WaPo/ABC poll: "Among likely voters, Obama now leads McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent."

[WilliamPitt]

WaPo:

Economic Fears Give Obama Clear Lead Over McCain in Poll

Turmoil in the financial industry and growing pessimism about the economy have altered the shape of the presidential race, giving Democratic nominee Barack Obama the first clear lead of the general-election campaign over Republican John McCain, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News national poll.

Just 9 percent of those surveyed rated the economy as good or excellent, the first time that number has been in single digits since the days just before the 1992 election. Just 14 percent said the country is heading in the right direction, equaling the record low on that question in polls dating back to 1973.

More voters trust Obama to deal with the economy, and he currently has a big edge as the candidate who is more in tune with the economic problems Americans now face. He also has a double-digit advantage on handling the current problems on Wall Street, and as a result, there has been a rise in his overall support. The poll found that, among likely voters, Obama now leads McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent. Two weeks ago, in the days immediately following the Republican National Convention, the race was essentially even, with McCain at 49 percent and Obama at 47 percent.

As a point of comparison, neither of the last two Democratic nominees -- John F. Kerry in 2004 or Al Gore in 2000 -- recorded support above 50 percent in a pre-election poll by the Post and ABC News.

Last week's near-meltdown in the financial markets and the subsequent debate in Washington over a proposed government bailout of troubled financial institutions have made the economy even more important in the minds of voters. Fully 50 percent called the economy and jobs the single most important issue that will determine their vote, up from 37 percent two weeks ago.

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/23/AR2008092303667.html?hpid=topnews

Happy Wednesday, all.

:toast:

[bridgit]

1. Oh good grief!! Now its a done deal...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6992271

[WilliamPitt]

2. Go outside, turn around three times, and spit.

Then knock wood.

Seriously.

[bridgit]

3. Oh I know, I see the bad stuff too. And its going to get worser & worser...

hopefully just before the dawn and all that. republicans are in their coveted position to do whatever the hell they think they need to do to win. And that includes anything to win...anything!! Be ready, please, spread the word ~ :)

[Jack_Dawson]

13. Agreed.

Stop Jinxing. :donut:

[Recursion]

41. Do you want to tempt the wrath of the guy in the place? nt

[WilliamPitt]

43. "...with the wrathfulness and the vengeance and the blood rain

and the hey-hey-hey-it-hurts-me..."

[dudewheresmycountry]

32. A thought just came to mind

I can remember when this saying was on hats, t shirts, and bumper stickers, although I haven't seen it for a while now. LIFE IS GOOD......I said in another blog last week, Obama would break the 50% mark and creap on up to 60%........It gives me hope, it gives me promise that once again we will all say once again..... LIFE IS GOOD.....

[bridgit]

42. Its going to be a pain, and everyone will have to take a big ole swig of buttermilk...

but it is turning around :thumbsup:

[NNN0LHI]

4. Obama will go wire to wire from here on out

[WilliamPitt]

5. Go outside, turn around three times, and spit.

Dammit.

[NNN0LHI]

8. Already did that

Just got back.

Don

[shadowknows69]

22. Does it count if you have your SIMS game character do it?

I don't have my shoes on.

[Alexander]

6. This will be our version of Reagan 1980. Close until the end, then a landslide.

[malaise]

7. Nice

Happy Wednesday indeed. :hi:

[WilliamPitt]

9. SEE POSTS #2 AND #5.

Whom the gods would destroy, they first make proud.

Go outside, turn around three times, and spit. Even if you didn't predict landslide victory or whatever.

And knock wood, too.

Dammit.

;)

But seriously, go.

[Wednesdays]

15. And while they're outside, they should do some campaigning

This is no time to be sitting back on our heels.

[C_U_L8R]

10. It's the economy

and McCain just doesn't get it

[garthranzz]

11. That's almost enough

Remember the primaries? The 9% solution? There was a great Daily Show skit about it.

Obama needs a lead of +10% in the polls to win the election. Butsch and the fascists will still try to steal the election, and assuming Obama maintains a lead sufficient that the mendacious narrative(s) being spun won't be enough, the landslide will be reduced to a "barely won" and the CW will be that Obama will be a weak president without a mandate because he didn't win by the landslide he should have.

[Orlandodem]

12. He still has to win the debates.

If he says "umm..." too much, or conversely speaks in sentences that have too many polysyllabic words, the public will not like it. McPOW is going to repeat his POW story over and over again. I am cautiously optimistic, but I will never doubt the stupidity of the American people.

[DCKit]

25. "Ummmm", "Hmmm" and "Ehh" aren't in Obama's vocabulary.

However, string the three together, add a random "My Friends" and a "POW" in there, and you could be writing McCain's speeches. There won't be any awkward sighs either.

Haven't you ever heard Obama speak?

[Bette Noir]

34. Obama is a mighty orator in prepared speeches,

but he does have a stammer when he speaks off the cuff. That's not a sign of weakness or lack of intelligence, it just is.

That said, Gobama.

[LanternWaste]

27. Seems a popular position

"I will never doubt the stupidity of the American people."

Seems a popular position. For my part, I'll never doubt the social pendulum of cyclical interests and changes.

[livelongandprosper]

28. Kerry won all three debates and it didn't matter.

This time it may be different but frankly when was the last time the debates changed the outcome?
Kennedy Nixon perhaps. And even that is disputable.

