Gallup: Americans Credit Military, CIA For Bin Laden's Demise; Obama, Not So Much

Looks like the President has his PR work cut out for him.

He seems to be having trouble getting what you'd think would be default credit for taking down Osama bin Laden.

A new poll shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans give the U.S. military and the CIA a “great deal” of credit for finding and killing terrorist Osama bin Laden, while slightly over one-third give a “great deal” of credit to President Barack Obama for Bin Laden’s demise.

In the USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted on May 2, the day after Osama’s death was announced, Americans were asked, “How much credit do you give each of the following for the actions that led to the U.S. finding and killing Osama bin Laden?”

For those surveyed, 89 percent gave a “great deal” of credit for finding and killing Osama bin Laden to the U.S. military, and 62 percent gave a great deal of credit to the CIA.

Only 35 percent of Americans gave a great deal of credit to President Obama while 22 percent said former President George W. Bush merited a great deal of credit.

“Americans are more reserved in giving credit to President Obama,” stated Gallup in its analysis. “Thirty-five percent say he deserves a great deal of credit and another 36% say he deserves ‘a moderate amount’ of credit. More than a quarter say he does not deserve much or any credit at all.”

Of course, no poll is complete without a handful of utter morons rounding out the sample.

Only 1 percent said the U.S. military deserved “not much” credit and also “none at all.”

I wonder if those were Media Matters staffers.

Unfortunately That 17% Are All Presidential Advisers

Only 17 percent of Americans see President Barack Obama as a strong and decisive military leader, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken after the United States and its allies began bombing Libya.

I was tired of all the golfing pictures so I thought I would remind you what a terrific bowler he was.

Oh what the hell. While I am at it why not post the video of Barry O being locked out of the White House.

Confidence in Government at Lowest Level Since Carter

Certainly nobody is happier that Obama is president then Jimmy Carter, who was formerly the Worst President in American history. While ABC does it's best to spin this all as negative news for the Republicans, mostly through a series of comparisons based on the manner of sure, Obama is bad but the Republicans are still polling badly. Wherever possible they conveniently leave out just who was the party in power when things such as the rating of Congress went into the tank.

Congress overall, meanwhile, is laboring under just a 27 percent approval rating; it's received less than 30 percent approval continuously since July 2008, its longest run that low in polling data since 1974.

For their part the Republicans, as noted, are seen as having a stronger leadership role in Washington, at 46 percent to Obama's 39 percent.

C'mon, admit it: 27% is pretty damn good for a Congress that under Democrat control was polling in the teens. Things won't change overnight, but the Republicans have got to show leadership, not just talk about it. Once again, notice that those historic lows go back to when Carter was president. I don't recall articles saying the Democrat Congress was laboring under its 16% approval when Nancy was in charge.

I went to the supporting poll data for this report and (snicker, snicker) found out that the numbers on Congressional approval for the year 2009 were completely missing. It may surprise you to discover that apparently we had no Congress from July 13 2008 to March 26, 2010.

There are still substantial negatives for the president. In addition to his 55 percent disapproval on the economy and the deficit, just 28 percent of Americans say they think the economic stimulus package actually helped the economy, the fewest to say so since June 2009. It's a central and sharp criticism of a president elected above all to turn the economy around.

Really? They think Obama was elected to turn the economy around? He was and always will be the American Idol of politics. He was elected for giving good speeches and tapping into a vein of white guilt.

The link to the poll is contained in the article but in case you want to look, here you go.

64% Say America on the Wrong Track

Ouch. In poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos 64% of Americans polled say America is on the wrong track since TOTUS took office and began scratching golf courses off of his bucket list. As with all of these right track/wrong track poll they don't include any indication of what the right track is considered. The pollsters also blame it on the rise in gas prices. Convenient bogeyman, but this is the result of the cumulative effect of everything that has transpired since the Obama-led Democrats seized power and engaged in an orgy of spending and ignoring the voices of the people. That number also probably also reflects everyone who at one time or another has been named to Obama's worst person list.

