Monday, September 8, 2008

Ohio, Looking Good For McCain


Over the last few months, there's nothing I've imbibed more in the way of political punditry than the fact that McCain H-A-S to win Ohio in order to have any chance of winning the presidency in November. It's the most pivotal 'undecided' state in the race, so the common wisdom goes.

I've been so indoctrinated that I now find myself repeating the question ad nauseam to those more knowledgeable than I, "well yes, McCain may up in the polls, sure, but..... How's he doing in Ohio?"

And so it goes, as I try to keep my hopes from getting too high in the euphoria of his choice of Sarah Palin as VEEP. We have less than two months to go and anything can, and probably will, happen.

Nevertheless when I received a call tonight from a friend and valued reader in Wyoming who is a native son of Ohio and has a reliable ear to the ground there, I was truly heartened to hear, first hand, that McCain has taken the lead in Ohio and is predicted to win.

"McCain's picking Palin has completely electrified Ohio," he told me. "It's really playing well with women too."

After hanging up, I felt a palpable sigh of relief for the first time in months. Maybe, just maybe, McCain really can win this election.

Right after this conversation I saw this confirming piece on Drudge.

While I don't want to get complacent, I have to think McCain has a real shot at being the next POTUS with Sarah Palin by his side. That seems to me to be very good news.

Without a doubt there will be rough sledding, gaffes, and missteps ahead for all the candidates. However, there's a momentum for McCain/Palin that no one could have ever believed as we watched Obama's closing speech in Denver a week-and-a-half ago.

This has got to be one of the most amazing political turn arounds of all time. And it's far from over.

3 comments:

  1. It's like this... Obama can lose OH, FL, NC and VA and still win the presidency. BUT McCain loses any one of the 4, it will be impossible for him to win.

    Beware of telephone polling. Most young people don not have residential phones these days. It's a cell phone generation that is the future of America.

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  2. Now even I - a formerly barely interested novice in the area - am beginning to study up on what it takes to be elected.

    Anon Pundit says McCain must win OH FL NC and VA. I don't disagree. However, what I am seeing says McCain is already very likely to win FL and NC, and the election will come to to whether McCain can sweep VA OH CO NH. That task seems daunting, yet Palin gives McCain a good chance to sweep those states and win. Of these must wins for McCain, CO seems iffiest.

    I am naturally optimistic about things, which maybe makes me a bad predictor. However, I don't see why McCain can't go ahead and win WI MN MI PA and sweep to a big victory. They are saying Biden guarantees PA for Obama. What? I don't see how Biden guarantees a danged thing in any state.

    But, now I'm just popping off. The experts are more likely to be correct than my popping off. I never expected Kerry to get close to victory.

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  3. Evidently, Obama has a sold out 'performance' soon in Southern Virginia that should be worrisome to McCain....victory is far, far from assured, though McCain is in the game and got the momentum.

    Obama will counter by offering more entitlement 'candy' to the middle class voter. That's more entitlement'candy' as in ask what your country can do for you, the antithesis of Jack Kennedy's 60s' message.

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