[Bette Noir]

35. Besides, voting has already started in 11 states.

[mwb970]

14. The responses are determined by intelligence and education.

Much of the movement has come among college-educated whites. Whites without college degrees favor McCain by 17 points, while those with college degrees support Obama by 9 points. No Democrat has carried white, college-educated voters in presidential elections dating back to 1980, but they were a key part of Obama's coalition in the primaries.

So there you have it. This paragraph says it all for me. People who are less educated go for McCain; people who are smarter and more educated go with Obama. It really is that simple. One candidate for thinking people, one candidate for ignorant people who vote their emotions, with those emotions (mostly hate and fear) whipped up daily by Fox "News" and right-wing radio.

The "great divide" in America isn't between North and South or even City and Country. It's between Smart and Stupid.

[VOX]

16. I'm laid up with vertigo & bronchitis, so I've got the spinning & spitting components nailed down...

It's only the going-outside part that's gumming up the hat-trick right now. Later on today, I'll drag my sorry, fevered arse out to the backguard, plop on a chaise, and think cool thoughts about a major poll that finally reads like something actually printed on this planet.

:toast:

On edit: typos

[beac]

23. Totally OT, but re:vertigo,,, Have you tried yoga for it?

My sister suffered from terrible veritgo off and on. Yoga really helped her. :)

[eowyn_of_rohan]

17. Finally, a poll result I can believe

[BayjanDem]

18. The McCain Problem

When it comes to the economy, he sux. He's clueless going up against a former President of the Harvard Law Review. On legal issues as well as the economy Obama floats like a butterfly, and stings like...you know the rest.

[brindis_desala]

19. So in typical global-corporatist style they call in their chips

and pile 700 billions of their elephant dung on our deficient heads and say, okay Obama, you got it... start shoveling.

[lelgt60]

33. Yes - as others have said - this is a setup...

1. The repubs didn't figure they could win this one anyways (they probably already knew the economy would just blow up)
2. So, they do a sacrifice nomination of old McCain - gets him off their back. Even they probably had a good laugh over his choice of Palin.
3. They then steal the last trillion, knowing the Dems will have to oppose a bailout. Thus, they can blame the resulting depression on the Dems.
4. They know the situation will be so bad that they figure Obama will never dig himself out in 4 years, and never be able to pass any significant reforms.
5. They will have the money to buy back real bankrupted companies and property really cheap. Kind of like mob attempts to go legit.
4. After blaming this on the Dems, they'll end up with 16 years in power without having to go to the trouble of stealing it.

If Obama wins he will have to go after them criminally, or he'll never survive.

[kegler14]

20. The problem I see is that

he doesn't lead by anything like that in the states he absolutely must have. Winning the popular vote doesn't do any good if you lose the electoral vote.

[smoogatz]

21. I think we can throw this one out, too.

Along with the ABC poll from a couple of weeks ago that showed a 20-point swing to McCain/Palin among women. The wild gyrations in these polls tell me one of two things: either ABC/WaPo's polling organization doesn't know how to run a poll, or they're jiggering the results to match the prevailing narrative.

[WilliamPitt]

29. "or they're jiggering the results to match the prevailing narrative"

Ding.

It also gives all the brainless TV news morons something to talk about that won't tax their meager abilities. See: Daily Tracking Polls, where a 1% swing becomes fodder for a dozen hours of inane chatter.

[LynneSin]

24. That's likely voters. Imagine if we toss in all the newly minted voters and

those who aren't regular voters but are inspired by this election

[L. Coyote]

31. What percent are likely to be purged registrations?

[grantcart]

26. The reason that we can actually have confidence in this poll is that there have been

almost 50 state polls all showing movement to Obama.

see The Daily Widget for the latest details.

[L. Coyote]

30. Au H2 '08

[thereismore]

36. Evangelical enthusiasm down by double digits. Wow.

Among Republicans, conservatives and white evangelical Protestants, strong enthusiasm for McCain's candidacy has dropped by double digits.

[happygoluckytoyou]

37. A SONG IN HONOR OF MCCAIN AND HIS RUNNING FROM THE DEBATE ----->

Minstrel: Bravely bold Sir Robin rode forth from Camelot. He was not afraid to die, oh brave Sir Robin. He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways, brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Robin. He was not in the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp, or to have his eyes gouged out, and his elbows broken. To have his kneecaps split, and his body burned away, and his limbs all hacked and mangled, brave Sir Robin. His head smashed in and heart cut out, and his liver removed, and his bowels unplugged, and his nostrils raped and his bottom burned off and his penis...
Sir Robin: That's, uh, that's enough music for now, lads... looks like there's dirty work afoot.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minstrel: Brave Sir Robin ran away...
Sir Robin: *No!*
Minstrel: bravely ran away away...
Sir Robin: *I didn't!*
Minstrel: When danger reared its ugly head, he bravely turned his tail and fled.
Sir Robin: *I never did!*
Minstrel: Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about, and valiantly, he chickened out.
Sir Robin: *Oh, you liars!*
Minstrel: Bravely taking to his feet, he beat a very brave retreat. A brave retreat by brave Sir Robin.

[Johonny]

38. nice

[SalviaBlue]

39. K&MR

[defendandprotect]

40. I'm sticking with my own estimation ... McCain probably doesn't get to 37% ---!!

[struggle4progress]

44. Don't stop to take a breath until it's 55:40

[and-justice-for-all]

45. Burn, repigs, Burn!!!!nt