Off the Radar, 'Joe the Biden' Courts the Base

Gender gap shrinks as VP pick causes shift

(NEWSER) - John McCain has made huge strides with female voters since choosing Sarah Palin, says a new poll reported. Before tapping his running mate, McCain trailed Barack Obama 52% to 18% on the question of which candidate better understands “women and what is important to them,” Politico reports, deconstructing the Lifetime Television survey. Now the Republican leads, 44 to 42. More»

Plans for window before Jan. 20 also diverge

(NEWSER) - With the VP hopefuls girding for tonight's debate, it's natural to wonder what would become of their respective tickets should either presidential candidate die or otherwise become incapacitated before Nov. 4. Each party has its own protocol, explains Nina Shen Rastogi, writing for Slate, but in neither case does the running mate automatically get the nomination. More»

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin made such a splash in American politics this year that she deserves consideration for Time magazine Person of the Year, Kathryn Jean Lopez writes for the National Review. “They’ve probably long picked The One,” Lopez writes, referring to Barack Obama. But “like Obama, all you had to do was look at her to see that she offered something different on a national ticket.” More»

The NY Times chats with some of the 4% who remain unsure

(NEWSER) - After a long campaign season, John McCain and Barack Obama have had ample chance to define themselves in America’s eyes—yet 4% of the country, a recent poll says, remains undecided. The New York Times spoke to a few of these “gray-state” voters to see what was holding them back; they noted good and bad qualities in each candidate, but remained tough to pin down. More»

... by a thinner margin than they supported fellow Dem Kerry in '04

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama has a big lead among Jewish voters, according to a survey by the American Jewish Committee. But his 57% support, to 30% for John McCain and 13% undecided, is “a bit lower than one would expect,” a group exec tells VOA News. At this time in 2004, John Kerry had 69% of the vote, which grew to 76% by Election Day. More»