convention ended on an emotional high, Barack Obama's campaign has suddenly lost its stride. [...]

But some Democrats are now worried about the perils of Obama's strategy, saying that his campaign, instead of engaging the Alaska governor, should avoid any move that draws more attention to her and could enhance her appeal among the white, blue-collar voters who remain cool to Obama's candidacy.

Halperin also pointed readers to a New York Observer piece entitled "Team Clinton Says Obama Intimidated By Palin Factor" (emphasis added):

The Obama campaign’s response had been both inconsistent and anemic. At first they attacked Mrs. Palin on her lack of experience, then, after it became clear that it wasn’t working, they calculated that it would perhaps be better to ignore her in an attempt to tie her in with Mr. McCain and Mr. Bush as enemies of change.  

Finally, Halperin linked to a Bloomberg article entitled "McCain Poll Surge, Fundraising Give Democrats Election Jitters": 

Democrats are beginning to worry about losing the presidential election.

After months of leading in voter enthusiasm, fundraising and most surveys, Barack Obama lost momentum to John McCain after the Republican convention last week. McCain has gotten a boost from his pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate and has surged ahead of Obama in some national polls, while running even in others.

What does this all mean? Well, if all these outlets are reporting this panic, we can be sure that it's not only true, but also that those involved in the reporting are likely just as concerned as all the currently apoplectic Democrats.

Stay tuned.