[smoothsailing]

Personally I think the Axelrod-Holder intimidation has more to do with Gallup's reporting of employment statistics than it does Romney-Obama polling.

[montanajoe]

It was the debates and in particular the third debate that changes things. Both sides decided having the final debate so close to the election was a bad thing. So it seems to me the only polls that have any validity will be those during the week before the vote..

[apillar]

I’m pretty unphased by the polls showing an (relativly small) Obama bounce. Candidates virtually always get a bounce from their convention and that bounce is virtually always gone in two week (just ask pathetic John McCain, most forget but he was actually about 5 points of Obama in the week following the convention).

[radpolis]

I was just a kid during the 1980 election, but I remember the visceral hatred that the liberal media had for Reagan.

All I heard was that Reagan was going to start a nuclear war with the Soviet Union over and over again.

It gave me nightmares.

This is the first election in my memory where the media hasn’t painted the GOP candidate as a war-monger or a moron or both.

In this election, the liberal media is painting Romney as an effete, tax-dodging elitist, or the GOP version of John Kerry, which is preferable to war-mongering moron.

Nevertheless, this campaign will be a statistical dead heat until the end like 2000, and it will come down to GOTV in the swing states.

[jennychase]

Reagan carried his own state California, but Romney will lose his own state.
This election is not in Romney’s bag.

Obama will carry his state.

Romney’s strategy is not promising, it is defensive. He is treating as normal election, he should exploit current poor economy and make every state in play. Yet to see any ad in Silicon Valley.

[OrangeHoof]

Worse than that, Gallup had Carter up by eight in October.

[Nifster]

Gallup, Ipsos, Quinnipiac,Field....they have all sucked for a very long time

[Bridesheadfan]

The polls from the past few days are very typical of a post convention “bounce”; Romney got one too. But neither candidate has ever gotten to that 50%+ plus threshold, which tells me that this is going to be a very close election. But in close elections the undecideds usually break for the challenger. So I'm cautiously optimistic that Obama will be defeated. But we shall see.

[3Fingas]

I think the race is essentially tied. I think it all comes down to turnout and the few persuadable undecideds. I think the majority of undecideds will go Repub, so if the Democrat turnout is lower in the battleground states, Obama should lose. All bets are off if Romney gets clobbered in the debates.

[DouglasKC]

And looking at the chart, had Carter up by 8 points in October.

[SoFloFreeper]

Worth remembering. Thanks.

[SoFloFreeper]

Worth remembering. Thanks.

[nwrep]

Yes but as usual, one key point is missed by these guys - the MSM blasted Carter night after night for the hostage crisis. Carter did not own the MSM the way 0 does...