Now My Advice to Those Who Die...

While John McCain has made some effort to claim the mantle of the Reagan legacy, he hasn't done much of anything to sell Americans on the idea. The dummies running McCain's campaign have sat still and allowed Barack, the big government liberal who will surely expand the size of government if elected, to become the choice of those who want lower taxes.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of Obama's tax cut promise to his current lead in the polls. Thirty-one percent (31%) of voters now believe that their taxes will go down if Obama is elected. Only 11% believe that will happen if McCain wins (see crosstabs). Obama has made remarkable progress on this issue in recent months. In August, only 9% believed Obama would cut their taxes.

Which explains why McCain has made some inroads with Joe the Plumber driven economic talk. Joe's conversation with the Democratic nominee, caught on tape for the world to behold, outed Barack as the tax and spend, spread the wealth liberal that he is. McCain has been wise to capitalize.

Thirty-seven percent (37%) believe their taxes will go up in an Obama Administration while 26% say the same about McCain.

This could be the biggest brand theft in American political history - all accomplished with a simple twist of the standard Democratic promise of higher taxes. Barack's pledge - I'm going to raise taxes, just not yours. The Dems have done a good job playing class warfare through the Bush years, and Barack is collecting the payoff.

Nearly a third of voters say they have already cast their ballot and Obama leads by nine among this group. Obama also has a similar lead among the small group who have not voted but still plan to vote early. The candidates are essentially even among those who plan to vote on Tuesday.

The Rasmussen tracker shows Barack up 5%, failing to confirm the surprising results obtained by Zogby yesterday.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows Barack Obama with 51% of the vote, John McCain with 46%. The race continues to remain remarkably stable at the national level--this is the 37th straight day that Obama’s support has been between 50% and 52% (see trends).

Now my advice for those who die, (Taxman!)
Declare the pennies on your eyes, (Taxman!)
‘Cos I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
And you’re working for no-one but me,
(Taxman).

Breakdown

Look at how voters view the candidates on the major issues as revealed in the latest Rasmussen daily tracking poll. Barack leads significantly only on the environment and healthcare, while McCain leads bigtime on national security, the war in Iraq, immigration, taxes and abortion. Barack is trusted more only on 4 of these 14 major issues. Do you feel you've gotten a good sense of this from media coverage?

McCain-Obama: Trust on Issues	McCain	Obama	Links
Economy	45%	44%	C, T
National Security	51%	40%	C, T
Energy	46%	42%	C, T
Ethics	44%	46%	C, T
Iraq	51%	39%	C, T
Immigration	45%	36%	C, T
Environment	40%	48%	C, T
Balance Federal Budget	43%	40%	C, T
Negotiate Trade Agreements	45%	40%	C, T
Taxes	47%	40%	C, T
Social Security	44%	38%	C, T
Healthcare	41%	46%	C, T
Education	39%	43%	C, T
Abortion	40%	34%	C, T

By the way, Barack leads by two points in the poll.