Polls, polls and more polls from the presidential race. Press releases, spin doctors, side kicks, back kicks, back flips. I’m getting whiplash from the avalanche of emails coming my way from the Chris Shays-Jim Himes camps. But, of course, you know I’m loving it all.
And just in case you thought little Connecticut isn’t on the radar screen of the nation’s top pollsters, here’s the latest from www.rasmussenreports.com, one of the best in the business. I’m starting to sense that the Snow Queen’s bubble is bursting, and it’s not just because we don’t like her in Connecticut as the Rasmussen poll points out. Do you have your pins poised?
In the last several days the polling tide has switched back to Barack Obama as the country, watching Wall Street slip into la-la land, realizes that John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin was one of the neediest pandering-for-chick-votes in electoral history. Hey, Sarah, hike up your skirt a little more! (What do you mean by that, Leonard?) Before I get too excited and my friend Wondering puts me in my place, the presidential race nationally is pretty much a dead heat with the first debate one week away. From Rasmussen:
BarackObama still has a solid hold on Connecticut where he leads John McCain 53% to 41% in the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state.
In August Obama led McCain 51% to 36%. A month earlier, it was a similar 52% to 35% race. (Crosstabs with demographics are available for Premium Members.)
McCain’s support among GOP voters has increased to 85%, similar to Obama’s support among Democrats. Last month, the two were virtually tied among unaffiliated voters, but Obama now has the edge.
The Democrat is viewed favorably by 61% and unfavorably by 37%, largely unchanged from last month. McCain’s numbers improved slightly, with 54% favorables and 44% unfavorables.
The first poll in Connecticut since the two men announced their running mates shows the race tightening very slightly, but voters in the state have mixed feelings about Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. They’re evenly divided over whether McCain made a good choice, but while 46% have a favorable view of her, 51% regard her unfavorably.
By comparison, 36% say Obama made a good choice in picking Joseph Biden as his running mate, while slightly more (39%) disagree. Fifty-eight percent (58%) have a favorable opinion of Biden versus 37% who view him unfavorably.
Eighty-two percent (82%) describe Palin as a conservative, while 48% see Biden as a liberal. Thirty-six percent (36%) view the Democrat as a moderate.
McCain and Obama remain very close in both the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and Electoral College projections.
Democrats have won Connecticut in the last four presidential elections, the last three by double digits. John Kerry defeated President Bush by 10 points in 2004.
Do You Wanna Debate? Well, Do You?
The gamesmanship between the camps of Shays and Himes keeps getting better. After Team Himes announced Shays doesn’t want to debate, Team Shays announced we’ll debate, we just won’t negotiate with you directly. Thursday night I received the following debate schedule fom Shays. I’m waiting for word from Team Himes whether he’ll show.
DEBATE SCHEDULE
Shays campaign announces 9 debates slated for October
Norwalk, CT – Congressman Christopher Shays’ Campaign Manager Michael Sohn confirmed that Shays has agreed to nine (9) debates on the following days. The debates will span from October 14 – 20. The schedule and sponsor organizations are listed below.
Tuesday, October 14 Bridgeport Regional Business Council Bridgeport
Tuesday, October 14 Norwalk Chamber/News 12 Connecticut Norwalk
Wednesday, October 15 League of Women Voters Norwalk
Thursday, October 16 Fairfield University Fairfield
Sunday, October 19 Temple Israel Westport
Sunday, October 19 League of Women Voters Wilton
Sunday, October 19 American Civil Liberties Union Norwalk
I told you that the “snow queen’s” popularity would fade in a week. There are very serious issues out there and a quick-fix-bandaid kind of approach for the McCain campaign is not the solution to his problems. Let’s be honest, not only does John McCain not have the mental acuity of a younger mind, his appointment of beautiful Sarah is not the lasting answer to his problems. God forbid she should be called upon to step up to the presidency on the second day into his tenure, her terse solutions to complex problems, domestic and international, won’t work and we’ll be in deep do-do. John’s time was eight years ago or even four years ago when I think he would have been a good president, but Dubya took all that away from him. As the old signs along the highway used to say “too late for Herbicide” (you young folks wouldn’t remember that).
Sorry for that analysis, Wondering. I will admit that she’s beautiful, quick-witted and better legs you won’t see on the runway at Atlantic City.
Well Lennie and to a degree Con you can put out all the sexist information you want about her nice legs, hike up your skirt and the list goes on. I have to wonder if you have seen her interviewed and listened to her answers; that is if you can get your eyes and your mind off her body. If you listened you would be surprised.
