Republican John McCain has quickly closed the gap between himself and Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama in several key battleground states even as the Arizona senator struggles to break through the wall-to-wall coverage of Obama’s trip to Europe and the Middle East this week.

McCain and Obama are in a statistical dead heat in Colorado, Michigan and Minnesota while the Illinois senator has a more comfortable double-digit edge in Wisconsin. …

63% Say Trip Does Not Make Obama More Fit to be President, Rasmussen Reports:

While Barack Obama has touted his travel to the Middle East and Europe this week as a “fact-finding” trip, 63% of Americans do not believe it makes the Democratic candidate any more qualified to be president.

A new Rasmussen Reports national survey, taken Monday night, also finds that less than a third (32%) think Obama will learn from his trip to Iraq. Forty percent (40%) say his mind is already made up about policies to deal with the war there. The Democrat has been accused by liberals in his party of softening his long-standing opposition to the war in Iraq in an effort to appeal to more moderate voters. …

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Intended to get resistant Hillary supporters on board, the unity letter is likely to produce the opposite effect.  The letter repeatedly stated, “Barack Obama won. It’s over!”   In other words, “Get over it,” or as an astute Clinton supporter put it, “Get in line, it’s not your time.”   Mr. Fowler chided Hillary supporters, “I must confess a bit of fatigue and irritation with the people who continue to carp, complain and criticize the results of the primary and lay down conditions for their support.”  

The paternalistic nature of this statement and the implication that the issues raised by Hillary supporters are trivial is troubling.  “It’s time to act in a mature fashion,” Fowler implored. 

Demographics will prove that if Hillary supporters are anything, they are mature.  Maybe there is wisdom in old age since they did not select Obama. (more…)

John McCain has opened a modest lead over Barack Obama in the key swing state of Ohio. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Buckeye State shows McCain attracting 46% of the vote while Obama earns 40%. Last month and the month before McCain held a insignificant one-point lead over Obama.

Seven percent (7%) of voters say they’d prefer a third party candidate over either McCain or Obama and another 7% remain undecided.

When “leaners” are included in the totals, McCain leads Obama 52% to 42%.

Obama Favorability Sinking

McCain is now viewed favorably by 57%, little changed from a month ago. Obama gets favorable marks from 50% of the state’s voters, down three points from June but up three points since May.

Based on this new poll, Rasmussen has moved Ohio from “Leans Democratic” to “Toss-Up.”

You all remember Hillary’s big victory in Ohio’s primary. In late May, Deb Cupples reported on the latest poll numbers from Ohio in “Polls: Hillary Does Better than McCain and Obama in Kentucky (and FL, OH, PA)“: (more…)

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows Barack Obama attracting 42% of the vote while John McCain earns 41%. That’s the lowest level of support measured for Obama since he clinched the Democratic Presidential nomination on June 3. Obama’s support peaked at 48% with data released on June 8, 9, and 10. During that same time frame, McCain’s support has remained steady in the 40% to 42% range (he’s had just one day a point below that range and two days a point above it).

When "leaners" are included, it’s Obama 46% and McCain 45%. With leaners, Obama reached 50% support in mid-June and was at 48% or 49% every day from June 13 until July 10. Since then, he has reached the 48% level just once while polling consistently at 46% or 47% (see recent daily results). Tracking Polls are released at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time each day.

McCain is viewed favorably by 57% of voters, Obama by 53%. McCain is currently supported by 86% of Republicans and holds a modest–four percentage point—lead among unaffiliated voters. Obama earns the vote from 77% of Democrats (see other recent demographic highlights).

There are also ominous signs in polling on foreign policy credentials:

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JustSayNoDeal.com is asking all of us to go to the article and write positive comments about Ricki.

Here are two more musts you’ll want to know about Ricki, besides her article, “Electability,” posted here yesteday: (more…)

Together4US

I want a Democrat in the White House. At the Convention, the sole job of the delegates will be to select the person who is electable in November.

That person is Hillary Clinton. During the primary process BO did not “close the deal” with primary voters. The more voters got to know BO, the more votes Senator Clinton received. By the time she suspended, not ended, her campaign, she led in the popular vote, in the blue states and swing states needed to win the Electoral College, and in the polls against McCain.

She won convincingly wherever one-person-one-vote was the principle of the voting process; she did not prevail in the caucuses - one of the least democratic voting methods imaginable - no secret ballot, limited access, no absentee ballots…

Senator Clinton has the best, most progressive stance on issues of importance to Democrats - truly universal, affordable health care; sensible mortgage relief to avoid the dissolution of our communities; universal pre-k and greater access to high education; energy independence; investments in infrastructure, urban regeneration, stem cell research and other scientific explorations… she has the connections to and the admiration of the world leaders and populations desperate for strong leadership from the United States… (more…)

I have long argued that Obama is the political reincarnation of Richard Nixon. Sure their politics are different, but their personae are not. Richard Nixon was a control freak, so is Barack Obama. Nixon would do whatever it took to win lying and pandering his way into office, Barack is no different.

Nixon broke into a psychiatrist’s office to get dirt on his opponent’s, while innuendo that likely emanated from within the Obama campaign undid the candidacies of Blair Hull (domestic abuse allegations) and Jack Ryan (sexual impropriety allegations). Nixon was a narcissist, Obama is hardly any less of one.

I see a very different Obama. I see one who threw four people off a ballot so he could run unopposed. I see someone who played the race card over and over again. I see someone who has been nothing but duplicitous.

I see someone who tells the American public that his campaign takes no money from lobbyists and then rakes in millions from lobbying firms via the back door. His political 180s are nothing new. I have said this before there is no there there in Barack Obama. He has no core convictions other than his own political welfare.

Via Politico:

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From the Daily Tracking page:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll shows Barack Obama attracting 44% of the vote while John McCain earns 40%. When “leaners” are included, it’s Obama 47% and McCain 45%.

From the Rasmussen Reports analysis page:

McCain fares better against Obama than he does against two other prominent Democrats. New York Senator Hillary Clinton leads McCain by eight points, 50% to 42%. Former Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2000, leads McCain 50% to 43%.

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It was then that the crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause and warm cheers. But not over Obama’s policy proposal.

What ignited that outburst was the mere mention by Obama of the name Hillary Clinton, his vanquished party opponent.

She wasn’t there, of course. But in absentia the Democratic Party’s loser got a noticeably warmer response than the winner, perhaps a reflection of that lingering party unity thing that was taken care of up in Unity.

We trust that Denver delegates and superdelegates are taking note that the passionate support for Hillary Clinton remains as robust and heartfelt as always, and that Mr. Obama does not enjoy the same kind of support.

Perhaps Obama’s failure to DO his job in the U.S. Senate is one of the reasons. (more…)

When all the polls are averaged, Obama averages 46%. When you look at February to present, to analyze what happened when he really was gaining momentum, Obama averages 46%. And when you just look at the polls from June 3rd forward, when Obama ‘cinched’ the nomination, Obama averages 47% of the vote. This pattern is much more flat that I would have anticipated, and indicates that Obama is having a very difficult time in getting more than 50% of the vote. In fact, only 3 of the 147, or less than 2% of the polls showed him with over 50% of the respondents favoring him.

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