CNN Figures Out New Way To Skew a Poll

CNN has come up with an ingenious way of skewing a poll in favor of the Democrats without having to state that they oversampled Democrats. Of course I am racist for pointing this out.
Interviews with 1,160 adult Americans, including an oversample of African-Americans, conducted by telephone by Opinion Research Corporation on December 16-20, 2009.

They trumpet their results with this headline:

CNN Poll: More Americans think Democratic policies better than Republican

This is what is referred to as a double fail safe method. They don't have to state they oversampled Democrats, but who in their right mind doesn't know who the majority of blacks owe their allegiance to? Couple that with the loyalty to what is considered as the first African-American president and how do they think the damn poll would come out?

This question and the results should dispel all doubts.

10. Do you think the policies being proposed by the Democratic leaders in the U.S. House and Senate would move the country in the right direction or the wrong direction? December 16-20, 2009
Right Direction Wrong Direction No Opinion
Total 51% 46% 3%
Blacks 82% 16% 3%
Whites 42% 53% 4%

CNN has become a parody of themselves and a disgrace to the journalism profession. What a joke our media has become.

Of course with liberals it is all about race though.

Republicans, Independents, Have Higher Political IQ Then Democrats

I know, I know. How is this possible? Aren't we constantly being told that Republicans are nothing more then knuckle-dragging Neanderthals? Well according to this Pew Research study it seems the lowest scores when it comes to political matters are the Democrats.

Click To Enlarge

Majority Say America Is On The Wrong Track

The results of a Wall St Journal/NBC poll taken last week for a lot of us just states the obvious. I have no doubt CNN will be able to recast the questions to get a more favorable outcome or the NY Times can up their sampling size of Democrats to around 85% and give a different finding.

Fifty-two percent say the country is on the wrong track compared to 36 percent who say it is headed in the right direction with 9 percent saying conditions are mixed and 3 percent undecided. While there have been pluralities saying the U.S. is on the wrong track in four of the previous five WSJ/NBC polls during Obama's presidency, this is the first time the number broke 50 percent. The one month where that was not true was April when 43 percent said things were on the right track and an equal number said they were going in the opposite direction.

And yet he still enjoys a 51% job approval rating. Which, I guess if you are good at compartmentalizing, is conceivable since the path this country is headed on is being spearheaded by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and their progressive brethren in the congress.

The thing is Barry O is no leader. He won't lead his liberal congress, he won't take the lead in outlining and defining any sort of strategy in Afghanistan, and he damn sure can't lead this country out of it's economic woes. He got the job and the only thing he seems capable of doing is making more campaign speeches and attending fundraisers. Several times Democrat leaders in the congress have looked to him for some sort of guidance on the health care issue only to find out he is either giving another speech to some union chapter in the Midwest or teeing it up with his political cronies somewhere.

Of course all of this was foretold in the run up to the election and was apparent to those willing to listen. For a lot of us the best we could hope for is that he would surround himself with some halfway competent advisors who could give the appearance he was leading the country while pulling the strings in the background. Unfortunately those closest to him also know nothing about how to govern but rather are all excellent campaign managers.

There is no telling when the adults will once again be in control and given the way the Republican party is acting they too seem more enamored with the election process then what the actual effect of winning an election means.

Why couldn't you people have voted for Fred!?

UPDATE: Here is the link to the full poll and for those that are curious the sampling percentage of Democrat/Republican is 43% Dems and 31% Republican and 17% who were strictly Independent.

They asked a lot of other questions covering the gamut from climate change to political figures.

Christie Maintains Big Lead on Corzine

As we approach the fall and opposition to Democrats and Barack Obama swells nationwide, all eyes will be focused on the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia. Here in New Jersey, despite a recent visit by Obama, GOP challenger Chris Christie continues to hold a solid lead on incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine, according to the Monmouth University poll.

Voters downcast about New Jersey's economic picture appear willing to take a chance on a gubernatorial candidate with limited background in fiscal management, according to a Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey statewide poll released today.

GOP hopeful Chris Christie widened his lead to 14 percentage points over Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine. Christie leads 50 percent to 36 percent among likely voters. Last month, the results were 45 percent to 37 percent. The election is Nov. 3.

Independent Chris Daggett weighed in at 4 percent.

