Posted on 10/26/2008 2:43:26 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
This week, Barack Obama has shown clear signs that he is confident he is going to win. But privately, top Obama leadership are still worried that Republicans might be able to pull off another improbable election night victory.
Last week, in closed-to-the-press meetings, Obama officials briefed major donors about their concerns heading into the election’s final stretch. One of those meetings took place in Austin, Texas—a city in the solid red state of Texas that has raised a surprisingly large amount of money for Obama, mostly from the city’s high-tech community.
In Texas and other states, Obama officials are preparing for the possibility that polls may be wildly off because of the so-called Bradley effect.
“The Obama officials are very cautious,” says an attendee at the Austin meeting. “They want comfortable margins in place just in case. They are looking at three to six percentage points as a possible Bradley effect. Before they consider a state comfortable, they want it outside the polling margins. They think the Bradley effect could be as large as six—maybe even seven—percentage points, but they don’t really know.”
Another major concern of the campaign is what they consider to be voter suppression. “The Obama leadership believes there is a systematic campaign,” says the attendee, “by the White House and the Justice Department to suppress voter turnout across the country.”
To counteract the Bradley effect and potential voter suppression, the Obama leadership has amassed one of the largest legal teams ever assembled by a presidential campaign. The main goal of the legal team, almost all of them volunteers, is to guarantee ballot security. “The Obama campaign has learned the lessons of 2000 and 2004,” my source says. “On Election Day, lawyers will be everywhere—all the way down to the county level.
Obama officials point to the government’s treatment of ACORN, the nationwide association of community organizations, as an example of possible voter suppression. The campaign has never relied on ACORN for its voter registration drives, according to Obama officials, and is viewed as only one of many venders hired by the campaign. Of the $605 million raised by the Obama campaign so far, only $800,000 has gone to ACORN—a number that could be much larger, and would have been had the campaign relied on it more heavily.
But perhaps the most important asset the Obama campaign has is an army of workers estimated to be as large as 100,000 nationwide. Some paid staffers, mostly volunteers, the workers are being spread out across the country to states the Obama campaign is targeting. For example, 5,000 workers based in Texas—a state Obama doesn’t expect to win—are being relocated to New Mexico, a state Obama believe he can win.
Obama workers will be flooding into other battleground states in the waning days of the presidential race, among them Colorado, Nevada, and Ohio—perhaps even Georgia and Montana. What is impressive about this sizable operation is its very organization. By Election Day, campaign officials believe, they may have the most extensive grass-roots organization of any presidential campaign in history. (two additional articles on pages 2 & 3 at link)
What psychological baggage do they have and how does this zealotry of this cause ameliorate these feelings? There has been much written about those that gravitate to these causes, and how they were it on their sleeve. To be taken by such a cause, does it mean there is no there-there inside them as well as it is the anointed one? What does it say about the NEA and Higher Education and their teaching of our Founding Fathers, The Blessings of our Liberty and our fundemental rights that come from the Almighty and not the House, the Senate, or the Supreme Court.
wow!! wouldn’t it be great!! Dewey (Osama....er Obama did not win!)
I had the same thing happen. I cocked my head and said "Why on earth would you ask me something like that? This is America, we don't do that sort of thing here."
Right or wrong I still have hope that we'll win. I haven't read through the thread but believe most conservative voters have remained pretty quiet. If voter fraud were eliminated I think we would win big.
Obama officials are preparing for the possibility that polls may be wildly off..
I do believe the polls are off. We have the 'quiet conservatives', the dem PUMAS, the Republicans who changed party to vote for Hillary but will vote for McCain instead, the Bradley Effect [yes], and the hispanics who don't get along with the blacks. Not racist, just a fact in many areas where they vie as minorities.
Nobody knows who you vote for once you are in that booth!
We have to work hard to drag McCain over the finish line, even if he’s kicking and screaming.
1.) PRAY
2.) Protest the media write letters, call, picket. Lets keep this up until 11/4 - do whatever it takes.
3.) Put up a yard sign, bumper sticker, wear a shirt - show your party with pride.
4.) Donate time, money - Not everyone has extra money to give, but working the phone banks is almost painless, a hour here or there...and you get to meet a lot of great people. Phone calls can also be made from home. I’m going to be a first time poll worker.
5.) Sign petitions Grassfire.org has a acorn petition and they also have a birth cert.
