CNN's Polls of Polls Sez: Obama Lookin' Good

Hot off the presses! CNN has released its new "poll of polls" showing the polling averages in these states:

Georgia:
McCain 50%
Obama 44%

Iowa:
Obama 52%
McCain 39%

Missouri:
Obama 46%
McCain 46%

New Hampshire:
Obama 52%
McCain 42%

If this holds up, McBush is a goner. He only has 9 days to change everything? While we should be prepared for anything, I doubt this can happen so soon. We now need to work our hardest to seal the deal & make our victory BIG!

Ready to make some history & defeat the Bush-McCain radical right? ;-)

CNN Sez: OBAMA WINS DEBATE!

Opinion of Obama
66% favorable, up from 62% after the last debate
33% unfavorable, down from 34%

Opinion of McCain
49% favorable, down from 51% after the last debate
49% unfavorable, up from 45%

Who won the debate?
Obama 58%
McCain 31%

There you have it. Obama wins again. McBush is done. ;-)

CNN Sez Obama Winning Electoral Vote

CNN has moved Virginia from "Toss-up" to "Lean Obama", so Obama now has a projected 277 EVs to McBush's 174 EVs. We're almost there... Keep working to make victory happen! :-)

CNN Numbers In...

Here are the hot, HOT, HOT!!! new CNN Flash Poll numbers post-debate:

Who won the debate?
Obama 54%
McCain 30%

Who can better on Iraq?
Obama 51%
McCain 47%

Who can better handle terrorism?
McCain 51%
Obama 46%

Who can better handle the economy?
Obama 59%
McCain 37%

Who can better handle the financial crisis?
Obama 57%
McCain 36%

What's your opinion of John McCain?
Favorable 51%
Unfavorable 46%
(no change from the first debate)

What's your opinion of Barack Obama?
Favorable 64%
Unfavorable 34%
(Obama is +4 on favorable and -4 on unfavorable!)

My take: Obama clearly won tonight, and CNN's insta-poll confirms that! Obama was again a calm & reassuring voice on the financial crisis while McCain still seemed erratic & off-balance. Also, McCain doesn't do a good job of hiding his disdain for Obama. Do voters really want another President who turns friends into enemies?

McCain needed a game-changer in his favor. And frankly speaking, he didn't get it tonight. If anything, tonight's debate may very well seal the deal for Obama.

Great! :-)

CNN Sez: Obama's Moving Up!

Don't believe me? Here are CNN's numbers!

Obama (D) 53%
McCain (R) 45%

So why are we seeing Barack Obama pull away to a larger lead clearly outside the margin of error? CNN says it's mainly because of three major factors:

1. The economy is Issue #1, and Obama is preffered over McCain on the economy by a full 18%!

2. Sarah Palin's popularity is plummeting, and McCain's "Hail Mary" attempt has turned into a Debbie Downer dragging his numbers down as well.

3. McCain is now seen more than ever as the exact same as Bush.

But can McCain recover enough to give us a run for our money (to flee the country) in the next month? Possibly... Politics can be unpredictable at times. But at this point, attitudes are hardening and decisions are already being made. And with Obama now at a 50%+ majority in many of the polls with the remaining polls showing Obama well ahead in the high 40s, the Republicans are not in a good position in the final stretch of the 2008 Election.

If Obama stays strong, keeps debating well, and continues to speak to our concerns, we'll win. :-)

First Post-Debate Poll Numbers

Here are the first post-debate polls out:

Who won the debate?

CBS News:
Biden (D) 46%
Palin (R) 21%
They Tied 33%

CNN-Opinion Research:
Biden (D) 51%
Palin (R) 36%

Of course, things can change as the media spin changes. But if this holds up, then McCain's latest attempt at a "game changer" has fallen flat. Perhaps Sarah Palin didn't bomb too badly, but that still doesn't change the fact that Joe Biden gave his BEST. DEBATE. PERFORMANCE. EVER! ;-)

Today's States of the Race

Courtesy of CNN-Opinion Research!