Christie, the former U.S. attorney for New Jersey, led Corzine in areas of key concern, including property taxes and the state budget.

Likely voters polled said that the Republican, by a margin of 50 percent to 28 percent, would do a better job on property taxes than Corzine. Those polled also said Christie would do a better job managing the state budget, 50 percent to 30 percent.

Christie increased his support from some traditionally Democratic voters, including union workers. He now holds a 48 percent to 30 percent lead among registered voters over the governor in union households, including a 47 percent to 37 percent advantage among teachers.

Christie is drawing closer to Corzine for state government worker support, with 43 percent backing Corzine and 40 percent supporting the challenger.

"There's a general lack of enthusiasm for Jon Corzine," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, West Long Branch. "The union workers are unhappy with the economic malaise here in New Jersey."

It's rather significant that a Republican holds such a sizable lead among union members and could bode well for the GOP nationwide as they seek to attract blue-collar Reagan Democrats.

Corzine, despite a massive onslaught of radio and television ads, just cannot gain any traction, although you can expect it to get even nastier than it's already been.

“The Corzine campaign strategy so far has been to go extremely negative on Christie in order to slowly chip away at the former U.S. Attorney’s reputation on ethics. Even in the wake of last week’s corruption busts, for which Christie can take some credit, this slow bleed on his unfavorable ratings has not abated,” said Murray. “However, the Republican has been able to make gains in voters’ choice because New Jerseyans have grown more negative about the job their current governor is doing.”

The poll shows that President Barack Obama’s visit last month helped bolster Corzine’s support from minority voters, bringing his black and Hispanic support to 65% from 50% last month. But Christie is making serious inroads in other crucial groups, leading 48% to 30% in union households, 47% to 37% among teachers and coming close – 40% to Corzine’s 43% -- among state government workers. Those are huge gains from Monmouth’s poll last month.

When it comes time for Christie's inevitable ad blitz, focusing on Democrat corruptions and tying it around Corzine's neck will no doubt help with independents and expect Republican turnout to be huge this year as dissatisfaction with Washington Democrats increases.

While the race here will likely tighten come the fall, it's looking like a GOP sweep in Virginia. It'll be rather amusing to see how Obama's media lackeys spin these potential losses, especially when you consider even Virginia Democrats are starting to bail.

McCain Within 1.1 in IBD/TIPP Poll

Anyone sense momentum with McCain?

McCain has cut into Obama's lead for a second day and is now just 1.1 points behind. The spread was 3.7 Wednesday and 6.0 Tuesday. The Republican is making headway with middle- and working- class voters, and has surged 10 points in two days among those earning between $30,000 and $75,000. He has also gone from an 11-point deficit to a 9-point lead among Catholics.

Oh, and by the way, look at their track record.

An analysis of Final Certified Results for the 2004 election showed IBD's polling partner, TIPP, was the most accurate pollster of the campaign season.

Curious how we've been hearing about this huge wave of support for Obama among young voters.

Then how do you explain McCain having a 74-22% advantage among those 18-24? It's asterisked due to a small small sample, but still, that's one heck of an advantage.

Something is going on here when you have this poll at 1.1 points and this Zogby poll at 10 points.

A full look at the wildly fluctuating numbers here.

AP Calls Switzerland and France for Obama

How inane can you get?

If the world beyond America's shores had a say, it seems clear that Barack Obama would win the presidential election by something approaching a landslide.

That is the key finding of a coordinated series of newspaper polls conducted in eight countries and published Friday in Britain's Guardian and other papers.

It is no surprise Obama, the Democratic nominee, is popular in Europe—that was clear when he drew tumultuous crowds to his open-air speech in Berlin this summer—but the scope of the lead suggested by the polls is startling.

In Switzerland, for example, Obama has 83 percent support to John McCain's 7 percent; in Britain, 64 percent to McCain's 15 percent, and in France, 69 percent to McCain's 5 percent. The closest they get is in Poland, where Obama has 43 percent and McCain 26 percent.

Keep it up, please. Reminding people how loved Obama is in France and Switzerland is sure to backfire. Seems to me if the AP needs to shore up Obama's European flank, there must be problems.

Which leads us to this breathtaking bias, they add this.

