Mudslingers Today No Match for Jefferson

(NEWSER) - Not all the polls are going in Barack Obama's favor. An AP-GfK survey says John McCain has closed the gap with Obama after the last debate by gaining voters among whites and those earning less than $50,000. The poll has the race at 44%-43% in favor of Obama, a statistical tie indicating that the "Joe the plumber" analogy resonated. The same poll placed Obama 7 points ahead of McCain three weeks ago, the AP reports. More»

History shows that McCain can surge

(NEWSER) - With Obama pulling well ahead of the Straight Talk Express, "the 2008 campaign seems poised to enter its Harry Truman phase," writes Walter Shapiro in Salon. But a November comeback isn’t out of the question. Shapiro runs down four factors that could push McCain into the White House:

1. The elastic electorate: There are likely more “undecideds” out there than polls show. Plus, "it is ludicrous to believe that public opinion will be frozen in amber" for the next 3 weeks.

Obama must make the race be about GOP failures, not himself

(NEWSER) - There are two races for president this year, Michael Tomasky writes in the Guardian, “a race about Barack Obama and a race about what the GOP has done to the country.” And Obama would be well served to turn the focus to John McCain, whose recent gaffes have gone unanswered as the Democrat tries to make people vote for him—and not against his opponent. More»

Independence Day poll numbers send mixed signals for 2008 race

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama currently leads John McCain 47% to 43%, but does that mean anything this early? Yes and no. Early July Gallup polls have correctly predicted the eventual popular vote winner in 10 of the last 15 elections, but they missed the mark in four of the last five. Politico looks back. More»

Take a closer look at policies candidates are changing minds about

(NEWSER) - Flip-flops are an easy summer target for media covering the presidential campaign, Ruth Marcus writes in the Washington Post. But, she notes, it's important to remember that the issues are more important than the candidates' changing views on them. "We in the media risk becoming the enablers of inanity by acting as if all flip-flops are created equal, and equally bad." More»