One of the things that has impressed me most about Barack Obama's campaign is its discipline. No matter what the polls say, however up or down they are, they keep fighting as though the score is nothing to nothing and they never change their basic strategy or message.
The polls, well, have been a different story. While John McCain and other Republicans have been hyperventilating about a so-called surge of support, their claims are not supported by polls that show that even their own best efforts are going down to naught.
Take the latest CBS News poll that shows Obama MAINTAINING a 13-point lead nationwide. And there's also the final Gallup-USA Today poll that has Barack up by 11.
More below.
These polls, combined with the latest ABC News-Washington Post poll showing Obama leading by 11, make one wonder why so many reporters are so anxious to treat every fairy tale told by McCain and other Republicans about a tightening race in which McCain is rapidly gaining ground in Pennsylvania.
What race do these scribes think they are covering? Is the McCain campaign so stupid as to think that voters are going to fall for their garbage now after seeing polls for months indicating that voters are fed up of their GOP garbage and their failure to constructively address real issues?
Here's part of the ABC-Washington Post poll piece:
Support for the candidates has run in a narrow band for weeks. Obama’s received 52 to 54 percent support in every ABC/Post poll since Oct. 11; McCain’s been between 43 and 45 percent in that same period. Obama, moreover, hasn’t gone below 50 percent support, nor McCain above 46 percent, since just after the Republican convention.
What part of that observation doesn't the McCain campaign and their allies in the media understand?
Then there's this nugget from the CBS poll story:
As the number of undecided voters has dwindled, so has the number that says their minds can still change. More than nine in 10 of each candidate’s voters now say they have made up their minds about who to vote for and are not likely to change. Just seven percent of Obama voters and 8 percent of McCain voters say they still might change their minds.
So where does the McCain campaign get its stuff about sudden momentum in its favor? Evidentally, it's a desperation attempt to generate enthusiasm with its party base, something the McCain campaign should have been able to accomplish a long time ago.
On the other hand, I love how Obama's campaign has been proactive in battling Republican dirty tricks, whether it's been disinformation and lies about the candidate or attempts to scare and intimidate voters. I sure hope our ground game will do the job on Tuesday and generate the victory we need.