So why is Obama losing ground now in the polls?

[justLaura]

Is it because the RNC was so impressive?

Is it because the Clinton faction is wandering off to Palin?

Is it because people who voted for him in the primaries as a "line in the sand" vote are realizing that when the rubber hits the road, they want a more traditional candidate?

Why is it?

[Tonia1]

What I heard from one poll, is that "working class white women" are switching. Wasn't that a Clinton demographic? I'm guessing these women are more politically moderate (and lean more socially conservative), so Palin probably appeals to them. That's just my guess. I really think the big polls don't really tell us much anyway, since we don't pick the Pres. by popular vote.

[jvirginia]

It is because swing voters tend to vote personality ...

not policy, and Sarah Palin has a dynamite personality.

[jknyc]

I think it's a bounce after the big news about McCain choosing someone people had never heard of. Just like advertisers tell you, new is always exciting and gets attention. Obama used to be new, but now he's been in the race a long time, so Palin is new.

[Dani]

I was watching a political analyst on TV

last night who said the only time Mondale had hope of winning was right after he announced Geraldine Ferrarro as his runnning mate. That's when his poll numbers spiked. So they will be watching to see if McCain can sustain the current numbers or if they slide down.

FWIW, the numbers probably won't shift much until the candidates start debating, as long as the campaigning stays relatively quiet. And this guy (I forget who) said whatever the polls say on Oct. 15 will be the most definitive, because so many people vote early in this country.

Think about this, too: how are the pollsters reaching young voters who either 1. are not living at their registered address or 2. only have cell phones? Supposedly, they are being accounted for, but I wonder how accurately...

I'm really not putting much stock in the polls. I'm sure it will be a tight race regardless.

[Kim of VA]

I agree. The polls mean very little right now.

After the debates, they will swing again. Also, the Palin novelty will begin to wear off, and frankly, the economic news (which just keeps getting worse and worse - yikes!) will start to dominate again.

Anyone else get majorly pissed about these exit compensation packages for the Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae departing CEOs? A huge taxpayer bailout of their companies, screwing up the national and maybe global economy, and they get millions for their mismangement?!!! Seriously, where has all reason and common sense gone?

[twinks]

I'm wondering who bumped higher

Did Obama bump higher or did McCain bump higher?

I was watching one of the news channels and they had a scroll on the bottom of the screen. It was stating that in the past 30 years, the candidate that bumped higher after their convention ultimately lost the election. Interesting.

It's going to go down to the wire in November.

[twinks]

yes ... I agree with you

I understand the need to bail out Fannie & Freddy but come on ... those execs should have been fired without one cent of compensation for how badly they messed things up.

[Jeannie]

I agree. I think it's about momentum and "buzz." So McCain's choice of VP is paying off brilliantly that way. But that can be hard to maintain, especially when they are too afraid to have Palin give interviews.

I do think she is attracting a lot of moderate voters based on personality. But her views are pretty extreme and she may lose those same voters as they get to know her better (if they bother to get to know her better). Obama has a problem on his hands. The election is two months away. He needs to take back the spotlight somehow and stop playing defense.

P.S. a campaign spokeman actually said they won't let Palin give interviews until the media can be trusted to treat her with "respect and deference". I can understand the demand for respect but deference?? Why is any politician entitled to "deference" from the media?

[Jeannie]

They both bumped up by 6 points after their conventions. So it's a tie. LOL

[Tiger]

Because the poll news is calculated to drive me insane!

Yes, I know, it's all about me ME, ME! But after reading the poll news in yesterday's paper I swung from nauseated, to disturbed, over to enraged and finally to depression.

WAKE UP people!
T

No more Bush/McCain politics for our country!

[jordansmom]

After the debates, they will swing again. Also, the Palin novelty will begin to wear off, and frankly, the economic news (which just keeps getting worse and worse - yikes!) will start to dominate again.

Anyone else get majorly pissed about these exit compensation packages for the Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae departing CEOs? A huge taxpayer bailout of their companies, screwing up the national and maybe global economy, and they get millions for their mismangement?!!! Seriously, where has all reason and common sense gone?

Extremely. I invested in that stock as a college fund about 15 years ago, it had done very well and now appears to be worth ZERO. And the management is going to get a huge buyout...

[KirstenP]

I think mostly it's a Palin/convention bounce. I just hope it can't be sustained.
Obama is still polling pretty well in many of the battleground states, and a couple of polls from yesterday show the gap closing a little bit again.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epo...225.html#polls

Kirsten

[SharonB]

I think most polls show the race essentially tied, which is where it was before both conventions. McCain got a little bit more of a bump than Obama (due to the Palin pick), but I think that will drop back down, and Obama will be back to a 3-4 point lead in the national polls.

It really doesn't matter what national polls say, regardless. According to the state-by-state polls, Obama has a pretty decent electoral college lead.

[Legolady]

Because in my opinion, the economy is on everyones mind right now, and raising taxes seems the stupidest thing to do, and his entire ticket is based on raising taxes. ( not just for the rich either, unless you consider 125k a yr rich)