While McCain probably will lose CT it’s no surprise for a state that keeps sending Chris (mortgage king) Dodd back to the senate.
McCain is making better progress nationally and for the most part moving up in the polls (slight drop in th last 2 days).
How people can support Obama’s tax plan is beyond me. They have that old fool Biden going around saying it’s patriotic to pay more in taxes. Who the hell is he kidding? Here is a guy that gave a total of $3,000 to charity over the past 3 years telling people to smile while we tax your ass off. It’s not just the tax on the wealthy; they also want to raise the death tax, the tax on small businesses, the tax on big business, the capital gains tax and the list goes on.
It sure sounds like socialism to me to take from the rich and give to the poor. We tried that with the easy mortgages and look where we are now. Tax the ass off big business and who suffers? In case you didn’t know the workers suffer because they are the ones that will be getting laid off.
You all cry about getting new faces and ideas into politics and when that happens you all start with the negative comments and the existing BS. People talk about getting new people to run for office but that’s all it is — Talk.
What’s the best way to get the economy moving for the most people; trickle down or trickle up? If you believe it’s down, vote McCain, and if you believe it’s up, vote Obama. Dems tax the wealthy and businesses, GOP gives them tax breaks. The poor always find some way to get what they need to survive and those of us in the middle pay for it all.
I believe divided gov’t works better than a lop-sided one. B’port is a case in point. Solid dem control and no progress (no wealthy to beat on) and give away the store to politicos and their families and friends. If we want Obama/Biden, let’s hope the GOP can keep enough votes in Congress to stop the likes of Dodd, Reid, Rangel, and Pelosi from emptying our pockets into theirs.
With McCain I see a person that has bravely fought for issues he believed in, even if it went against the great majority of the Republican Party and conservatism…Immigration, earmarks, judicial appointments, the Surge most notably.
By taking these contrary, courageous stances, he paid a price, earning the enmity of much of the Republican Party.
Obviously McCain believes that the US is better served with him as president. (For his part, Obama does also.) So for the US to be served best, he has to win.
By selecting Palin as VP, McCain has a running mate that also has shown a very strong and unusual backbone by taking on the entrenched power within her state and party. Knocking off her Republican State Chairman, beating the Republican-endorsed primary candidate, a strong Democratic opponent for Governor, she brought the party support back to McCain.
Maybe, just maybe, Palin gives McCain a shot at winning. Therefore I believe her selection was politically astute.
Unfortunately while attractive and charismatic, I have yet to see Obama make any type of brave or costly political decisions.
Has he ever voted against party leadership in either his short time as Senator or in the Illinois State House?
Has he ever crossed the aisle on an important issue?
Extrapolating nationally, how is Obama so much different from all those B’port Democratic Town Committee members that never vote against party leadership that so many rant about on this site?
Although unpopular here, that’s why I’m voting for McCain.
O’Bama is a nice Irish lad, right?
He’s made more executive decisions than the two Republicans combined. They’ve become reformers because that’s what the pollsters told them to be. Under the Republicans, America has become a socialist state with a massive $10 trillion debt. Bush is a closet liberal! Today’s bloggers are simply emboldened by a recently televised speech.
Obama is the true reformer.
McCain’s stand on immigration, judicial appointments and the Iraq Surge were poll tested?
Local Eyes–You need to eyeball a bit more of the national press.
Denis
Great Points for hallowed or is it hollow filled bullets. With that type reasoning, I guess you voted for Chris Caruso.
The deregulation movement – started by President Reagan and championed by McCain – has ended terribly. The Republican response has been to bail out the guilty institutions and not the unsuspecting individuals. Bush is a hang-your-head-in-shame conservative and McCain has been a willing follower. I hope Obama shows his presidential timber in the upcoming debate. I honor McCain’s service to America but I do not honor his fake, phony and fraudulent policies.
You all make good arguments. It’s going to be interesting to see where the feathers land.
Local Eyes: please tell me what Executive decisions Obama has made. I can tell you for a fact None. His decision not to back the war or the surge came about as he was ordered to vote that way by the Chicago power brokers. These are the people who are all part of the Daley machine and are very wealthy. He has always when he did attend senate hearings voted for what Pelosi wanted and has never crossed party lines.
When he was a state senator 95% of his votes were marked PRESENT WHICH IS neither a No or a Yes Vote. So where have these decisions come from?
