Obama Surge gives McCain the jitters

[questionmark 11,371]

October 17, 2008

Barack Obama surge gives John McCain the jitters

The Republicans have been panicked into defending several states they had taken for granted previously.

Barack Obama is drawing up plans for an audacious final push deep into the Republican heartland to force John McCain to spend valuable time and money defending states that were not considered potentially vulnerable even a few weeks ago.

After Mr McCain failed to change the dynamic of the race during the final presidential debate on Wednesday night, he faces an electoral map today with a harsh reality: he must now win virtually all of the eight “toss-up states” on election night to eke out victory. Mr Obama, riding a surge of momentum courtesy of voter concern over the economy, needs to win only one to enter the White House.

With the race now tilted significantly in Mr Obama’s favour, the mood of voters is so volatile amid the economic turmoil that polls have even begun to narrow in such reliably Republican states as Arkansas and Kentucky. The Democratic candidate is due to run advertising in West Virginia, which President Bush won by 13 points in 2004 but where the ground has shifted towards him in recent days.

Democratic strategists said that Mr Obama was also considering pouring money back into North Dakota and Georgia, two heavily Republican states that he abandoned this year when they appeared out of reach.

Mr Obama cautioned his supporters yesterday against preelection hubris, invoking his surprise loss in the New Hampshire primary against Hillary Clinton in January that threatened to derail his campaign after his opening victory in the Iowa caucuses a few days earlier. “For those of you who are feeling giddy or cocky or think this is all set, I just have two words for you: New Hampshire,” Mr Obama told donors at a Manhattan fundraising breakfast. “I’ve been in these positions before when we were favoured, and the press starts getting carried away and we end up getting spanked.”

Most pollsters predict that the race will tighten as election day draws nearer. Karl Rove, Mr Bush’s former chief strategist, wrote yesterday that “the outcome of the race isn’t cast in stone yet”, mainly because nearly half of voters still do not believe that Mr Obama is qualified to be president.

Full story, source: The Times

[Nxt2Hvn 6]

Obama winning the election gives me the jitters

**couldn't help myself ... in a silly mood today***

(Hey whats up 3 toes?)