Come off it already.
CNN is continuing its ridiculous effort to maintain some semblance of drama in what by most accounts will be an Obama electoral college and therefore presidential victory by reporting this latest line of bullshit:
McCain is keeping the race close in Ohio.
(CNN) – Pennsylvania may be slipping from John McCain’s grasp, but the Republican nominee is keeping the race close in the neighboring battleground state of Ohio – a state that no successful GOP presidential contender has failed to win.
CNN's new Ohio poll of polls shows Barack Obama leading McCain by three points, 49 to 46 percent. Five percent of the state’s voters were unsure about their presidential pick.
WOW...a three point margin. That's mighty close, huh? Wait a second, though...our guy is still in the lead. In fact he's in the lead in a state that was won by Bush in both 2000 and 2004, so how's that again? McCain is losing by three points in Ohio and he's 'keeping the race close'??
The article continues:
The network’s last Ohio poll of polls, released October 9, showed Obama leading McCain by four points, 50 to 46 percent. In the September 21 poll of polls, Obama led McCain by a single point, 47 to 46 percent.
Okay okay -- now it's crystal clear -- McCain is closing the gap right? Obama led by a point in late September, then he led by four three weeks later, and now THREE DAYS LATER HE LEADS BY THREE AND MCCAIN IS CLOSING THE GAP??? WTF kind of reporting is this? What about the fine print?
The Ohio general election "poll of polls" consists of four surveys: Ohio Newspaper Poll/University of Cincinnati (October 4-8), ARG (October 4-7), CNN/Time/ORC (October 3-6) and ABC/Washington Post (October 3-5). The poll of polls does not have a sampling error.
So what you're telling me you fair minded and forward thinking CNN freaks, is that these polls that you've gone ahead and 'polled' consist of surveys taken at a minimum of 4 days and up to 9 days before October 12th, the day you report the poll? Let's see...what's happened since October 3rd, 2008?
- October 3rd: America reacts to the Biden and Palin debate; McCain abandons Michigan, the House holds its second vote on the $700B bailout bill
- October 7th: the Fed tries to keep its shit together, and audience start hurling racial epithets and death threats against Obama at Palin rallies
- October 8th: Obama wins the second debate while McCain calls Obama 'That One', stock markets continue to plunge worldwide
Now what's happened in the world since this polling data was "polled" together by the brainiacs at CNN, say October 9th and afterwards?
- October 9th: The National Debt Clock runs out of space while the Fed decides to give another US$38B to AIG, Dow falls over seven percent
- October 10th: Stocks plummet across the globe, the Dow continues to drop, closing below 9,000 for the first time in five years, Bush holds emergency "what's the fastest way to get my ass to Paraguay?" meeting
So how relevant is the poll of polls from October 3-9th? Not very it would seem as the world has continued to change at a breakneck pace. And is McCain keeping it any closer in Ohio? I highly doubt it. So do us a favor, CNN. STFU.