He never went after Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac like McCain attempted in 2005-06. In fact he voted against restructuring both mortgage giants.
Wondering:
You are entitled to your own opinion but you’re not entitled to your own facts.
NOBODY restructured both mortgage companies and Obama’s entire campaign represents one big fat executive decision. He organized it; staffed it; raised the money; shaped its policies and gives the orders. He’s a leader. McCain takes orders and didn’t even pick his own running mate. Today, Palin’s husband is ignoring a court-ordered appearance — how un-American can you get?
Furthermore, deficit spending is the ultimate tax and exposes Bush as the largest tax increaser in our nation’s history!
McCain wants to continue this misguided policy.
Short Sighted!
SEC Chairman Christopher Cox has issued a 60-day moratorium on “naked” shorts. If Mr. Cox and his agency had been doing their regulatory duties, we would not be in the situation that we now face.
He must think we are a bunch of Cox Suckers!
Wondering,
WASHINGTON – Polls showed Democrat Barack Obama regaining a slight lead over Republican John McCain.
The latest CBS News-New York Times national survey showed Obama leading McCain by a margin of 48 percent to 43 percent — a swing of seven percentage points in just a week.
The latest Gallup Poll daily tracking survey also showed Obama with an edge of a slim 2 percentage points.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows the race for the White House is again tied with both candidates attracting 48% of the vote. Just a few days ago, McCain enjoyed a three-percentage point lead.
The Plain bubble has burst. McCain is all over the map on Wall St. financial mess. 60% of Americans believe the economy is not fundamentally sound.
Keep telling yourself that McCain is winning. It will make Election Day that much harder to swallow.
Thank God his name isn’t Harry!
Local Eyes you are delusional on being his own man. He is a product of the Daley machine in Chicago. His main money person and chief fundraiser is a Chicago women who is very powerful in Dem circles. His policies have been shaped by his advisors and not him. He may have approved these policies but that’s it. Just look at him trying to explain these policies and all the waffling he has done in the past 6 months. If he wins and his tax package is approved and people start getting laid off by big business, I promise I will not say I told you so. The problem with the middle class is that they think they are going to get something for nothing from Obama and that just is not going to happen.
BTW why does he now use a teleprompter at all his stops could it be he is starting to suffer fom foot-in-mouth disease?
Grin Reaper What you say is true but you are reading the recent polls that showed McCain got a bump up after the RNC convention and this was expected. he got a bump downward after the financial crisis was announced. But what you did not mention was the Obama lead in many of the key states that was in double figures not that many weeks agao and is now in low single digits. Which way CT goes is really not that important in the grand scheme of things. It’s the battleground states like PA where McCin is drawing even, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and a few others where Obama’s lead was in double digits and is now in the low singles or the number has turned to McCain. Two other states to watch are NY and NJ where Obama is slipping badly.
I believe that the debates will make the difference. I also believe that old fool Biden will suffer from foot-in-mouth disease.
Interesting article in the Hartford Courant today on Mayor Mike Peters. Almost a Parallelogram to Mayor John Fabrizi.
www .courant.com/news/custom/topnews/hc-susan0919,0,125506.column
Wondering, Rasmussen has fresh polls on New Jersey and New York and Barack is solid in both states. In fact, if you check today Rasmussen just released a poll in Indiana, a solid red state, where Barack has pulled to within two points. I don’t think that will hold up in Indiana (a Dem presidential candidate hasn’t won there since Johnson) but it’s forcing McCain to spend money in areas he shouldn’t.
Bottom line is, regardless of the picture McCain & the GOP try to paint concerning Gov. Palin, it still was a poor choice for the V/P position & will probably cost them the election! Once again, you can put a silk hat or lipstick on a pig but in the end, it’s still a pig! Which means the Obama/Biden campaign would have to self destroy for the Republicans to win in Nov.’08. However, the independant bipartisan lines on the Conn. pols for State Rep. may shake a few things up? And I don’t mean milkshakes either! Only time will tell.
Lennie what you say is true but the same thing is happening in California where McCain is moving up in the polls forcing Obama to do the same thing. I think the debates are going to give us a clearer view. One problem with these polls is that many people are saying they are voting for Obama when questioned by pollsters and they are saying this because they do not want to look like they won’t vote for a black man. This came from an interview with Rasmussen and is not my opinion.
