McCain's worst polling day of the year

[nittanyalum]

Today's Polls, 10/23: McCain on Life Support

John McCain's chances of winning the election have dwindled to 3.7%, down from 6.5% yesterday.

[KappaKittyCat]

Aaugh! Go outside, turn around three times and spit when you say that! You've jinxed it! You can't tempt fate like that!

Seriously, I'm terrified of reading any polls anymore because I'm afraid that people will see Obama having pulled ahead and think, "Oh, he's a shoo-in. I don't need to go vote." That's what's always happened when a large chunk of a candidate's support has consisted of the 18-25 crowd.

*tearing my hair out*

[nittanyalum]

LOL. Woops! Sorry! Quick! Salt over the left shoulder! Rub a rabbit's foot! Put a 4-leaf clover in your wallet! AGH! November 4th get here already!

(see, panic is catching! )

[LightBulb]

Here's the article for anyone looking.

I know what you mean, though. The polls are starting to make me really nervous. I feel like I'm aging a little from stress.

[Benzgirl]

[KSigkid]

Fantastic.

For those wondering if it will jinx Obama, it would have to be one heck of a jinx to stop him, like a Chicago Cubs-type jinx...

Also, nittany - considering McCain's age, maybe you should have used something other than "McCain on Life Support?"

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

Also, nittany - considering McCain's age, maybe you should have used something other than "McCain on Life Support?"

Hey, man, I don't make the news, I just report it. Blame the guys at fivethirtyeight.com for the crass title. (I'm actually so slow I hadn't even read it that way -- now I'm lolling! )

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by nittanyalum

Hey, man, I don't make the news, I just report it. Blame the guys at fivethirtyeight.com for the crass title. (I'm actually so slow I hadn't even read it that way -- now I'm lolling! )

Well, I'll always give Nate Silver the benefit of the doubt - he, along with KSigRC, saved me in regards to interpreting baseball stats.

Still though - have to acknowledge the humor in it, right?

[Virtual Violet]

The blame game begins? Although I'm not a fan, I'm glad she's stepping out and at least trying to give on the spot interviews. This is the way I felt she should have been handled from the start,. Then her handlers could have set her up with the Gibson and Couric one-on-one interviews. Maybe then she would not have seemed so unprepared/inexperienced for the national stage. (Even IMHO she is not ready for VP)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/200...politico/14929

[PhiGam]

Is it too late to change to Romney? If I'd have known the economy was going into the shitter I would have been OK with a magic underpants wearing mormon.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by PhiGam

Is it too late to change to Romney? If I'd have known the economy was going into the shitter I would have been OK with a magic underpants wearing mormon.

Now, I know Romney is my "irrational support" politician (as, apparently, some people on the board feel about Obama), so it's difficult for me to see his drawbacks...but would there really have been so many drawbacks in choosing a guy with a strong economic record and a Harvard MBA/JD?

I'm so upset with my party right now, and I'm not too happy with a number of my party's members. Between the amount of support that Huckabee got in the primaries, to all this business with Palin...ridiculous. Again, this is the closest I've come to voting third party, and if I thought there were third party candidate I could justify voting for, I would have done it.

Counting down to 2012...

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

Now, I know Romney is my "irrational support" politician (as, apparently, some people on the board feel about Obama), so it's difficult for me to see his drawbacks...but would there really have been so many drawbacks in choosing a guy with a strong economic record and a Harvard MBA/JD?

I'm so upset with my party right now, and I'm not too happy with a number of my party's members. Between the amount of support that Huckabee got in the primaries, to all this business with Palin...ridiculous. Again, this is the closest I've come to voting third party, and if I thought there were third party candidate I could justify voting for, I would have done it.

Counting down to 2012...

I am really sorry about that, C. No one should be so disappointed with their party to the point where they don't support the candidate. Quite a few Republicans in my family have voiced their discomfort with what's going on right now--and keep in mind, my family is chock-full of naval officers, small businesspersons, and people who are in the highest tax bracket. Meaning, these aren't "NASCAR Dads" or "Wal-Mart Moms," but people who have backed the Republican Party for decades.

I honestly think the turning point was the Palin selection. Although it energized McCain's base, a Romney, Jindal, or Huckabee could have done that with much more experience. Granted Jindal's a bit younger than Palin, but the man is brilliant. Palin turned off a lot of moderates, like myself, who were waiting on VP choices to make a final decision.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

I am really sorry about that, C. No one should be so disappointed with their party to the point where they don't support the candidate. Quite a few Republicans in my family have voiced their discomfort with what's going on right now--and keep in mind, my family is chock-full of naval officers, small businesspersons, and people who are in the highest tax bracket. Meaning, these aren't "NASCAR Dads" or "Wal-Mart Moms," but people who have backed the Republican Party for decades.

I honestly think the turning point was the Palin selection. Although it energized McCain's base, a Romney, Jindal, or Huckabee could have done that with much more experience. Granted Jindal's a bit younger than Palin, but the man is brilliant. Palin turned off a lot of moderates, like myself, who were waiting on VP choices to make a final decision.

I think a big part of it is how firmly I was in the Romney camp. When you support a candidate to that extent, to the level that the highs and lows of the campaign really affect you, it can be a tremendous downer when the candidate has to withdraw from the race. It was really like a punch to the gut when he left in the primaries, and it was a second punch to the gut when he didn't get the VP nod. Again, I know that he's my "irrational" candidate, but it was still tremendously disappointing.

I was willing to give Palin a chance, and it hasn't cost McCain my vote; however, that may be more of a function of the other candidates involved.

I just have this feeling that the anti-intellectual wing of my party has grown quite a bit recently, including in this campaign season. Part of that may have been a way to criticize Obama, but I've seen and heard it used to criticize certain candidates during the primaries. I understand that the smartest guy or woman in the room doesn't always make the best candidate, and there are considerations to look at beyond a person's education.

My sense has been, though, that to a wing of my party, education is a drawback. Education is immediately equated with liberalism, even though that's not always the case. There are some brilliant conservatives (Romney and Jindal, to name a couple) out there, and there's a large base of the party that is both educated and conservative.

I'm quite realistic about my level of education, and I realize that I'm not an Ivy Leaguer by any means. But, there's a small part of me that wonders if someone like me (reasonably intelligent, two bachelors degrees, and 1.5 years away from a law degree) is still welcome as a member of the party by certain segments of the population. I'll be a Republican until the day I die, but I really hope that people in my position aren't being forced out of the party because of some form of anti-intellectualism.

[UGAalum94]

Well, the upside of losing terribly, if McCain does, is that you'd hope the party would re-think how it ended up where it did.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Well, the upside of losing terribly, if McCain does, is that you'd hope the party would re-think how it ended up where it did.

I'm not sure I would ever assume rationality on this level, to be quite honest.