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BALTIMORE -- The latest Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies poll shows that Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley is currently ahead of former Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich, but his lead has steadily dwindled. According to the poll that surveyed likely voters earlier this month, 47 percent said they would vote for O'Malley and 42 percent said they would support Ehrlich, while 6 percent were undecided. The poll also gave the governor a 48 percent approval rating. The last three polls found O'Malley's lead dwindling from 11 percent to 8 percent. Currently, the most recent Gonzales poll gives O'Malley a five-point advantage. The...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 27% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-eight percent (38%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -11 (see trends). -snip- Overall, 48% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Fifty-one percent (51%) disapprove.

Republican Robert F. McDonnell has now opened a 13-point lead over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds with less than a week to go in the race for governor of Virginia. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state - taken last night just after President Obama made a campaign appearance for Deeds in the state - shows McDonnell ahead 54% to 41%. Only four percent (4%) remain undecided. Earlier this month, McDonnell led by seven, and last month he was up by nine. [snip] Among those likely to vote, 49% approve of the way Obama has handled his job as...

Featured Term (selected at random): CHANCEL That part of the choir near the altar of a church, where the clergy officiate in liturgical ceremonies. The name comes from cancellus, the screen that formerly divided the choir from the nave. (Etym. Latin cancellus, a screen.) All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Polling this week in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia shows that Barack Obama has gained a net 3 to 5 percentage points in each state compared to the previous Fox News/ Rasmussen Reports poll. In Pennsylvania, Obama now leads by eight percentage points, 50% to 42%. In Virginia, it’s Obama 50% and McCain 47%. The candidates are within a single point of each other in Colorado (Obama 49%, McCain 48%), Florida (Obama 47%, McCain 47%), and Ohio (McCain 48% Obama 47%).

Rasmussen Reports conducted five state telephone surveys in partnership with Fox News Channel on September 7, 2008. The surveys were conducted in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. A total of 500 Likely Voters were interviewed in each state using the Rasmussen Reports automated telephone survey methodology (see www.RasmussenReports.com for details). The margin of sampling error for the full sample in each state poll is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Caution should be used in interpreting subsets of the data as such results will have an even larger margin of sampling error. It is anticipated...

Indiana is one of the most reliably Republican states in the nation, but it also neighbors Barack Obama’s home state of Illinois. Hoosiers still prefer Republican John McCain... The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state shows McCain attracting 46% of the vote while Obama earns 42%. When “leaners” are included, it's McCain by six, 49% to 43%. Leaners are survey participants who initially indicate no preference for either major candidate but indicate that they are leaning towards either McCain or Obama. McCain is viewed favorably by 65% of Indiana voters, Obama by 52%.

AIDE'S MISTAKE REVEALS OBAMA'S VP PICK EARLY (PULLED FROM CNN) It's Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana. Original link is dead. This is a screenshot courtesy of roses of sharon.

100 meter butterfly. Just happened a few minutes ago in Beijing. He beat the 2nd place slot by 1/100th of a second!!

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign issued the following statement from McCain 2008 Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker in defense of Barack Obama's energy positions: "Senator Obama's stance on offshore oil drilling has been mischaracterized. He has not changed his position. He has continually campaigned against additional drilling, calling the policy a 'gimmick' saying it was a 'scheme' and ridiculing those who support it. With his steadfast opposition to John McCain's 'all of the above' approach to our energy crisis, Americans should know that Barack Obama remains opposed to additional domestic oil drilling. Speaker Pelosi, MoveOn.org and the...

POLL QUESTION for my fellow FReepers: If John McCain picks Mitt Romney as his vice presidential nominee, will it make you more likely or less likely to vote for McCain? 1. More likely 2. Less likely 3. Neither more nor less likely (Elaborate) 4. Unsure

As retired military officers, we share a natural hesitancy to engage actively in politics. There is a healthy discomfort in our profession with any political involvement because the country rightly depends on our military to support any commander in chief with our best military advice and our actions. But two factors compel us to speak out now and openly support John McCain for President: first, the surprising and inaccurate questioning of his record by some of Senator Obama's leading supporters; and second, the importance to our national security of winning the war we are fighting. The United States is confronted...

