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Will every blip in the polls decide who wins in November?

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ProSense Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-20-08 08:22 AM
Original message
Will every blip in the polls decide who wins in November?
Remember the burning question from the first half of this year: Can Obama beat McCain? Here is the national average:



McCain has been playing catch up, and people are following every little blip in the polls as if they're going to decide the winner. Yesterday it was the LA Times poll:

Note that when this poll had Obama up by 12 in June, it was dismissed as an outlier along with the equally volatile Newsweek poll. Today's numbers are consistent what other polls show (see rest of post.) According to the news article, Obama still benefits from increased D enthusiasm. The LA Times version speculates on McCain negative attacks because Obama's fav/unfav now resemble McCain's. OTOH,

<…>

Bottom line is that, like in other polls, the GOP base has consolidated while the Dem base, while more enthusiastic, has not. Obama has room to move up, but it'll take work to get there. And then there are the conventions, which, based on these numbers, come at the right time for Obama. How much upward room there is for McCain remains unclear, based on what is a poor showing amongst indies (Obama favored by 11) and the stated 9 in 10 GOP voters picking McCain. In all the polls, base support is a major difference between the candidates, though I haven't seen the cross-tabs or the exact figures (or the party ID numbers, for that matter.) But if indies favor Obama by that much, he's in decent shape.

Quinnipiac
Likely Voters (July) MoE +/- 2.5
Obama 47 (50)
McCain 42 (37)

link


People spent the first part of the year assuming Obama was no match for McCain, now they're wondering why he can't "close the deal."

Obama can't be, and by most indications isn't being, complacent. He's running a smart campaign. McCain, the supposedly strong and experienced candidate, is playing catch up. What the hell is he doing wrong?






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TexasObserver Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-20-08 08:30 AM
Response to Original message
1. given the margin of error, it's most likely the lines aren't really changing
I find the notion that people are daily switching sides in their presidential preference to be absurd. The poll movements prove that the polls really are within margin of error, and that margin explains almost every daily movement we are told has occurred.

Average the daily numbers for 3-4 consecutive weeks, and that's your real poll number. All this bullshit about 47-42 one day and 45-44 two days later is just that.

And all the polls are weighted to lean conservative.
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ProSense Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-20-08 08:45 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. The polls are messing with people's heads
Daily tracking, leaners and all the other parameters weren't enough. Today, they come out with likely voters.

It's like they're trying to give the impression that McCain is catching up and his negative campaign is working. Yet people continue to say they're turned off by McCain.

Obama raises six times as much from active duty military serving abroad, but how about a poll to give McCain the edge:





I still ask: If McCain is doing so well (playing catch up to Obama), why isn't this reflected in his fundraising?

One theory offered was that Repubs are holding on to their money because they don't need to spend it.

Maybe so, but McCain's fundraising looks anemic compared to Bush.

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geek tragedy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-20-08 11:18 AM
Response to Original message
3. Obama should be winning, given the demand for a change
from Bush's policies.

He's losing ground. That's called losing.
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