Fox News may be doing its usual spiteful best to act as cheerleader for the Republican party, but in one respect at least it is already acknowledging that McCain is losing this race.
Every Monday for the past few weeks they have released polling out of 5 "battleground" states. But each week that list has changed: and the names which have entered and disappeared from it indicate more clearly than any commentary which way the tide is flowing.
The lists:
September 22: MI, PA, VA, FL, OH
September 29: PA, CO, VA, FL, OH
October 6: CO, VA, FL, OH, MO
October 13*: VA, FL, OH, MO, NC
* - not released yet but the list appears in the
daily tracker
So while the initial polling tried to preserve the illusion that this might be an even race with the battle fought on a mix of red and blue states, for the last two weeks all 5 of the states polled are Bush 04 states.
And while FL and OH are traditional swing states, the addition of VA (from the start), MO (since last week) and today also NC make it crystal clear that the battle is now being waged exclusively on traditionally Republican turf, in some cases in states which McCain would need to win comfortably in order to have any chance of becoming president.
Keep up the good work, Fox. You're spreading the right kind of message to the faithful!