10
Sep
2008
McCain’s New Lead (tie?) in the Polls
John McCain’s Surge in the Polls!
It appear that John McCain is pulling ahead of Barack Obama in the national polls. We’ve seen an increasing trend in the past week puching McCain ahead. Some believe it is simply a post convention ‘bump’ in the polls, but many other believe that it is John McCain’s excellent pick of Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate. In the begining of the summer, McCain was behind Obama by 15-20 percentage points. For him to be tied, and even leading in some polls, is quite amazing.
While the national polls have significant value, we have to remember that the Electoral College actually elects the President. The national trends may lead (or be pushed) by trends leaning McCain in key states. However, we haven’t seen the data yet from those key states quite yet. You Obama folks will really need to worry if polls in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, and New Hampshire really start swinging McCain’s way. In addition, you McCain kids should really worry if those same few states swing the other way.
Let’s see if this trend lasts more than a week, or it’s something that will really stick for McCain.
There is an excellent site out there, www.electoral-vote.com, that posts the most recent polls as they are published. Remember though: not all polls are equal! Some are MUCH more reliable than others! There are several inheirent flaws to most polls today, including the increased use of cell phones and caller-ID.
You need 270 to win!
You can play it all out at www.270towin.com and predict what YOU think will happen on November 4th. Will Texas go Obama? California for McCain? What about something in between that’s a little more likely?
A bonus question for you!
Bonus to the person who finds the ‘reddest’ state out there right now, and the ‘bluest’ state also!
But here’s something, after you’ve read some articles and crunched some numbers, that you can really discuss:
[poll ID=4]
9
Sep
2008
Hurrican Ike’s Heading Toward Texas
It appears that Ike could hit the Texas coast sometime this weekend. It’s a slow moving storm that has already caused havoc in Cuba and killed a few people.
10
Aug
2008
Red Texas
CQ Politics reports that Barack Obama has practically conceded Texas.
NB: Texas hasn’t been ‘blue’ since Jimmy Carter won Texas in 1976.
13
Jul
2008
Are We ‘Whiners’ or Just ‘Bitter’?
Phil Gramm, former Senator from the great state of Texas, told the Washington Times that country was filled with “whiners” and the United States is merely in a “mental recession.” Senator Gramm is one of John McCain’s economic advisers.
If Senator Gramm’s comment on the economy is correct or not isn’t the point. Remember, politics is about perception.
This is quite difficult news for the millions of people across the country who are struggling with high gas prices and an increasingly difficult mortgage crisis.
However, on the other side, in April Senator Obama said many people in small-town America are “bitter” and “cling to guns or religion … as a way to explain their frustrations.”
Which also is a quite difficult comment for people to hear. Since April, this comment has created a perception by some on the right that Obama is a elitist snob, as seen in this mock-poster on the right. (More on this subject to come later)
Both comments make the average American feel looked down upon, naive, and a little stupid.
However, forget about what you think about each of these comments. What really matters in the long run is:
Which comment hurts the respective campaign’s chances at election more?