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The latest from the prediction markets...

IEM-WTA
Obama 80.0
McCain 20.6

IEM-Vote Share
Obama 57.3
McCain 45.2

NewsFutures
Obama 72
McCain 28

Intrade
Obama 73.2
McCain 26.8

Yahoo Political Dashboard Electoral College Market
Obama 338
McCain 200

Wow, what I said yesterday about these being the worst numbers I've ever seen for McCain and the GOP? Scrap it. McCain and his party seem to be finding new and inventive ways (think "Obama palls around with terrorists" - idiots) to dig their hole ever deeper :dig:
 
Here's a good article which explains why we might see Obama topping out in some recent nationwide polls...

What is Obama's Ceiling?

This post is going to seem slightly less relevant now that Gallup has come in showing an 11-point lead for Obama. But the other five daily tracking polls (yes, there are now that many trackers) all showed movement toward John McCain.

Between the Gallup result and Obama's very strong state polling, I am inclined to think that this particular ebb in the tracking polls is mostly statistical noise. That notwithstanding, it's worth considering Chris Bowers' point at Open Left. What, realistically, is Obama's ceiling in this election?

The better a candidate's standing in the polls, the harder it ought to be pick up additional support. In part, this is simply because the more voters that you have in your column, the fewer there are available to convert. But this is still a highly partisan country, we tend to have close elections, and things certainly aren't going to be any easier for a black candidate. ...
 
As to Obama's ceiling.
Bush's numbers might give some idea about this. Roughly 30% of the country approves of the job he is doing. Presumably almost none of that 30% is an Obama voter, so one obvious ceiling is at around 70%. But this approach doesn't help refine the number beyond that. Lots of small groups cut into that 70%. My guess is the number is around 60% and McCain would need to do something bizarrely strange (apparently selecting Palin wasn't enough) for Obama to get to 60%.
 
Pew shows that 37% of voters have decided against Obama, and 42% against McCain. Based on that, these are likely the true ceilings/floors for both candidates at the moment:

Ceiling:
Obama 63%
McCain 58%

Floor:
Obama 42%
McCain 37%

Of course, turnout will likely throw a major monkey wrench into this. Obama's supporters are excited and could turnout in record numbers. McCain's are difficult for me to gauge right now.
 
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Rasmussen has Obama up by 5 today (50%-45%) ...

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

The race remains quite stable--for the past fourteen days, Obama’s support has ranged from 50% to 52% every day while McCain has been at 44% of 45%

Results are based upon nightly telephone interviews and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. Only one-third of the interviews for this morning’s update were conducted following the second Presidential debate.

Obama now leads by 13 points among women but trails by two among men. Among White Women, it’s McCain 48% Obama 47%. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, Obama leads by seven.
 
National polls at the moment ...

October 9 - Rasmussen Tracking: Obama by 5 (50%-45%) -- Obama lead -1 from Oct 8
October 9 - Hotline/FD Tracking: Obama by 6 (47%-41%) -- Obama lead +5 from Oct 8
October 9 - GW/Battleground Tracking: Obama by 3 (48%-45%) -- Obama lead -1 from Oct 8
October 9 - Reuters/CSpan/Zogby Tracking: Obama by 4 (48%-44%) -- Obama lead +2 from Oct 8
October 8 - Research 2000: Obama by 8 (50%-42%) -- Obama lead -1 from Oct 7
October 8 - Gallup Tracking: Obama by 11 (52%-41%) -- Obama lead +2 from Oct 7
October 8 - Ipsos/McClatchy: Obama by 7 (47%-40%)
 
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An observation about McCain's polling, I can't recall seeing any national poll for weeks that showed him going above 45%. For Obama, he has been pushing through personal ceilings on a number of polls.
 
I saw this post over on Politico, anyone have any news on this?