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Missouri shows John McCain attracting 47% of the vote while Barack Obama earns 42%. A month ago, the candidates were essentially even. That survey was conducted the night that Obama clinched the Democratic Presidential nomination. McCain had the advantage in earlier surveys. When leaners are included in the current survey, McCain leads Obama 50% to 45%. Leaners are survey participants who initially indicate no preference for either major candidate but indicate that they are leaning towards either McCain or Obama. Including leaners, McCain is supported by 93% of Missouri Republicans and enjoys a...

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today released the following statement from McCain spokesman Brian Rogers concerning Barack Obama's remarks on Iraq: "Since announcing his campaign in 2007, the central premise of Barack Obama's candidacy was his commitment to begin withdrawing American troops from Iraq immediately. He campaigned in Iowa, New Hampshire and across the country reaffirming this pledge to the American people. "Today, Barack Obama reversed that position proving once again that his words do not matter. He has now adopted John McCain's position that we cannot risk the progress we have made in Iraq by...

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in New Hampshire shows Hillary Clinton gaining a bit of ground over the past month while Barack Obama is heading in the opposite direction. The survey also found lingering voter concerns about Obama and his former Pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright. The new Granite State numbers show McCain leading Clinton by three percentage points, 47% to 44%. A month ago, the former First Lady was trailing by six. As for Obama, he now trails McCain by ten percentage points, 51% to 41%. A month ago, he was within three of the presumptive Republican nominee. Two...

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Nevada shows John McCain leading both potential Democratic opponents in the race for the state’s Electoral College. McCain has a five-point edge over Barack Obama, 48% to 43%, and a double digit lead over Hillary Clinton, 49% to 38%. In both match-ups, McCain has a solid lead among men and is essentially even among women. McCain has far more support from Republicans than either Democrat enjoys from their partisan base. These figures reflect a significant improvement for McCain compared to a month ago. At that time, Obama had a four-point advantage over McCain...

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Ohio shows John McCain leading Barack Obama 47% to 40%. He also leads Hillary Clinton 47% to 42%. Last month, McCain led both Democrats by six percentage points. Former Ohio Congressman Rob Portman has been mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential candidate for John McCain. Eleven percent (11%) of the state’s voters say they’d be more likely to support the ticket with Portman on it while 19% hold the opposite view. Republicans are evenly divided. Among unaffiliated voters, 6% would be more likely to vote for McCain with Portman on the ticket and...

McCain 48% Obama 46% McCain 46% Clinton 48% McCain/Rice 49% Obama/Clinton 44% McCain/Rice 49% Clinton/Obama 46% McCain/Lieberman 45% Obama/Clinton 49% McCain/Lieberman 40% Clinton/Obama 53%

John McCain holds statistically insignificant leads over both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in New Jersey. It’s McCain 45%, Clinton 42% and McCain 46%, Obama 45%. This reflects a significant change from a month ago when Clinton held a double-digit lead over McCain. McCain now leads Clinton by twenty-nine points among men in the Garden State. Clinton leads McCain by twenty-one points among women. With Obama as the nominee, the gender gap is smaller—McCain leads by nine among men but trails by seven among women.

While Democrats are still fighting about whether and how Michigan’s delegates will be seated at their party’s national convention, early polling suggests that John McCain could be very competitive in the state when voters go to the polls in November. The latest Rasmussen Reports poll in Michigan shows McCain attracting 43% of the vote when matched against Barack Obama. Obama earns 42% while 8% say they would vote for a third-party candidate and 7% remain undecided. If Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee, it’s McCain 45% Clinton 42%. In that match-up, 10% opt for a third-party candidate while 4% are...