McCain's support in the United States also seems to be fading. A new AP-Yahoo News poll of likely voters, conducted this month by Knowledge Networks, shows that only 5 percent more people view him favorably compared with unfavorably, a 16-point drop from polls take in mid-September.

Just one little problem with that poll. It's of 873 Democrats and 650 Republicans and shows Obama leading only 44-42%.

Meanwhile, Gallup's likely voters numbers are 49-47%. So how exactly is McCain fading while he's gaining? This they do not explain.

Media Declares Race Over as McCain Creeps Within Four Points

Ten days ago Barack Obama led by eight points in the Rasmussen poll but John McCain is now within four points the past two days. So why the great urgency by media pundits to declare the race over?

Are they worried?

You bet they are.

Sure, there's 18 days to go and the RCP average is 6.6 points, but with Gallup likely voters at two points, why on earth would anyone pay off bets on Obama already? Probably because he's listening to the "experts" who've been notoriously wrong in the past.

"I don't see how this one can be turned around, frankly," said presidential historian Stephen Hess.

Uh, Mr. Hess, maybe Obama committed a fatal blunder by revealing he's a socialist.

No. Really. You're kidding me. Barack Obama actually told that Joe the Plumber guy that he wants to "spread the wealth around." What, did Obama just get done reading the Wikipedia entry on Huey "Share the Wealth" Long or something? Was he somehow channeling that left-wing populist from the Depression? Talk about playing into the most extreme stereotype of your party, that it is infested with socialists.

A while back I chatted with a University of Chicago professor who was a frequent lunch companion of Obama's. This professor said that Obama was as close to a full-out Marxist as anyone who has ever run for president of the United States. Now, I tend to quickly dismiss that kind of talk as way over the top. My working assumption is that Obama is firmly within the mainstream of Democratic politics. But if he is as free with that sort of redistributive philosophy in private as he was on the campaign trail this week, I have no doubt that U of C professor really does figure him as a radical. And after last night's debate, a few more Americans might think that way, too. McCain's best line: "Now, of all times in America, we need to cut people's taxes. We need to encourage business, create jobs, not spread the wealth around."

And by the way, I just noticed that the IBD/TIPP poll, the most accurate in 2004, has McCain down by just 3 points. If the contest is perceived by the voters as a contest between a wealth redistributor and a wealth creator, then it could be a long night come Nov. 4. This is still a center-right country, gang.

Indeed, IBD/TIPP was the most accurate pollster in 2004 and has it at three points.

Why should we listen to the liberal media, which wants nothing more than to depress turnout among Republicans?

I suspect the Obama camp realizes what a disastrous move Obama made revealing his true socialist self.

Why else would they be on such a vicious smear campaign against a guy Obama approached for a photo op? The uglier the attacks become against Joe Wurzelbacher, the more independents and blue-collar Democrats will recoil at such tactics.

The polling outfits are all using different samples, but look for them to become more realistic as we approach November 4.

Does McCain have his work cut out for him? Sure does. But declaring a winner with this much time left on the clock is a dangerous game, especially when all that supposed advantage in newly-registered voters now looks very suspicious. Speaking of suspicious, be very wary of this report. Smells like a diversion.

Just think of all those baseball fans last night who went to sleep knowing the Tampa Bay Rays were already in the World Series.

Nothing like knowing the winner before the game is over.

National Polls Tighten Up a Bit

Let's look at the bright side: At least McCain has stopped the freefall. When we started seeing Gallup in double digits, I figured it was going to get ugly. It still might, but all those projections of landslides may have been a wee bit premature.

So today we have Rasmussen showing Obama up by five at 50-45. This has been up to eight a few days ago. Still, McCain has been stuck at 45% or less for three weeks and is going to need a boost to make up the difference. A strong showing at tomorrow's debate would be a good place to start.

While Gallup Sunday reported the race at 50-43, the likely voters has it at 50-46, almost identical to Rasmussen. Again, at least some signs of life for McCain.

Meanwhile, today's Zogby poll has it 48-44 for Obama.

Democratic Party presidential nominee Barack Obama slipped back into a statistical dead heat with Republican Party nominee John McCain, but still holds the advantage over McCain, the latest Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby likely voter poll shows.