Missouri-
Obama (D) 49%
McCain (R) 48%

Florida-
Obama (D) 51%
McCain (R) 47%

Nevada-
Obama (D) 51%
McCain (R) 47%

Virginia-
Obama (D) 53%
McCain (R) 44%

Minnesota-
Obama (D) 54%
McCain (R) 43%

So why is Obama doing so incredibly well in all these states? CNN gives us some clues.

"Obama has gained ground among moderates in all five states," said CNN polling director Keating Holland. "That may have something to do with the first presidential debate. Some commentators knocked Obama for agreeing with McCain as often as he did, but moderates tend to like it when candidates appear willing to see the other side's point of view."

"In most states, Obama also won support from senior citizens and voters making more than $75,000. Those are two groups who may have been hardest hit by the recent problems in the stock market and the financial community," Holland added. "Economic jitters may not last if Congress passes legislation in the next few days, but there may have been short-term gains for Obama as a result of the current economic problems."

Let's see. Nevada is #1 in home foreclosures. Florida isn't far behind, and seniors are now worrying about their retirement funds. Even places like Virginia and Minnesota are also facing hard economic ties. Once again... It's the economy, stupid!

So what can Obama do to win all these states? Keep it focused on the economy! Keep offering solutions that work for working families! Point out how Obama is different from McCain and Bush without looking desperately angry (the way McCain is now).

As long as the Obama campaign keeps their eyes on the ball, Democrats will win!

CNN Sez: Obama Gains on Electoral Map

CNN now shows its electoral map as:

Obama (D) 240 EVs
McCain (R) 200 EVs
Toss Up 98 EVs

Because of Obama's strong showing in all the new Michigan polls, Michigan has been moved from "Toss Up" to "Leans Democratic", meaning 17 more electoral votes in Obama's column. CNN still lists as "Toss-Up":

New Hampshire (4 EVs)
Virginia (13 EVs)
Florida (27 EVs)
Ohio (20 EVs)
Wisconsin (10 EVs)
Minnesota (10 EVs)
Colorado (9 EVs)
Nevada (5 EVs)

If we add Minnesota, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire to Obama's column, he has 264 EVs. If he holds all the Kerry states and wins Iowa and New Mexico (these 2 states are likely now to turn blue this year), all Obama needs is either Colorado, Virginia, Ohio, and/or Florida... Along with Nevada for some extra padding.

We're so close to victory... Let's make it happen! :-)

CNN Sez: It Really Is the Economy, Stupid!

"The economy has always been considered John McCain’s Achilles heel, and the CNN poll of polls started to show an Obama edge in the middle of last week — just as the financial crisis began to hit home for many Americans,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

And oh my, look at the brand new CNN-Opinion Research national poll!

Obama (D) 51%
McCain (R) 47%

So why has Obama been doing so much better lately? Basically, this election has become all about the economy. With people losing their jobs, their retirement savings, and even their homes, they can't afford to fret over trivial crap like "lipstick" and "bullying". The GOP is trying to make this election all about "personality" nonsense, but that simply doesn't work when people are worried about their own livelihoods.

This is why Democrats can't stop making a personal connection on this election's top issue. We need to keep talking about why the McBush deregulation agenda hurts working class people. We need to explain why a campaign run by corporate lobbyists can't be trusted to protect workers and middle-class investors once elected. We need to keep making the case that only a Democratic President and Democratic Congress can fix this economic mess and make our economy work for working people again.

Obama's been doing a great job at this. He just needs to stay on message, and we can't let GOP ploys distract us. Make this election a referendum on the failure of Bush-Cheney-McCain to protect the middle class, and see Democrats win.

CNN Sez: The States of the Race Look OK

Yippee! More poll madness from CNN (courtesy TPM)!

Missouri
McCain 50%
Obama 45%

Virginia
McCain 50%
Obama 46%

Michigan
Obama 49%
McCain 45%

New Hampshire
Obama 51%
McCain 45%

Overall, this is good news. After all the hoopla of the GOP Convention, McBush STILL can't make any inroads in any blue states. While the Virginia poll is a little frustrating, let's keep in perspective that Bush carried Virginia by about 8% TWICE! If the best McCain can do in his "afterglow" from last week is pull off a 4% lead here, he's in trouble.