Between 8:45 PM and 9:15 PM tonight (Oct 8) on Intrade, someone just bet a LOT of money against Obama winning the presidency. And I mean a LOT. His stock, which has been over 70 for a couple of days now and at 76 most of the time today dipped down to 64 or so in those 20 minutes under heavy betting before recovering immediately after 9:15 to 73... Very strange.. is there something someone knows?? What is the news tomorrow, JMart?
 
New Virginia poll ...

Virginia (13)
October 9 - PPP (D): Obama by 8 (51%-43%)
October 6 - FOX News/Rasmussen: Obama by 2 (50%-48%)
October 6 - Suffolk: Obama by 12 (51%-39%)
October 6 - SurveyUSA: Obama by 10 (53%-43%)
 
Pollster John Zogby is making the rounds saying the polls are overestimating Obama big-time, and that it's a pure toss-up at this point:

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/2008/view.bg?articleid=1124117&srvc=2008campaign&position=8

I show that he predicted 2004 with as much accuracy as anybody (had Bush winning by 3 at the beginning of October, which wound up as the exact margin).


Rasmussen was more accurate, as I recall. Fivethirtyeight has Zogby's accuracy in the middle of the pack. Also, Zogby's polls this year have literally been all over the place from poll to poll.
 
Rasmussen was more accurate, as I recall. Fivethirtyeight has Zogby's accuracy in the middle of the pack. Also, Zogby's polls this year have literally been all over the place from poll to poll.


Here is a summary of many of the final preelection polls from 2004:

http://poq.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/69/5/642/T1

Code:
					Bush	Kerry	Nader	Other	Bush 
									Lead

Election Result 			50.7 	48.3 	0.3 	0.7 	2.4 
			
Harris (Online) 	10/29–11/1 	47 	50 	1 	2 	–3.0 	
Battleground: Lake 	10/31–11/1 	48.6 	50.7 			–2.1 	
Fox News 		10/30–31 	46 	48 	1 	5 	–2.0 	
Marist College 		11/1 		49 	50 	0 	1 	–1.0 	
Democracy Corps 	10/29–31 	47 	48 	1 	3 	-1.0
Gallup 			10/31–11/1 	49 	49 	1 	1 	0.0 	
American Research Group	10/28–30 	48 	48 	1 	3 	0.0 	
Zogby 			11/2 		49.4 	49.1 	1 	0.5 	0.3 	
Harris (Telephone) 	10/29–11/1 	49 	48 	2 	1 	1.0 	
NBC News/WSJ	 	10/29–31 	48 	47 	1 	4 	1.0 	
ABC News 		10/28–31 	49 	48 	1 	3 	1.0 	
Washington Post 	10/28–31 	49 	48 	1 	3 	1.0 	
CBS News/N.Y. Times 	10/29–11/1 	49 	47 	1 	3 	2.0 	
CNN/USA Today/ Gallup 	10/29–31 	49 	47 		4 	2.0 	
Pew Research Center 	10/27–30 	51 	48 	1 		3.0 	
TIPP 			10/30–11/1 	48.6 	45.3 	0.9 	5.2 	3.3 	
Battleground: Tarrance 	10/31–11/1 	51.2 	47.8 	0.5 	0.5 	3.4 	
GW Battleground 	10/31–11/1 	50 	46 	1 	4 	4.0 	
Newsweek 		10/27–29 	50 	44 	1 	5 	6.0


A note about Zogby's prediction on the same page:

Zogby produced a final election poll for Reuters based upon interviewing conducted October 29–31 where the Bush proportion was 48 percent and the Kerry proportion was 47 percent. That estimate was revised on the afternoon of Election Day and is the last one included in this analysis.
 
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Some notes from the latest Zogby tracking poll ...

October 9 - Reuters/CSpan/Zogby Tracking: Obama by 4 (48%-44%) -- Obama lead +2 from Oct 8

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4961BK20081009

Obama led McCain 48 percent to 44 percent among likely U.S. voters in the national poll, up from a 2 percentage-point advantage for Obama on Wednesday. The poll has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.

Obama expanded his advantage among independents to 13 points from 9 and his lead among women grew to 9 points from 7. ... and now leads or is even with McCain in all age groups except those above age 70.