6.) Blog, blog, blog place links to youtube vidios or stories on other sites, especially those who work with the pumas - the MSM wont get the word out, but we can!! Email all you know.
7.) Dont believe the polls In fact, dont believe anything the media tells you this election. Is there a bradley effect...maybe. What alot of people are missing is many republicans voted for Hillary in the primary. Why?? Operatin Chaos or because they didnt want a marxist like bho near the oval office and the republican candidate had already been decided. So, there are not as many dems as people would have you think.
8.) Remain positive Nothing postive ever resulted from being negative.
8.) PRAY
Dont be discouraged and dont believe what you hear.
We can do this!!
I keep doing out the maps every day for the past couple months and I noticed something really interesting today:
If McCain wins Florida (Obama currently up 2.2 according to RCP), Ohio (also fairly likely even though RCP says Obama up 6), Pennsylvania (certainly possible, more so every day, especially with people like Murtha saying crap; Obama up ), Indiana, North Carolina (Obama up 1 on RCP), Nevada (Obama up 3.3 on RCP), and Missouri (Obama up 1 on RCP), he can still lose Minnesota, Iowa, and even lose Colorado and Virginia, and still win 273-265—— any thoughts on the likelihood of this?
I know Obama is leading in each of the states I mentioned above but it is largely within the margin of error and only god knows the validity of the polls for those that are not (Ohio-6 and Pennsylvania- 11). Any idea what the chances of carrying PA are?
Conversely, McCain would need both Virginia and Colorado (a tough feat I think) if he can’t get Pennsylvania
Austin is a solid blue city in a solid red state.
These are the ones trained in voter fraud and intimidation. The final step of the ACORN tactics.
Pray for W, Lady Palin and Our Troops
“Get in their face? I wonder if that Obama tactic could actually work. Impossible to know, I suppose.”
I work the phones for McCain/Palin and earlier in the week I spoke with a woman who obviously agreed with the ticket but was terrified to say who she was voting for. I think the undecideds are actually decided (for McCain) and dont want to say so. Also, I read that the pumas were telling pollsters they were voting for bho to throw the numbers off.
I think the race will be close and the aftermath is what scares me.
I actually had it where McCain wins the available electoral vote in Maine. Obama wins the one in Omaha. McCain wins OH, FL, NM, NC, IN, MO and VA. Obama wins WI, CO, MN, MI, PA. McCain ends up winning.
I love the comment in the article about the 100,000 volunteers. Sounds like a lot, right? Well with 200MM voters, that’s less than 1/20th of 1%. Plus, trucking 5000 people from Texas to New Mexico is a laugh. Once there, they’l be tired, looking for the coffee and donut table and kibitzing because everybody knows, liberals love free handouts and the sounds of their own voices. Ask ‘em to go door to door in New Mexico where the houses are 10 miles apart and they’ll do three houses and hide in the bush for the rest of the day!!
"I mean, we worked HARD to manufacture all of those illegimate votes. How DARE they try to suppress them!"
“The Obama campaign has learned the lessons of 2000 and 2004,” my source says. “On Election Day, lawyers will be everywhere—all the way down to the county level.
Yeah, the lessons of 2000 and 2004 was that there weren't enough lawyers. Mm-hmm! Yep, that's the way the voters saw it.
*sigh*
I just saw the video clip of that segment of the interview on FoxNews a couple minutes ago. We need an up-to-date Obama Flip-Flop thread with all of “the one’s” various positions on each topic. This man puts a whole new spin on alternating opinions. His head is going to spin off soon from all his 180 degree turns.
Hooray for the Bradly effect!
That is a really interesting outcome too... if I did it correctly, neither candidate gets 270 but it ends up with McCain ahead by 1 EV.... it only goes to the House when there is a tie right? not when both candidates fail to reach the necessary number (i.e. if it was 269-269, it would go to the house because of a tie, not because neither got 270 right?) Just double checking.
nevermind... forgot to give McCain the 1 Maine Ev
That's the voter suppression that precludes them from projecting the dramatic victories upon which they otherwise were counting.
This is a very good thing. If the feds can keep raiding ACORN offices, perhaps only 20% of the fraudulent registrations that have gotten through will be able to utilized without the perpetrators getting caught.
HF
Not if there is a LANDSLIDE...which is very possible for McCain/Palin Ticket. People including democrats are scared of BHO and are voting for McCain/Palin.
I have to agree with you on that!
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