Otherwise, Missouri is GREAT NEWS. For a while, "The Show Me State" seemed to be showing its backside to Obama. For Obama to narrow the gap to 5 when the pre-conventions polls had the race there as McCain +7-10, that helps. And to do that while solidifying leads in what were likely our two most vulnerable blue states, Michigan & New Hampshire, we can breathe a little more easily now.

Still, we're not out of the woods yet. We can do plenty to support Obama now & make sure he has the necessary resources to win. :-)

Tonight's Poll Report: Battleground Midwest

Courtesy of Political Wire, here are some new polls in three EXTREMELY IMPORTANT Midwest states:

Iowa-
Obama 55%
McCain 40%

Minnesota-
Obama 53%
McCain 41%

Ohio-
Obama 47%
McCain 45%

At this point, I'd dare to say Minnesota & Iowa are no longer "Toss-Up" states, but now "Lean Obama" states. Obama's been consistently ahead in both states, and while I can't yet say we have a lock on these states, I do think the door's closing fast on McCain. And as for Ohio, it's a relief to see Obama retake the lead here. The GOP's economic policies have caused the people here to suffer, so I don't know how McCain's been able to even keep it close here.

So overall, more good news... And more reason for us to keep working our tushies off 'til we win on November 4! :-)

Action Alert: Tell CNN That Enough is Enough

We've heard it from Ken Rudin, we've heard from Monica Crowley, we've heard it from Andrew Sullivan, we've heard it from Lars Larson and we're sick of it.

CNN should be ashamed of itself for allowing this comment to go unchallenged this evening:



(via Gotham Acme)

This is (at least) the third time that CNN has allowed this comment to go unchallenged on the air. It's not cute. It's not funny. It's demeanning and sexist and we cannot sit silent when a major news network allows commentators to make these kind of comments about our progressive leaders.

Follow this link to CNN and tell CNN that this kind of sexist discourse should not be tolerated by the network and demand that Alex Castellanos be fired as a CNN Contributor!

Be sure to include this link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xji9-AN-35o) in your message.

CNN Cites Racist For Article On Obama.

(cross-posted at Kickin it with CG and Clintonistas for Obama)

Today, in a CNN article titled, “Could an Obama Presidency Hurt Black Americans?” John Blake warns that “an Obama victory could be twisted to suppress the push for racial equality” and cites several commentators — including African-Americans, whites, Latinos, and conservatives.

One such source is Steve Sailer.



For those of you that are not familiar with Mr. Sailer - he is a columnist for the American Conservative magazine. Last year he wrote that some whites who support Obama aren’t driven primarily by a desire for change. […]

“So many whites want to be able to say, ‘I’m not one of them, those bad whites. … Hey, I voted for a black guy for president"

“They hope that when a black finally moves into the White House, it will prove to African-Americans, once and for all, that white animus isn’t the cause of their troubles. All blacks have to do is to act like President Obama - and their problems will be over.”

A sampling of some of Sailer's beauties:

– African-Americans: “tend to possess poorer native judgment than members of better-educated groups. Thus they need stricter moral guidance from society”

– Obama's 'Blackness': “the brutal truth: Obama is a 'wigger'. He’s a remarkably exotic variety of the faux African-American, but a wigger nonetheless.”

– Michelle Obama: “sounds like she’s got a log-sized chip on her shoulder from lucking into Princeton due to affirmative action.”

– Katrina Victims: “Nor is it surprising that the black refugees at the Superdome and the convention center failed to get themselves organized to make conditions more livable. Poor black people seldom cooperate well with each other because they don’t trust other blacks much, for the perfectly rational reason that they commit large numbers of crimes against each other.”

Several of Sailer’s comments appeared on the site VDARE, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has classified as a white nationalist hate group.

How the hell could CNN use Sailer as a source when he has a history of repeatedly made racially insensitive remarks? *Shame on you CNN.*

Oh and if you want to send good old Steve a message - here is his blog.