Poll Vault

[Wangler]

OK I am gonna correct you and Wangler both and say it was actually the tanto that was used.

From a credible source, some Internet page I found:


"Seppuku is ideally committed by in a garden or a Buddhist temple (Shinto temples should not be defiled by death). The participant dresses in white, to express purity of intention and sits in the seiza position (legs drawn up under the body so that one is actually sitting on one’s heels). A servant places the sanbo (an unlacquered wooden table) before one. It will contain a sake cup, a sheaf of washi (paper handmade from mulberry bark) and writing accoutrements, and the kozuka (disemboweling blade). This can be a tanto (dagger) blade without hilt, wrapped in several sheets of paper to provide a better grip. Real samurai, however, use their own wakizashi."

Bolding is mine.

 

[not_so_new]

Shades of Blazing Saddles if Obama takes Montana. You do not get more Western then that state. Which is one reason why I love to vacation there.

Great movie!

And I have never been there but I hear it is amazing. I think I would love it, I love the West.

 

[Ausmerican]

A real man uses this to disembowel himself:




[qimg]http://www.kirou.com/wp-content/spork-700806.jpg[/qimg]

You keep that thing away from me!!!11!!

 

[gdnp]

RCP has the race tightening by 0.5 points today, with two "leaning Obama" states (Ohio and Virginia) moving to the "tossup" category

11/02 Virginia Leaning Obama »»» Toss Up
11/02 Ohio Leaning Obama »»» Toss Up
11/01 Arkansas Solid McCain »»» Leaning McCain
11/01 South Dakota Solid McCain »»» Leaning McCain
10/31 Arizona Leaning McCain »»» Toss Up

 

[dudalb]

Virginia is begining to worry me. It look much less solid for Obama than it did a couple of weeks ago.

 

[BenBurch]

I refuse to worry about VA. Evidence suggests that most of the early voting in VA, and there have been long lines, has been Obama voters. So much of the victory is already in the bag. If he polls EVEN with McCain on Tuesday he wins unless there are problems casting or counting the votes honestly.

 

[chipmunk stew]

Obama's RCP Average continues its upward trend, ending the day at a new all-time high of 50.7%

10 out of 13 polls included in today's average have Obama at or above 50%, while McCain peaks at 46%. In fact, of all the polls listed at the site, none shows McCain above 46% at any point since September.

 

[MattusMaximus]

Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?

Ahem, that's my bag, man.

<---- See avatar

 

[MattusMaximus]

After McCain's 1-point lead on Friday that generated the Drudge headline?

Down by 10 on Saturday.

http://www.zogby.com/main.htm

Gee, do you think Drudge will blast that one from his front page?

At this point, I think Drudge and every other GOP-conservative outlet on the planet is too busy getting blasted themselves to do much of anything.

If you listen carefully, you can almost hear their inward suffering...

 

[MattusMaximus]

In other news from today...

Montana?

If true that is really amazing. The words "sea change" come to mind.

Montana is a tossup? You've got to be kidding me - are there any other polls on that?

Holy crap, if that's true then the GOP is doomed. Wow.

 

[MattusMaximus]

A real man uses this to disembowel himself:

[qimg]http://www.kirou.com/wp-content/spork-700806.jpg[/qimg]

Which end?

 

[MattusMaximus]

The latest from the Vote-Share at the Iowa Electronic Market...

Obama 53.0
McCain 47.0

So this is a difference of about 6 points in the popular vote favoring Obama. A little bit of tightening since Friday, but not much. Certainly not enough to make the difference for McCain.

 

[Peephole]

Gallup final numbers:

RV - Obama 53%, McCain 40%
LV1 - Obama 53%, McCain 42%
LV2 - Obama 53%, McCain 42%

 

[Undesired Walrus]

On BBC News: 'Of course, there has never been a campaign this close has there?'

Huh?

 

[gdnp]

On BBC News: 'Of course, there has never been a campaign this close has there?'

Huh?

Nor has there ever been an election where the differences between the candidates were so stark. Nor has there ever been an election more important to the future of the free world, nay, planet earth.

{insert your own hype here}

 

[chipmunk stew]

Gallup final numbers:

RV - Obama 53%, McCain 40%
LV1 - Obama 53%, McCain 42%
LV2 - Obama 53%, McCain 42%

Gallup's final estimate, allocating undecided voters proportionately, is:
Obama 55%
McCain 44%

Gallup's final estimate is based on Gallup's traditional likely voter model, and assumes an estimated turnout of 64% of the voting age population, an increase over 2004. (Gallup estimates voter turnout from the results of key voter turnout questions, using a model that compares how respondents' answers to these questions have related, historically, to actual turnout.) This year's higher turnout estimate is fueled by a surge in early voting -- 28% of registered voters in the final poll indicated they had already voted -- and higher turnout among blacks than in any of the last four presidential elections.

 

[gdnp]

Gallup's final estimate, allocating undecided voters proportionately, is:
Obama 55%
McCain 44%

I would be satisfied with an 11 point win.

 

[Pookster]

Bush State polls out this morning ...

Florida		PPP (D)			Obama 50, McCain 48	Obama +2
Florida		Reuters/Zogby		Obama 48, McCain 46	Obama +2
Florida		Quinnipiac		Obama 47, McCain 45	Obama +2

Indiana		Reuters/Zogby		McCain 49, Obama 44	McCain +5

Missouri	Reuters/Zogby		McCain 46, Obama 47	Obama +1

Montana		PPP (D)			McCain 47, Obama 48	Obama +1

Nevada		Reuters/Zogby		Obama 51, McCain 43	Obama +8

North Carolina	PPP (D)			Obama 50, McCain 49	Obama +1
North Carolina	Reuters/Zogby		Obama 48, McCain 49	McCain +1

Ohio		PPP (D)			Obama 50, McCain 48	Obama +2
Ohio		Reuters/Zogby		Obama 50, McCain 44	Obama +6
Ohio		Quinnipiac		Obama 50, McCain 43	Obama +7

Virginia	Reuters/Zogby		Obama 51, McCain 45	Obama +6

The one Kerry State that has been contested over the past week ...

Pennsylvania	PPP (D)			Obama 53, McCain 45	Obama +8
Pennsylvania	Reuters/Zogby		Obama 54, McCain 40	Obama +14
Pennsylvania	Morning Call		Obama 52, McCain 46	Obama +6
Pennsylvania	Quinnipiac		Obama 52, McCain 42	Obama +10

 

[chipmunk stew]

Intrade has McCain below 10%. I believe that's the first time.

 

[Pookster]

Rasmussen has Obama increasing his lead to 6 (52%-46%) ...

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/pub...ial_election/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

For McCain to get the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House, he would need to win just about all of the Toss-Up states and those that are leaning to the Democrats. Polling from all ten states show potentially competitive races, but Obama is ahead in many and none show a clear lead for McCain.

Unless McCain pulls off a stunning comeback, history will note the final two weeks of September as the decisive and defining moment of this campaign. On September 14, the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll showed McCain up by three points. Then, Lehman Brothers collapsed and the Wall Street debacle began. McCain’s lead disappeared almost immediately. By September 26, Obama reached the 50% level of support and was ahead by five percentage points.

The Democratic nominee never let go of that lead. Today is the 39th straight day that Obama’s support has stayed between 50% and 52%. Only once during that entire time did his lead fall below four points and it occasionally expanded to eight (see trends).