Free Republic

About McCain: "He's got it right as far as I go." Even so, Wurzelbacher declined to say who was getting his vote. He said he was surprised that he was called "Joe the Plumber" repeatedly during the debate. "It's pretty surreal, man, my name being mentioned in a presidential campaign." McCain's reference to Ayers reprised campaign commercials he has run to try and raise doubts about Obama's fitness to serve. Ayers, who was a member of the violent Weather Underground in the 1960s, hosted a meet-the-candidate event for Obama in an Illinois race many years later. "The fact that this...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows Barack Obama attracting 50% of the vote while John McCain earns 46%. It’s the first time since September 25 that McCain’s support has reached 46%, Today’s numbers do not reflect any impact from last night’s Presidential Debate. Results are based upon nightly telephone interviews and reported on a three-day rolling average basis.

snip... For most independents who are well to the left of the center Obama did well. McCain was trying for a knockout punch and only managed to land some good punches. They are still for Obama. For those independents to the right of center McCain did great. He is the man to take on terrorism, fix the economy and take on the Washington establishment and kick some rump. For these independents it was a clear McCain win. But what about those in the center ... that 4 or 5 percent of the voters who decide elections. To them McCain won...

The stage is set at Hofstra University for the third and final presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama. John McCain threw the kitchen sink - and "Joe the Plumber," too - at Barack Obama during Wednesday night's final, in-your-face presidential debate. Hours after Wall Street saw the Dow's steepest percentage drop since 1987, each candidate claimed to have the better cures for the sick economy. And each did his best to pummel the other's ideas as bad for Joe the Plumber - a mythical-sounding but very real Ohio man who had an impromptu encounter with Obama on the...

Photo by AP Republican John McCain, looking to bounce back in the polls, stayed on the offensive against rival Barack Obama throughout last night’s presidential debate, keeping the Democratic candidate on the ropes in the final face-to-face encounter in their campaign for the White House.During the 90-minute debate, McCain forced Obama to distance his association with 1960s radical William Ayers and liberal activist group ACORN which is now facing voter fraud charges, and defend himself against charges of being a tax-and-spend big-government liberal.At one point in his intense grilling, McCain in an apparent slip referred to Obama as “Senator...

Obama leads McCain in Virginia (NEWPORT NEWS, VA) – With just under three weeks to go before Election Day, Senator Barack Obama leads Senator John McCain in Virginia by 6.0% among likely voters, 49.2% to 43.2%. Obama’s lead appears to be driven by voter concerns about the economy. Asked to name the top issue that they would like candidates to address between now and Election Day, just over six in ten likely voters say the economy. No other issue breaks double digits. These findings are from the Christopher Newport University Virginia Poll conducted October 11-14 of 500 likely voters. When...

---"...Perhaps the best news for McCain is the rating he received from independent voters. Among respondents not identified with either major political party, McCain was judged tonight’s winner, 51-42 percent...."---

Before we get started: Does anyone know whether Joe the Plumber is kin to Six-Pack Joe? This was by far the most interesting debate to date, perhaps because we are -- at last -- down to the wire. Just as people often reveal their truer natures in times of crisis or under extreme pressure, McCain and Obama tonight seemed reduced to their essential selves. Cool Obama was quintessentially cool. Tense McCain was INTENSE. Both men smiled a lot, but both seemed less good-natured than like well-mannered pit bulls (without the lipstick), snarling behind teeth bared in imitations of mirth. At...

AND NOW . . . amidst billowing clouds of fragrant, aromatic first- and second-hand premium cigar smoke. . . it is time for . . . that harmless, lovable little fuzz ball, the highly-trained broadcast specialist, having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have, from behind the golden EIB microphone, firmly ensconced in the prestigious Attila-the-Hun chair at the Limbaugh Institute of Advanced Conservative Studies, the Mandarin of Talk Radio, with talent on loan from G-d, at the cutting-edge of societal evolution, with half his brain tied behind his back — just to make it fair,...

Obama 49%, McCain 47% (Traditional LV) Obama 51%, McCain 45% (Expanded LV) Obama 49%, McCain 43% (RV)

MAC'S SHOT AT A LATE-GAME WIN By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN Published in the The New York Post on October 16, 2008 The short term impact of the third debate will be to help Barack Obama. But the long term implications may give John McCain a needed boost. Obama looked good, but McCain opened the tax-and-spend issue in a way that might prevail. Obama took the worst that McCain could hand out and came out looking good. McCain was the more aggressive debater, but Obama looked like the better president. The constants of the debate remained. Obama is smoother,...

Thursday Tracking Polls Gallup: I) Obama +2, II) Obama +6; Rasmussen: Obama +4; Zogby: Obama +6; Hotline: Obama +8; GW/Battleground: Obama +6 AVERAGE: OBAMA +5.3% And this is BEFORE third debate performances factored. I maintain Obama has a false +6 lead that will disappear on election day. This race was tied before the last debate. If McCain can keep the pressure on, he wins.

It's all over bar the voting, if you believe some of yesterday morning's headlines. Despite all of the prepping and practising, the rehearsing of grins and grimaces, the third and final US presidential debate – the last chance either candidate had to dramatically alter the course of the campaign – offered no huge advantage to either side. John McCain did well, but not well enough. Barack Obama was a little flat and passionless, but it was his debate to lose and he didn't lose it. For the most part, the two candidates in fact sounded like two reasonable people who...

Daily Polling Update: **Rasmussen - McCain down 4 (+1 since yesterday). Good news in a poll now using 6.3% Democrat turnout edge. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/daily_presidential_tracking_poll **Battleground - McCain has gained 7 points in two days, despite new Pro-Democrat weighing system. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/RCP_PDF/BG_101608_2-way-ballot-trender.pdf **Gallup - McCain gains again, now down only two in traditional LV model (49%-47%). http://www.gallup.com/poll/111211/Gallup-Daily-Obama-49-McCain-43.aspx

Today: Obama - 45.2%, McCain 41.6%, Undecided 13.2% Yesterday: Obama - 45.2%, McCain 41.9%, Undecide 12.9%

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows Barack Obama attracting 50% of the vote while John McCain earns 46%. It's the first time since September 25 that McCain's support has reached 46%, but Obama has now enjoyed a four-to-eight point advantage for twenty-one straight days (see trends). Today's numbers do not reflect any impact from last night's Presidential Debate. Results are based upon nightly telephone interviews and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. The overwhelming majority of interviews for today's update were completed before the end of the debate. Sunday morning's results will be the first...

Q: If the 2008 election for United States President were held today and the following were candidates for whom would you vote? Would you say Democrat Barack Obama, Republican John McCain? (Candidates rotated)

Today's results show Obama with a two-point advantage over McCain using this likely voter model, 49% to 47%, this is within the poll's margin of error

Within an hour of the conclusion of Wednesday night’s presidential debate, CNN’s political panel began sketching out John McCain’s political obituary, with senior analyst David Gergen drawing a round of laughter when he replied “beats the hell out of me” when asked by anchor Anderson Cooper what McCain could do next. Gergen bleakly suggested McCain had no chance and should end the race with his “honor intact” (which means no more attacks on Barack Obama):

McCain compares Obama’s tax plans to Hoover's Sen. John McCain compared Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama’s tax and trade stances to those of Herbert Hoover in their third and final debate Wednesday night warning they could exacerbate an already rough economy. Obama countered linking the Arizona senator to failed Bush Administration policies and breaks for big business. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that Sen. Obama wants to restrict trade and he wants to raise taxes. And the last president of the United States that tried that was Herbert Hoover, and we went from a deep recession into a depression,”...