It's one thing for non-traditional outlets to point out the potential debacle facing the McCain campaign. But, when one of the establishment voices makes the point, it's a sign where the momentum is. The Wall Street Journal will have a piece out tomorrow whose headline is "In Virginia, McCain Struggles to Hold the South for GOP".
The piece is on the website now. Here are the key grafs. First, Virginia:
But in the past week, polls began showing Sen. McCain falling well behind Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama in the state. Two weeks ago, Sen. Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, held a rally in Prince William County, Va., long a conservative stronghold in a state that has voted for only one Democratic presidential nominee since 1948. The Democrats drew more than 20,000 people, many of whom waited an hour in a torrential downpour and lightning before the candidates arrived.[emphasis added]
It's going way beyond Virginia:
The political fundamentals in Virginia are also tightening contests in other southern states, such as North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi.
In North Carolina, Sen. Obama had surged five points during the past month and overtaken Sen. McCain as of Oct. 6, according to an average of polls compiled by RealClear Politics, whose Web site aggregates poll findings. Another poll showed Gov. Palin's approval ratings in the state plummeting 11 points during the past three weeks. Newly registered Democrats in the state outnumber Republican registrants by 6-to-1. Blacks and Hispanics made up half of the nearly 400,000 new voters.
And between the Obama campaign's decision to spread its wings and the Dean 50-state strategy, the Journal sees the Democratic wave building:
Even in states where Sen. Obama's chances of outright winning remain doubtful, his decision to continue campaigning in many of them is narrowing Sen. McCain's leads and bolstering the prospects of Democrats in down-ticket races for governorships and the U.S. Senate.
In early balloting in Georgia, African-Americans made up 39% of more than 369,500 voters, despite constituting only 29% of the electorate.
Partly powered by African-American votes, Jim Martin, the once long-shot Democratic challenger to Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss, has pulled from 15 points behind to a dead heat in recent polling. Sen. Obama himself has closed Sen. McCain's double-digit lead in Georgia to seven points.
Former Mississippi Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove now trails just two points behind Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, who was appointed to the seat this year after Sen. Trent Lott resigned.
Senate seats in Georgia and Mississippi? Huh.
This article simply confirms some of the data that has been on this site before. But, I think it's interesting that a stalwart of the ruling class is confirming what many have argued for some time.
A landslide? Filibuster-proof Senate?