Obama has slight lead over McCain in statewide poll

September 26th, 2008, posted by RobHop

Fallout from the crisis on Wall Street appears to have propelled Barack Obama into a slight lead over John McCain in Pennsylvania.

Democrat Obama leads Republican McCain 47 percent to 43 percent in this key swing state, a new Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll shows. The survey, of 577 likely voters Sunday through Wednesday night, has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.

Fully 46 percent of respondents pointed to the ‘‘economy/jobs’‘ as the most important issue in their decision on how to vote. And state voters express considerably more trust in Obama to handle fallout from Wall Street, 44 percent to 28 percent.

‘‘He’s being seen as someone who might be better equipped to deal with it,’‘ said pollster Chris Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion in Allentown.

Obama has appeared to voters as fairly steady in reacting to the financial crisis, Borick said, while McCain has taken dramatic action, announcing Wednesday that he was suspending his campaign until an agreement is reached on a bailout.
Full Article and Source

Filed under:

Can't believe

On September 26th, 2008 Anonymous said:

I can’t believe Obama only has a slight lead over McCain after all that has gone on. Where is the mindset in PA residents? Are we that stupid or ignorant? Are people really going to vote based on DNA?The Palin pick alone should be enough to swing everyone to Obama. If this was “American Idol” that would be one this but this election will determine our very existance in the near future. If we don’t get the military and the economy right we are going to be sliced and diced for the barbarians who are at the gate.

obama's lead over mccain

On September 27th, 2008 Anonymous said:

PA return to common sense! Vote McCain!

Common sense

On September 27th, 2008 Anonymous said:

Common sense implies rationality and the only rational vote is for Obama. McCain was one of the leading players in the Republican party that brought us this economic mess. He was one of the leading players among the group that brought us the Iraq war. He was the sole player in bringing us Sarah Palin. That in itself is a disqualifying decision. When a campaign tells you that a person is qualified to be VP with regard to foreign affairs and national security because their state is close to Russia should be immediately struck off the list of viable candidates. This along with other stunts shows that McCain is not a serious candidate. He is making a mockery of the election, all in hopes of hanging into the final week and then throwing his final Hail Mary. His most recent political grandstanding over the bailout is especially telling. He shoots from the hip! His reckless choice of Palin is unpatriotic, in my opinion. If he is elected, he will have put our country at great risk.

No Sir, you are wrong. It is not an act of “common sense” to vote for McCain. It is an act of foolishness.

I can’t imagine any of

On September 26th, 2008 Anonymous said:

I can’t imagine any of the people voting McCain are voting FOR McCain as opposed to AGAINST Obama. My take is that McCain will continue to fall in the polls, as his latest campaign stunt falls flat and Gov. Palin’s continues her senseless rambling on foreign policy issues – please read the following:

Couric: You’ve cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that? Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundary that we have with Canada. It’s funny that a comment like that was kinda made to … I don’t know, you know … reporters. Couric: Mocked? Palin: Yeah, mocked, I guess that’s the word, yeah. Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy credentials. Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there… Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians? Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state.

source: CBS News Online

I suppose the Mayor of

On September 28th, 2008 Anonymous said:

I suppose the Mayor of Arlington, VA has extensive foreign policy experience because the Pentagon is in Arlington.

Not a bad poll

On September 26th, 2008 phillydem said:

The most recent SUSA poll (/23-24) had it Obama 50%, McCain 44%. This is line with that and just bouncing around the MOE. If Obama wins by 4-5 pts it will be the same or better margin than Kerry and Gore got. But, the fact remains many of this state’s voters are going to vote based on their own bigotry and prejudice.

Put A Number On It, Pd...

On September 26th, 2008 thegentlemanfro... said:

I’m wondering if you can put a figure on that, pd? What percentage does Barack Obama have to earn here in Pennsylvania in order for you to declare the Keystone State “bigot-free”? If your candidate wins with 55%+ of the vote, will you declare it a victory for “diversity”? However, if he only squeaks by with 51% or 52%, will you lament the fact that this state is still rife with “good ‘ol boys”?

God help us if Obama loses Pennsylvania. I can only imagine the racial hysteria that you and others of like-mind will engage in.

Oh, that’s right. You’ve already been rehearsing those lines for the past month.

What???

On September 27th, 2008 Anonymous said:

Really, when you post stuff like this, remember that old saying “a stuck pig squeals”. The fact is there are bigots and racists in Pennsylvania and they will vote based on that prejudice. Did you notice Lynn Swann, running on essentially the same platform as Fisher did in 2002, got 5 pts less (39% to 44%) of the vote against Rendell? To what do you attribute that?