McCain had hoped the debate could help him reshape a race that has been trending toward Obama, but Zogby said the one-day sample taken after the debate showed about a 6-point advantage for Obama.


The stunning result ...

McCain, a former Navy fighter pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war who has focused on security issues, was only running even with Obama among families with a member in the military.


Ouch.
 
Here is a summary of many of the final preelection polls from 2004:

http://poq.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/69/5/642/T1

Code:
					Bush	Kerry	Nader	Other	Bush 
									Lead

Election Result 			50.7 	48.3 	0.3 	0.7 	2.4 
			
Harris (Online) 	10/29–11/1 	47 	50 	1 	2 	–3.0 	
Battleground: Lake 	10/31–11/1 	48.6 	50.7 			–2.1 	
Fox News 		10/30–31 	46 	48 	1 	5 	–2.0 	
Marist College 		11/1 		49 	50 	0 	1 	–1.0 	
Democracy Corps 	10/29–31 	47 	48 	1 	3 	-1.0
Gallup 			10/31–11/1 	49 	49 	1 	1 	0.0 	
American Research Group	10/28–30 	48 	48 	1 	3 	0.0 	
Zogby 			11/2 		49.4 	49.1 	1 	0.5 	0.3 	
Harris (Telephone) 	10/29–11/1 	49 	48 	2 	1 	1.0 	
NBC News/WSJ	 	10/29–31 	48 	47 	1 	4 	1.0 	
ABC News 		10/28–31 	49 	48 	1 	3 	1.0 	
Washington Post 	10/28–31 	49 	48 	1 	3 	1.0 	
CBS News/N.Y. Times 	10/29–11/1 	49 	47 	1 	3 	2.0 	
CNN/USA Today/ Gallup 	10/29–31 	49 	47 		4 	2.0 	
Pew Research Center 	10/27–30 	51 	48 	1 		3.0 	
TIPP 			10/30–11/1 	48.6 	45.3 	0.9 	5.2 	3.3 	
Battleground: Tarrance 	10/31–11/1 	51.2 	47.8 	0.5 	0.5 	3.4 	
GW Battleground 	10/31–11/1 	50 	46 	1 	4 	4.0 	
Newsweek 		10/27–29 	50 	44 	1 	5 	6.0


A note about Zogby's prediction on the same page:

The range is interesting. Harris overestimated Kerry by 5.4% and Newsweek overestimated Bush by 3.6%. Everyone else was in between. If the same holds true this time, it would suggest that a 6% lead is pretty safe. At least the week before the election. ;)
 
The range is interesting. Harris overestimated Kerry by 5.4% and Newsweek overestimated Bush by 3.6%. Everyone else was in between. If the same holds true this time, it would suggest that a 6% lead is pretty safe. At least the week before the election. ;)


The one thing I noticed is how most way over-estimate the percentage going to third party candidates. Of that list, Zogby, Gallup, Battleground:Tarrance, and Marist were the closest to estimating that correctly.
 
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That makes sense though, it's easier to tell a pollster you voting for Ron Paul or Harry Brown than it is to actually pull the lever. Nader's support also came in way under his polling in those elections where it looked like he was actually going to make a difference.
 
Here are the national daily tracking polls and their changes from yesterday ...

October 9 - Research 2000: Obama by 12 (52%-40%) -- Obama lead +4 from Oct 8
October 9 - Gallup Tracking: Obama by 11 (52%-41%) -- Unchanged from Oct 8
October 9 - Rasmussen Tracking: Obama by 5 (50%-45%) -- Obama lead -1 from Oct 8
October 9 - Hotline/FD Tracking: Obama by 6 (47%-41%) -- Obama lead +5 from Oct 8
October 9 - GW/Battleground Tracking: Obama by 3 (48%-45%) -- Obama lead -1 from Oct 8
October 9 - Reuters/CSpan/Zogby Tracking: Obama by 4 (48%-44%) -- Obama lead +2 from Oct 8
 
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