In this latest report, McCain gained eight-tenths of a point, while Obama lost one full point.

While the worldwide economic system underwent dramatic turmoil last week, the poll shows the presidential race remarkably unchanged overall at the end of the first full week of daily tracking. Through the week, Obama has always held a small lead, as large as 6.1 points (on Saturday) and as little as 1.9 points (last Wednesday).

The Washington Post-ABC News poll has been so erratic of late with it's odd weighting, that it's completely unreliable now and is way out of proportion with the others noted above.

Now, I guess it's never too late for McCain to unveil his comeback speech. In the end, it may not matter. The media will simply scour the audience for someone saying something stupid and that will become the news. I have to figure by now Obama's people must be rushing to McCain events to do some astro-turfing and blurt out something incendiary that the media can run with.

Forget Obama supporters doing stupid things. The media doesn't have any interest for the most part, although some idiotic comments filter through.

Several Republican attendees complained of the protesters' vulgarity, especially in light of recent criticism of the behavior of people at McCain-Palin rallies.

Outside on Broad Street, waiting for Palin to leave, one man was heard saying: "Let's stone her, old school."

Another protester shouted at someone entering the hotel, "Wait till your daughter wants an abortion, you hypocrite."

Lovely.

Gateway Pundit has more on the angry left.

Media Talking Up a Depression

I thought it was bad enough a mere week ago when 33% polled though we were already in a depression. Now come these numbers claiming 6 in 10 think it's very or somewhat likely we'll be in one soon.

Based on the relentless doom and gloom, frankly I'm surprised it isn't higher.

A new national poll suggests that six in ten Americans think another depression is likely.

In a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll out Monday afternoon, 59 percent of those questioned say that its very or somewhat likely that another depression could occur in the United States. Four in ten Americans say it not likely another depression will occur.

The country went through a decade long depression following the stock market crash of 1929, in which roughly one out of four workers were unemployed, banks failed across the country, and millions of ordinary Americans were temporarily homeless or unable to feed their families.

Eight in ten of those polled say things are going badly in the country today and 84 percent rate the economic conditions as poor.

"The question on how things are going in the country is the longest trend on the public's mood in polling history, and in 34 years, Americans have never had such a negative view," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "That 20% mark is an all-time low the makes the mood of the country worse today than it was during Watergate, the Iran hostage crisis, or the aftermath of 9/11."

If you aren't already depressed yourself, skim through the comments there. Then read this.

After an early plunge of 800 points today, the Dow rallied to close down 370, marking the first time below 10,000 in four years.

Depressing, isn't it?

Poll Stunner: Military Overwhelmingly Supports McCain

No surprise, of course, but you'll be happy to note there's also a racial divide here. I mean, how could a story about this election go by without the ubiquitous mention of race?

Sen. John McCain enjoys overwhelming support from the military’s professional core, though race appears to be a decisive factor for career-oriented black service members, a Military Times survey of nearly 4,300 readers indicates.

McCain, R-Ariz., handily defeated Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., 68 percent to 23 percent in a voluntary survey of 4,293 active-duty, National Guard and reserve subscribers and former subscribers to Army Times, Navy Times, Marine Corps Times and Air Force Times.

The results of the Military Times 2008 Election Poll are not representative of the opinions of the military as a whole. The group surveyed is older, more senior in rank and less ethnically diverse than the overall armed services.

But as a snapshot of careerists, the results suggest Democrats have gained little ground in their attempts to appeal to a traditionally Republican voting bloc in campaign messages and legislative

“The military has been perceived as a conservative Republican institution,” said Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University and a special adviser to the National Security Council from 2005 to 2007.

“A lot of people thought that eight years of frustration with the Bush administration was going to undermine that,” he said. “This evidence suggests that it hasn’t undermined it as much as they thought, at least not yet.”

Officers and enlisted troops, active-duty members and reservists, those who have served in combat and those who haven’t, all backed McCain by large margins, to about the same extent they supported President Bush four years ago.

About 69 percent of respondents said they voted for Bush in 2004, while about 16 percent voted for the Democratic nominee, Sen. John Kerry.