Here’s a little something from Gallup Daily Tracking
September 19, 2008
Gallup Daily: Obama Now Leads McCain by 5 Points At 49%, support for Obama is near his record high for the year.
PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Tuesday through Thursday finds Barack Obama with a five percentage point lead over John McCain in the presidential preferences of registered voters, 49% to 44%.
This is the fourth consecutive day that Obama has inched forward in voter preferences since the start of the Wall Street financial meltdown beginning with the announcement on Sunday, Sept. 14, that Lehman Brothers was headed for bankruptcy. The overall effect has been to shift the lead back to Obama after McCain had moved ahead following the Republican National Convention.
Now, the numbers from poll to poll may vary a bit but the trends lines are clearly moving in Obama’s direction.
“While the McCain campaign frantcically searches for its lost lipstick, the Obama juggernaut continues to roll.”
Lennie where are all the Washington Democrats that a few years ago wanted and helped craft the legislation that loosened oversight on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Those members included Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed, Charles Rangel and the list goes on. Nothing said from any of them.
Spoiler alert, Chris Shays is writing new Democrats in Bridgeport thanking them for registering to vote and saying he hopes to have their vote in November. And in the letter he praises Obama. What is he thinking? I have proof, my friend got one and I got one and some other people were telling me so Shays must be really nervous. In the letter he says I hope you give me two more years. What the hell is he thinking? New registered Democrats are voting him out!!!
donj–Thanks for the news.
I also find it very interesting Shays no longer has McCain yard signs in front of his house. A month or so ago he had at least one but now it is gone. I wonder why. Was it stolen? Did the wind blow it away? Did he donate it to some poor signless person?
Or is Shays trying to create the (false) impression he is distancing himself from the Republican candidate for president? I wonder.
# 23
Shays wants 2 more years, – (haven’t figured this scam out yet.) The C.O. who danced the hula in one of those south sea islands to stay out of VIETNAM he now FIGURES IT’S O.K. TO LET AMERICAN BLOOD FLOW IN IRAQ, BLOOD as long as it’s like oil to the Bush people and not his blood; but it’s on his hands and his history.
He has done nothing for Bridgeport — he has done a lot for himself.
I like the pictures of him kissing Bush.
Romantic isn’t it.
Go back to Vermont Chris and forgive yourself.
Pardon me, That was Joe Lieberman doing the tongue in the ear and elsewhere, I think Shays was out of camera range kissin’ someplace else.
Great way for men to act.
Ct. has a great bunch of guys.
Pardon me again, to the gay community, if my words offend you, forgive me, you all are real, I am fortunate to be your straight friend.
#26 Listen, maybe here in America it’s not the norm for the facial cheek to cheek kiss, however it’s the norm and been done in many parts of Europe & abroad for centuries. Many Americans seem to have a problem with their machismo image or @ times appear unsure of themselves when it comes to such ethnic-type norms. If you’re comfortable with who you are sexually & you’re not gay physically or mentally, then you should not have any doubts one way or the other with your manhood! Remember, men don’t “pee” they “piss” when they go to the “pottie”! Hey,”forget about it”!
Wondering, a point you raised that will be interesting to see is the racial undertone to transpire on election day. Will it be two or three percent that’s not registering in the polls? That will matter big time for states within the polling margin of error. And you’re correct, next Friday is a big day for McCain to assert himself in his specialty of foreign relations.
Mojo – I know what you mean, Italian, Portuguese and Hispanic men kiss each other on the cheek when they greet, it’s part of the culture. It’s not a gay thing at all, my own family does it. I just think people meant that Shays was kissing up to Bush, and it was sickening because he tries to pretend that he’s not really his pal (except when it works for him). We all know it’s just b.s. I can’t believe he’s really gone as far as to send out letters to new voters who registered democrat. As far as his McSame lawn sign disappearing, he must have taken it down himself when he finally realized Bridgeport is supporting Obama big time and he wants to pretend he’s not with McSame. He’s a complete phony. GO HIMES!!!
And I don’t mean any offense to any gay person either, so I hope nobody takes what I said the wrong way. One of my best friends since forever is gay. By the way, from what he says, the whole gay community is voting for Obama. They are also very turned off by Sarah the lipstick-wearing hockey mom. I also read in Fairfield Weekly that the gay women from Bloodroot thinks she’s way out there – no way would she defend the rights of any gay person, let alone pro-choice for women or animal rights either. She’ll put this country back a hundred years.
