Monday Election Update

Monday, October 27, 2008

Polls in five important battleground states in the race for the White House suggest that Senator Barack Obama is making major gains.

Here are the results:

In Florida (the state that decided the 2000 presidential election):
•51% of likely voters say Obama is their choice for president.
•47% back Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

In Minnesota (where the Republican convention was held a month ago), Obama is leading over McCain.
•54% back Obama.
•43% support McCain.

In Missouri:
•49 percent back Obama.
•48 percent support McCain (That's a gain for Obama, who was down 5 points to McCain in CNN's last poll in Missouri, taken three weeks ago).

In Nevada, polls show Obama has a 4-point lead over McCain. CNN's last survey taken in late August had McCain ahead slightly.
•51% support Obama,
•47% support McCain.

In Virginia (which hasn't voted for the Democrats in a presidential contest since 1964), polls suggest Obama has a 9-point lead.
•53% support Obama.
•44% support McCain.

Why has Obama gained speed?
Analysts say despite Obama taking heat for frequently agreeing with McCain, voters like to see candidates express empathy for the other side's point of view.

Gossip from the Campaign Trail:

Palin: "Those aren't my clothes!" Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin says the $150,000 in clothes and accessories bought for her by the Republican Party don't belong to her. In fact, the Alaska Governor says she and her family lived frugally. To prove her point, she wore jeans at an event in Asheville, North Carolina. "This whole thing with the wardrobe, I try to ignore it because it's so ridiculous. Those clothes, they are not my property, just like the lighting and the staging and everything else the Republican National Committee purchased," she said. "I'm not taking them with me. I'm back to wearing my old clothes from my favorite secondhand shop in Anchorage, Alaska." Palin also spoke about her accessories - given to her by her husband's Yup'ik Eskimo mother, and "a $35 wedding ring from Hawaii that I bought myself".

2001 Interview: Obama Wants to Redistribute Wealth: A seven-year-old radio interview featuring Barack Obama discussing the failure of the Supreme Court to rule on redistributing wealth in its civil rights rulings has given fresh ammunition to Republicans who say Obama has a socialist agenda. In the interview, Obama discusses whether the civil rights movement should have gone further than it did, so when "dispossessed peoples" appealed to the High Court on the right to sit at the lunch counter, they should have also appealed for the right to have someone else pay for the meal. Obama said the civil rights movement was victorious in some regards, but failed to create a "redistributive change" in its appeals to the Supreme Court. The 2001 interview evokes recent questioning by "Joe the Plumber", the Ohio man who asked Obama about his tax proposal. Obama told Joe he wants to hike taxes on the wealthy so that the government can spread the wealth. John McCain's campaign says the tape proves Obama is too liberal for the White House.

8 comments so far | Post a comment now >>

If you are employed by a small business and plan to vote for Obama, please think twice. I’m a small business owner with 20 employees and will be forced to outsource several $25-30/hr technical jobs overseas when Obama raises my taxes. Like many small businesses, I just can’t afford margins that are smaller than they are already and need to remain competitive. He may give you a warm buzz inside, but if he wins, get ready to look for work.

- frank smith

Posted 10/27/08 02:35 PM

Gobama!!! He is what is best for the country as a whole.

- Tiffany

Posted 10/27/08 02:45 PM

Only true surprise I find about American presidential elections this year is a vast majority of Obama supporters are adamantly bent on rendering America a pseudo Marxist nation. This call for rendering America a socialist welfare nation by Obama and his supporters, this truly does surprise me. Quite ironic an American Indian, like me, an American Indian who has every right to “hate” America, is fighting to defend our Spirit of America, fighting to defend our American ideals, fighting to defend our founding principles of Freedom and Democracy. There is no need for Osama Bin Laden and his Islamic terrorists to attack our America; we are destroying our country from within by calling for a Socialist America. I am certain Bin Laden is enjoying a laugh. Appears there is a Free Lunch in life, appears half or more of Obama Americans expect a Free Lunch paid for by hard working successful Americans. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Give me all I want for free, I am an American! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! I do not have to work for a living, I am an American! Gimme my welfare check, Barack! When I was born, my peoples, we Indians, were not granted American citizenship, were not granted a right to vote. We fought long and hard for citizenship and a right to vote. We won. Today, Americans are fighting for welfare checks in their mailboxes. I believe I will pack up my family, head back to our Indian lands, then lead a life of honest hard work, of independence and of pride. Our family enjoys pride, we will never become welfare recipients; we always have and always will earn our lunch. Okpulot Taha Choctaw Nation

- Purl Gurl

Posted 10/27/08 02:50 PM

I’ve given this election alot of thought and consideration. I am planning on voting for change and a renewed hope for our country. We need to collectively work together to bring tradition and compassion back to our country. We can’t rely on our government to save us. We have to work together to make change. Together, working hand in hand, we can make this country one that we can all be proud of….just my humble opinion.

- Anne Keefe

Posted 10/27/08 03:40 PM

This country will be very sorry if they put Barack in the white house. I believe that he has a lot of “friends” who do not wish well for all of us. I think the only change he will bring about will be the seperation of this country and it’s people. PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR BARACK!

- chris

Posted 10/27/08 04:03 PM

Obama went back on a promise to take public funding for his campaign. He now holds the record for monthly campaign donations. It sickens me to see him spend that much money while the country suffers economically. Why doesn’t he ’spread the wealth’ and give back some of his campaign funds? Is it illegal to donate some of those funds to charity? And doesn’t he have to verify that campaign funds come from legit sources? He is not doing that either. It seems to me he has a ‘win at any cost’ mentality. In my opinion, he is not experienced enough to run our country. We, as a country, don’t have time for him to have on the job training in an executive capacity. He doesn’t have time to make mistakes and learn from them. I would rather have an experienced leader in the driver’s seat with less experience by his side than the other way around. This country doesn’t have time for Obama to figure it out. Saying all that, I do feel bad. It would be nice to finally see a black President get elected. But remember- Its not about the wedding… Its the marriage that counts!! I just don’t know if the country can survive Obama’s ideas of change.

- Sarah

Posted 10/27/08 08:46 PM

Nobody in their right mind should vote for what will be the same Republican administration that we have already had to put up with for eight long years.

- Courtney

Posted 10/28/08 10:59 AM

I agree with Courtney. Plus, McCain is really old and might drop in office. Palin for president??

- geen

Posted 10/29/08 11:22 AM