McCain’s majority wanes among women and disappears altogether among black respondents.

But that's not racist, of course. How dare you even suggest that!

Well, that's about it on good poll numbers for McCain. See here for a summary of all the others.

There's The Optimistic American Spirit: 33% Think We're Already in a Depression

In some ways I can't blame this reaction, especially when you have the Democrats and media pounding into their heads nonstop that we're all going down the tubes. But what does it tell you about the level of ignorance when we've not even been in a recession for seven years that a third of the country believes we're in a depression?

As people on Wall Street and Main Street hold their breath to see if a federal bailout of the nation's financial institutions will work, Americans are starting to speak — not whisper — the word "depression."

In a sign that anxiety is growing, 33% of 1,011 adults surveyed over the weekend by USA TODAY and Gallup said the economy already is in a depression (though by economists' measures it is not). Just 12% said that 10 months ago.

"From the working people's point of view, we're losing jobs and have rising unemployment," says Charles Dooley, 64, of Audubon, N.J., who delivers newspapers for The Philadelphia Inquirer. "Yes, I think we're in a depression."

Seventy-three percent said U.S. financial troubles will get worse before they get better. They expect their taxes to go up, and many worry about affording retirement or maintaining their standard of living. Nearly half worry about their homes losing value; 20% are seriously looking at taking money out of the stock market.

So a third of the country thinks we're in a depression and expect taxes to go up. Yet they're ready to give the Democrats control of the White House, Congress and the Senate simultaneously, which likely will fulfill their prophecy.

Instapundit links. Thanks! Thanks also to Hot Air for the link.

Obama Now Up Two in Rasmussen Poll; Battleground Has McCain Up Two

Barack Obama now has a lead larger than a single point for the first time in two weeks according to the latest Rasmussen poll. A Washington Post-ABC News poll shows him with (gasp!) a nine-point edge, driven primarily by economic fears. Meanwhile, the latest Battleground numbers have McCain up by two points. Naturally, expect the WaPo-ABC poll to get all the attention. But as Ed Morrissey notes, it's a rather dubious sample.

Shocking!

Why on earth voters would trust Obama on economic issues is a mystery considering how Democrats created the financial crisis.

I suspect why. Because the media is just not reporting the facts as they are and have basically become a propaganda arm for the Democrat party, according to this analysis. It's a sad reality, depressing as it is.

The mainstream media ruthlessly and endlessly repeat any McCain gaffes while ignoring Obama gaffes. You have to go to weird little Web sites to see all the stammering and stuttering that Obama needs before getting out a sentence fragment or two. But all you see on the networks is an eventually clear sentence from Obama. You don't see Obama's ludicrous gaffe that Iran is a tiny country and no threat to us. Nor his 57 American states gaffe. Nor his forgetting, if he ever knew, that Russia has a veto in the U.N. Nor his whining and puerile "come on" when he is being challenged. This is the kind of editing one would expect from Goebbels' disciples, not Cronkite's.

More appalling, a skit on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" last weekend suggested that Gov. Palin's husband had sex with his own daughters. That show was written with the assistance of Al Franken, Democratic Party candidate in Minnesota for the U.S. Senate. Talk about incest.

But worse than all the unfair and distorted reporting and image projecting are the shocking gaps in Obama's life that are not reported at all. The major media simply have not reported on Obama's two years at New York's Columbia University, where, among other things, he lived a mere quarter-mile from former terrorist Bill Ayers. Later, they both ended up as neighbors and associates in Chicago. Obama denies more than a passing relationship with Ayers. Should the media be curious? In only two weeks, the media have focused on all the colleges Gov. Palin has attended, her husband's driving habits 20 years ago, and the close criticism of the political opponents Gov. Palin had when she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.

But in two years, they haven't bothered to see how close Obama was with the terrorist Ayers.

Nor have the media paid any serious attention to Obama's rise in Chicago politics. How did honest Obama rise in the famously sordid Chicago political machine with the full support of Boss Daley? Despite the great -- and unflattering -- details on Obama's Chicago years presented in David Freddoso's new book on Obama, the mainstream media continue to ignore both the facts and the book. It took a British publication, The Economist, to give Freddoso's book a review with fair comment.