City Kitty; How do you know she is against Gay Rights? How do you know she is against animal rights? Reaching aren’t we? Pro Choice that’s her right just so you know approximately 50% of women in the US are pro life.
There is something to be said for pro life even though I don’t support it 100%. The one thing I do support is the end of late-term abortions. Drilling a hole in a baby’s head to complete a late term abortion is a little much for me. Just because these women are vocal and well organized does not make them the spokespersons for all women.
Wondering Sarah Palin is pentecostal read about their beliefs. They are strongly against any form of abortion they believe that homosexuals are an abomination, that the worship of saints is idol worship, that the pope and the catholic church are leading their flock away from the true way. In answer to your question we know she is against all of the above. When pressed to make a chioce between upholding the constitution or her religion we know her choice, because she has spoken in tongues. Also check your sources about deregulation 1990’s Phil Graham championed this cause. Also McCain was up to his neck with bank failures of Keating Five fame although he was cleared by his cronies, we all know what pack he runs with. Always around elec. time republican politicians find religion, conservatism, the NRA and they now love blacks and how did George Bush Sr. describe his latino grandchildren my little brown ones. Then they also hablan espanol at the rallies. They are also fiscal conservatives when it comes to spending our tax money (I paid $180,000.00 in personal taxes last yr) for as they call it pork barrel spending in our own country, but think nothing of spending nearly a trillion dollars on the biggest pork barrel in our history the Iraq war. Our national debt is only!! $10 trillion dollars. Also spend our tax money buying friends all over the world who truly despise our intervention in sovereign countries all over the world. Buying friends just brings a bought friend. Spend this money in our country helps cities rebuild our crumbling roads, schools, health care for all. Yes we are our brothers keepers, remember this when you pray in your church, or when you step into the voting booth, this is truly AMERICA FIRST.
wondering – if you really believe they drill holes in the baby’s head, then some nut told you that and you believe it. Look under Wikipedia like I did for late term abortion and they explain 3 methods, none involves that. And yes, I do believe Palin is against pro-choice, gay rights and animal rights. I’ve read up on her and as Badboy said (he must have done his homework too) — she’s also a member of a religion that has no use for saints or the pope along with everything else I said. She’s a bad choice, but I guess you like her, and you are entitled to, but you need to do your homework on her to find out what she’s really all about. Say your prayers that McCain stays healthy if he gets elected (God forbid) because if she becomes president, we’re really screwed.
Badboy – thanks for the info, you are right on!
City Kitty: I suggest you look up the D&X extraction method for abortions and don’t look in Wikipedia. Look up third trimester abortion with a search engine. I won’t go into it here because it makes me ill.
Is Palin against animal right because she hunts?
Badboy; Tell me how the blacks and hispanics are better under the dems. They have been holding that carrot out there for years. Tell me how the dems have made good on their promises to the minority communities. It’s just like all the promises made here in Bpt by the politicians. They are going to do this and that, lower taxes, improve education and the like. Well the taxes went up and we have a 68% dropout rate in high school. The Dems promised and said everyone is entitled to own a house and they set out to do it by trapping the minorities and poor whites into mortgages they can not afford. Look where that got us. It’s all politicians that promise us everything at election time and produce nothing.
Palin is supposed to be a so-called religious person when it suits her to be! She’s as fake as a russian made $3 bill and it’s a shame that many people still want to vote for McCain/Palin & can’t or don’t want to see the truth! Did you see her on Hannity’s America Fox Show? I was waiting for Hannity to ask her for her autograph, what an ass-kissing interview on his behalf. Bottom line is if Obama was “all” white, he would get about #90% of the american votes with the other #10% going to the other parties running, etc. But since he’s a Zebra so to speak, raised by a white mother and grandparents & had a Black African father, there has to be something wrong with him! So many Americans white & black will end up voting for another #4yrs. of the same good old boys mentality and we will be staying in the Middle East ’til the next Presidential election, fighting lord knows who next.
Mojo you are 100% full of crap. Are you setting the stage for an Obama loss by introducing the race card already? If Obama loses it will be because he did not have the answers to America’s problems. He beat a very formidable field to win the nomination and guess what a good majority of people that voted for him were white or hispanic.
To be fair did you see the Obama interview on the View they did everything except sleep with him. The touching and pandering made Hannity’s interview look like the inquisition.
BTW even if Obama wins we will be in the middle east in 4 more years if not in Iraq and Afganistan we will at least be in Afganistan.