Perhaps you should go to the link of the study that I posted in response to your previous post on this subject. The authors believe there could be a 2-3 pt difference in voter preference due to the race of the candidates.

Look At the Numbers, pd...

On September 27th, 2008 Anonymous said:

So, essentially you’re arguing that Ed Rendell won re-election in 2006 due to widespread bigotry across the state? Funny – I thought it was just Swann’s poor campaign.

Seriously, you’ve undermined your own argument here, pd. If we’re looking at the 2006 gubernatorial campaign, look at where Swann did well versus Rendell. Rendell’s wider margin was largely driven up by large percentages in the southeast the peripheral southeast (Lehigh, Berks, etc.) going his way. Swann actually performed as well (if not slightly better) than most Republicans do in the T and southwest (I believe his percentages in some southwestern counties were actually better than Fisher).

Of course, we are consistently reminded by folks like you and others of like-mind of the “backwards” nature of southwestern and northern Pennsylvanians. It would appear many of those people had no qualms pulling the lever for Lynn Swann two years ago.

Now, I’m assuming you’re sitting right now, pd, but if not, do yourself a favor and pull up a chair. Could it be – I know this is a radical notion, but – could it be that many blue-collar Pennsylvanians may have a DIFFERENCE OF OPINION with the Anointed One? Perhaps they don’t particularly agree with HIS POLICIES? I know that is a difficult concept for folks like you to wrap your head around, but it actually is possible for somebody to disagree with Obama politically without regard to his skin color.

Please do yourself a favor a shelve the racial spin.You really aren’t well served by it, pd.

If voters look at actual

On September 26th, 2008 Anonymous said:

If voters look at actual experience, McCain Palin wins, hands down.
The “community organizer”, who worked with ACORN, the biggest proponent of voter fraud in the country only has credibility with those who like voter fraud.

Experience?

On September 26th, 2008 piltdownman said:

McCain is a tired old war horse whose best days are long behind him.

Experience? Yes. The best person to be the next President? Nope.
This guy has over 20 years on me, and I can’t imagine him being sharp enough to just keep up the pace of the Presidency, much less truly understand what the next 20-30 years might hold for the world. He keeps reminding me of Spencer Tracy in “The Last Hurrah,” a guy who once had the world on a string, but who is left behind as a new generation steps to the plate….

Besides, this isn’t really a matter of experience, it’s a policy debate…and it pretty quickly gets down to this; you want another 4 years of GOP rule, which led us into a massive, stupid war (two actually, though the Aghan one has some merit…) a loss of our moral compass and now, the largest, most frightening meltdown in our financial system in 80 years. Helluva job GOP!

Pilt

Obama is Irish

On September 28th, 2008 Anonymous said:

Obama is Irish so the race thing shouldn’t be an issue. According to those who investigate such things it appears the Obamas great great great grandfather(mothers side) came from Monygall in County Affley in Ireland and the Irish there are proud to claim him as their own. Do the research.

Funny, he don’t look

On September 28th, 2008 Anonymous said:

Funny, he don’t look Irish.

McCain's Lobbying Ties to Gambling Casinos!

On September 28th, 2008 Anonymous said:

The Real Big Spender is McCain at all those Gambling casinos he likes to visit with the Lobbyists who are affiliated with casinos and to the Oil companies and special interest groups, but none for the guy and gal on Main Street! McCain says No to extend unemployment compensation benefits and No to retraining education for the man and woman who have lost a job!

http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/09/craps.html’

(McCain’s Next Distraction?) From the Times of London …

In an election campaign notable for its surprises, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice- presidential candidate, may be about to spring a new one — the wedding of her pregnant teenage daughter to her ice-hockey-playing fiancé before the November 4 election. Inside John McCain’s campaign the expectation is growing that there will be a popularity boosting pre-election wedding in Alaska between Bristol Palin, 17, and Levi Johnston, 18, her schoolmate and father of her baby. “It would be fantastic,” said a McCain insider. “You would have every TV camera there. The entire country would be watching. It would shut down the race for a week.”

—Josh Marshall

Shut down the race....

On September 28th, 2008 piltdownman said:

Yup. That is clearly their strategy from here on out. The classic October surprise has now morphed into multiple surprises, a series of news cycle canceling events and stunts, which Schmidt thinks will keep voters distracted enough (when they’re not watching their 401ks and other investments bottom out…) that they simply won’t notice what the hell is really going on.

These people really think like this and act on these assumptions. Why? “Cause a lot of the time, it works. If they could, they would create enough media chaff that our reality radar would be blocked until a day or two before the election….when they’d do one big final, I’M A FREAKIN’ WAR HERO AND I DESERVE TO BE PRESIDENT type event….

Pilt