The public image of Obama as an idealistic, post-race, post-partisan, well-spoken and honest young man with the wisdom and courage befitting a great national leader is a confection spun by a willing conspiracy of Obama, his publicist (David Axelrod) and most of the senior editors, producers and reporters of the national media.

Spot on, although I take umbrage with being called a weird little Web site.

Alternate Reality Headline of the Day: 'McCain, Obama tied in opinion polls'

While technically true based on the first polls they cite, it's more than a bit misleading to pretend Barack Obama is still tied with John McCain in the polls, when all one needs to do is average them out and you have McCain with a fairly significant lead.

Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are dead even in two public opinion polls released on Monday as they head into the final eight weeks of the race for the White House.

The polls were taken Friday through Sunday after last week's Republican convention, which ended on Thursday. A CNN/Time poll showed the race deadlocked at 48 percent, and a Hotline/Diageo poll put the two candidates even at 44 percent.

So Reuters takes the two polls they can find that offer a glimmer of hope to Obama and give those priority over the other three polls showing huge swings the past week. And in one of the two McCain made up nine points in a week.

The CNN/Time poll was largely unchanged from the previous week, when Obama led McCain by 49 percent to 48 percent. The Hotline poll showed a significant convention bounce for McCain, who trailed Obama by 9 percentage points in a poll taken the week before.

Further evidence of how misleading they are is the latest Gallup numbers today showing McCain with a 49-44% advantage, a 13-point swing in one week. Gallup is also being a bit disingenuous by saying McCain got a six-point bounce from the GOP convention. If you look at their numbers, it was 50-42% Obama six days ago. They say McCain was at 43% at the outset of the GOP convention. But that was last Monday, just as everyone was fretting over Hurricane Gustav and talking about postponing the convention (man, how disastrous would that have been?).

Poll Shock: McCain Up 10 Among Likely Voters

Who's panicking more today? New England Patriot fans or Democrats?

It may be a tossup.

The Patriots at least will be playing past the first week of November, by which time Barack Obama may be a historical footnote.

In the new poll, taken Friday through Sunday, McCain leads Obama by 54%-44% among those seen as most likely to vote. The survey of 1,022 adults, including 959 registered voters, has a margin of error of +/— 3 points for both samples.

Assorted reaction here.

McCain Surges in Gallup Poll, Now Up 48-45%

The media will do their best to downplay the stunning reversal in numbers from just a week ago, when Obama led 50-42%. An 11-point swing in one week?

Palin-mania, baby!

The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update shows John McCain moving ahead of Barack Obama, 48% to 45%, when registered voters are asked for whom they would vote if the presidential election were held today.

These results are based on Sept. 4-6 interviewing, and include two full days of polling after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention last Thursday night. McCain has outpolled Obama on both Friday and Saturday, and is receiving a convention bounce just as Obama did last week.
...
McCain's 48% share of the vote ties for his largest since Gallup tracking began in early March. He registered the same level of support in early May. This is also McCain's largest advantage over Obama since early May, when he led by as much as six percentage points.

Rasmussen now has it tied, also showing a significant uptick for McCain.

I detect a trend.

You just know the left is freaking out over this. Obama's media and blog handmaidens' relentless and vicious attacks on Sarah Palin clearly have backfired, which will only make them more desperate.

It should be something to behold.

No Way, No How, No Bounce

Dude, where's Obama's poll bounce? Sure, maybe it'll materialize eventually, but so far nothing.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows Barack Obama and John McCain each attracting 44% of the vote for the second straight day. When "leaners" are included, though, McCain picked up another point since yesterday and now has a statistically insignificant one-point advantage over Obama, 47% to 46%.

This is the first time since August 9 that McCain has held any advantage over Obama. The candidates have been within two points of each other on every day but two for the past month.
...
On a partisan basis, 82% of Republican voters say America is winning the War on Terror, just 34% of Democrats agree.

What do those numbers show you?

In other grim news for Democrats, 54% of Americans now think we're winning the war on terror.

In an related unscientific poll conducted by JWF Associates, 100% of the the tattered remnants of Al Qaeda also believe the United States is winning, while 99% of the media is praying for defeat.