Week of October 12, 2008 - October 18, 2008
Is Zogby Insane?
Check out the difference between what Zogby reports on his own site re: post-debate polling and what he reports to Reuters:
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1596
"The debate appears to have had only a little affect on likely voters nationwide."
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE49G0V320081018
"Today was the first full sample post-debate and there's a clear indication that McCain is moving up."
Keep in mind what we're talking about is a .7% move up for McCain and a .9% move down for Obama, putting the race nearly exactly where it was two days before the debate. In reality, the worst you could say is that Obama's post debate bounce has dissipated.
I guess the horserace moves units.
Revenge of the Jewish Grandmas 2.0: Grandpa Edition
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote how my momma, a Jewish grandma in Boca, is supporting Barack Obama. And not just her, but all her friends. Turns out there's something Jewish grandmas find even more scary than voting for a shvartser, and that's voting for Sarah Palin.
But wait, there's more.
My momma was out to dinner with her friends the other night, older Jewish couple, the man a staunch Republican. And by staunch, I mean STAUNCH. 80 year-old grandpa, former corporate exec, never voted for a Democrat in his life, voted for Bush twice. You get the idea.
As often happens these days, the subject turned to politics. My momma starts talking about what a mess the Republicans have made of things, how negative McCain's campaign has been, how much she hates Sarah Palin. Having had this conversation before, she knew what to expect: a spirited discussion, a heated exchange of ideas, the occasional appeal to reason. But she never expected what she got: agreement.
Turns out gramps has changed his mind and is now voting for Obama.
Why? Two words: the economy. This was the evening after the first meltdown, and this lifelong Republican was disgusted with what George Bush and his party had done to the economy. In his book, someone needs to be held accountable, and if that means throwing the bums out and voting for a Democrat, then so be it.
Now, admittedly, we're dealing with a small and not necessarily representative sample here. But if what's happening with my momma's friends is happening with other Florida seniors (and there's reason to believe it is), John McCain might want to watch his back in Florida - grandma's comin' out to vote, and she's bringing grandpa with her!




