Obama lead widens in FL, PA, MO, VA:

[Skjellyfetti]

Democrat Barack Obama widened his lead in three big battleground states, boosted by his performance in the first presidential debate, worsening economic jitters, and increasing skepticism about GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, according to new polls released this morning.

Obama's surge is particularly pronounced in Pennsylvania, where he led Republican John McCain by 49 percent to 43 percent before Friday's debate, but leads by 54 percent to 39 percent in the new Quinnipiac University surveys.

In Florida, Obama's edge grew from 49 percent-43 percent to 51 percent-43 percent. And in Ohio, his lead increased from 49 percent-42 percent to 50 percent-42 percent.

While more than 80 percent of voters in each state said the debate didn't change their minds, Obama was the clear winner by 13 percentage points to 17 percentage points, the polls found. The pre-debate surveys started Sept. 22 and ended at 8 p.m. Friday, an hour before the debate, while the post-debate polls were conducted on Saturday through Monday, Quinnipiac said.

Obama has been surging over the last month, now crossing the 50 percent threshold when he had been trailing in the three states in polls released Sept. 11.

"It is difficult to find a modern competitive presidential race that has swung so dramatically, so quickly and so sharply this late in the campaign. In the last 20 days, Sen. Barack Obama has gone from seven points down to eight points up in Florida, while widening his leads to eight points in Ohio and 15 points in Pennsylvania," Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement. "Sen. John McCain has his work cut out for him if he is to win the presidency and there does not appear to be a role model for such a comeback in the last half century."

Quinnipiac notes that no one has been elected president since 1960 without winning at least two of these three states, which combined have 68 of the 270 electoral votes needed to secure the White House.

UPDATE: Another series of battleground state polls out this afternoon also show Obama gaining ground and taking the lead in Missouri and Virginia.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. surveys show Obama leading McCain 54 percent to 43 percent in Florida among registered voters, up from a tie at 48 percent two weeks ago; also ahead 54 percent to 43 percent in Minnesota, up from 53 percent to 41 percent a month ago; up 50 percent to 45 percent in Missouri, flipping McCain's edge three weeks ago; leading 54 percent to 43 percent in Nevada, up from 49 percent to 44 percent last month; and ahead 54 percent to 42 percent in Virginia, reversing McCain's lead three weeks ago of 50 percent to 46 percent.

Obama's leads among likely voters are slightly smaller in the CNN polls. But the results among registered voters could be more telling in a year when many first-time and new voters cast ballots during the primaries -- people who wouldn't necessarily qualify as likely voters.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/pol ... es_in.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bronco]

-
He's a good campaigner and money raiser...just not a good president or good for the country's future.

The formula is simple: more government = less of everything else, including employment. Obama’s class war rhetoric and monstrous power grabs have terrified employers into battening down the hatches, and his grotesquely extravagant spending spree has sucked all the money out of the free market economy. What other effect on employment could anyone expect from putting an authoritarian statist weaned on Marxism into the White House?

CBO Paints the Real Unemployment Picture

As the “mainstream” media predictably tells us that the economy is charging back and unemployment is all better now in the run-up to Obama’s reelection, let’s check in with reality to see what unemployment is like there. From the Congressional Budget Office (PDF):

[CitadelGrad]

He won't win Missouri. I guarantee it. Claire McCaskill is running for Senate re-election and there is going to be a big turnout against her.

[Ivytalk]

JellyBelly is atoning for his double use of the N word in another thread.

[Pwns]

Obama is going to be hammered if gas prices go up as much as expected this summer.

[kalm]

Obama is going to be hammered if gas prices go up as much as expected this summer.

Well naturally. It will be his fault after all.

[89Hen]

Obama is going to be hammered if gas prices go up as much as expected this summer.

Well naturally. It will be his fault after all.

No, it's Bush's fault.

[Seahawks08]

Or it's the Middle East's fault? Or speculators? The president always catches too much shit for gas prices imo.

[kalm]

All I know is that Republicans are the party of cheap oil.

[Bronco]

Or it's the Middle East's fault? Or speculators? The president always catches too much shit for gas prices imo.

True with most presidents but none before him have said they wanted it to happen

Steven Chu, obama’s energy secretary said he wanted gas prices to be same at Europe's, $7 to $9 a gallon.

[Skjellyfetti]

He won't win Missouri. I guarantee it. Claire McCaskill is running for Senate re-election and there is going to be a big turnout against her.

woooooosh

[CitadelGrad]

Obama is going to be hammered if gas prices go up as much as expected this summer.

Well naturally. It will be his fault after all.

Actually, it will be.

[kalm]

Well naturally. It will be his fault after all.

Actually, it will be.

I am sure.

[Ivytalk]

Actually, it will be.

I am sure.

So am I.

[TheDancinMonarch]

McCain? How 'bout some 2012 news?

[Skjellyfetti]

McCain? How 'bout some 2012 news?

Was in response to BDJK posting a ~month old poll in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=28873" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[CID1990]

McCain? How 'bout some 2012 news?

Was in response to BDJK posting a ~month old poll in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=28873" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That you think a 1 month old poll somehow has as little validity as a 4 year old poll speaks volumes about 99% of your belief system.

The other 1% is just preference; you prefer to catch rather than pitch.

[Seahawks08]

True with most presidents but none before him have said they wanted it to happen

Steven Chu, obama’s energy secretary said he wanted gas prices to be same at Europe's, $7 to $9 a gallon.

In a strange way, that actually makes sense. He's an extremely green/alternative energy president and the ONLY way for alternative energies to take hold is to ween oil. If gas got that high, we would probably see an explosion in new technology that wouldn't involve petroleum. And in this new world, the alternative energies would battle each other for supremacy along with oil, thus driving prices down. IMO, that's a dream scenario where everyone wins. And when oil runs out, we, the U.S., would be ahead of most of the world and could export our new technologies. Easier said than done.

[Skjellyfetti]

That you think a 1 month old poll somehow has as little validity as a 4 year old poll

Yeah, that's it.

[CID1990]

That you think a 1 month old poll somehow has as little validity as a 4 year old poll

Yeah, that's it.

I take even odds that you posted this thinking it referred to the current race.

[TheDancinMonarch]

McCain? How 'bout some 2012 news?

Was in response to BDJK posting a ~month old poll in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=28873" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You mean that I now need cross-thread concentration and correlation? Life is too damn complicated!!

[Skjellyfetti]

Didn't realize BDK's thread would drop like a rock and this thread would get all the attention.

[AZGrizFan]

Didn't realize BDK's thread would drop like a rock and this thread would get all the attention.

The board prefers making fun of dimwits---like you.

[BDKJMU]

McCain? How 'bout some 2012 news?

Was in response to BDJK posting a ~month old poll in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=28873" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No- on Feb 16 I posted a poll that came out on Jan 29. An 18 day old poll at the time, about 2.5 weeks, not a month. So in your world 18 days = 1 month?

[AZGrizFan]

Was in response to BDJK posting a ~month old poll in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=28873" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No- on Feb 16 I posted a poll that came out on Jan 29. An 18 day old poll at the time, about 2.5 weeks, not a month. So in your world 18 days = 1 month?

To a dimwit it does.