Murtha in Statistical Tie in Race

Pittsburgh Live reports that Murtha is in a statistical tie with opponent Bill Russell.  Russell trails by 4 points, within the poll’s margin of error of 4.9 points.

It appears that many in Pennsylvania were put off by Murtha’s reference to his constituents being racist.  Later he clarified his statement and called them rednecks.  He put his foot in his mouth before saying that Marines were killing Iraqi civilians in cold blood (apparently a big reason Russell chose to run against him).

54% of those polled said that they are ready for a change and 35% said Murtha deserved to be re-elected.  Murtha won by 20 points in 2006.  This election looks to be quite a change with a serious challenge in Russell (a veteran himself).

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Posted under Election

Written by admin on October 23, 2008

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Obama Robo Call Complaining About Robo Calls

OK, this is just funny and I had to post it.  A robo call that complains about robo calling.

Definitely the change we need!

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Posted under Election

Written by admin on October 22, 2008

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Presidential Polls All Over the Place

AP just released a poll of likely voters showing Obama 44 – McCain 43 among likely voters.  At the same time, FOXNews just released a poll of likely voters showing Obama 49 – McCain 40.  The AP poll did oversample Democrats, so it seems illogical for these polls to be so scattered.  Gallup’s poll has shown McCain closing the gap as well, now showing Obama 50 – McCain 45.  Yesterday, this poll was Obama 51 to McCain’s 44.

More telling, 80% of likely voters think McCain has the right experience to be President.  45% of likely voters believe that Obama does not have the right experience to be President.  When it comes down to the actual vote, this may play in people’s minds.  The risk of an inexperienced President is one that many voters will not be able to stomach.

Of course there are many that say the Bradley effect might make the polls even more useless than usual.  Given the inaccuracies of the pre-election polls (and even the exit polling) in 2000 and 2004, all polls should be taken with a grain of salt.  It’s even more the case when they are so inconsistent like they are now.

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Posted under Election

Written by admin on October 22, 2008

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Chabot and Driehaus Race Too Close to Call

Chabot is running for his 8th term from Ohio’s 1st District, but the most recent poll data I can find shows Driehaus is up by 2 points.  That’s within the margin of error and shows that this race is a dead heat.  Now, to make things a bit more interesting, tonight’s debate may not be televised because a write-in candidate has complained that he was being left out.

Although there is plenty in common with Chabot and Driehaus, there are many differences too.  Chabot voted against the bailout, Driehaus would have voted for it.  Chabot supports letting workers invest some of their Social Security money on their own, Driehaus doesn’t.  Chabot wants military leaders instead of lawmakers to make decisions on when to withdraw from Iraq, Driehaus wants to start “responsible, phased redeployment from Iraq.”

From what I can tell, aside from Issue 6, Chabot and Driehaus have the most local political ads on TV.  Finance reports showed that Chabot had raised $2.2 million to Driehaus’s $1.1 million.  I guess I’ll have to suffer through more ads before election day.

Chabot won a close race two years ago against John Cranley.  Chabot has the highest percentage of black constituents, 27.5%, of any Republican district in the state.  The race looks to be much more difficult this year than 2006.

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Posted under Election

Written by admin on October 22, 2008

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Who Will the Military Vote For?

The military is our first line of defense, the heroes that keep us safe and make freedom possible.  It is sensible to ask who they support in the Presidential election.  Given the difficulties of the war on terror I keep seeing on the media, I’d expect that our military would be demoralized and be ready to cut and run, right?

Apparently not.  Active military personnel support John McCain 67%  to 24%.  When asked who would better handle Iraq and Afghanistan, McCain wins 74% to 19%.  McCain wins handling military benefits 73% to 18%.  Handling Defense Department issues, it’s McCain 77% to 15%.  Oddly enough, the military also believes that McCain can handle the economy and other domestic issues better, 53% to 33%.

Who is better to speak on who is best to lead the military than those who are in it?  With such a clear voice for McCain, there is no doubt he is the best candidate to make the correct military decisions.

Detailed poll info available from MilitaryTimes.

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Posted under Election

Written by admin on October 22, 2008

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