As everyone knows, polling is an imprecise system. It has become popular to make composite polls from various sources and use them as a predictor. However, as prediction/futures markets have developed, they have shown an uncanny track record for getting an election right. These markets became popular with the development of the Iowa Electronic Market. With a [...]

More and more states are allowing early voting and I think it’s great. Anything that can get people to the ballot box should be encouraged, promoted and celebrated.
From AP:
In the state that may again determine the presidency, voters started casting ballots Tuesday as Barack Obama struggles to thwart a John McCain victory in Ohio four [...]

But this time it’s in the Senate.
Why is that important? Because they’ll vote overwhelmingly in favor of it and force the House Republicans into a situation where they are literally the last ones in line to stop the rescue.
From Wash Post:
Leaders of the Senate, where most members have indicated support for the bailout plan, said [...]

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Well, looks McCain’s line about the fundamentals of the economy is really hurting him. Otherwise he never would have released this whopper.

CNN reports that the claims of the ad are absolutely false…
The Facts: The clip from Obama comes from a speech he gave in Colorado on Monday, September 29. The full speech as released by [...]

This from an interview from Hugh Hewitt’s podcast today…
HH: Now Governor, the Gibson and the Couric interview struck many as sort of pop quizzes designed to embarrass you as opposed to interviews. Do you share that opinion?
SP: Well, I have a degree in journalism also, so it surprises me that so much has changed [...]

I tried not to stay in this week because I heard stupidity was contagious. “Stay away from the TV, stay away from the News,” I told myself. “Don’t watch any video that pops up with ‘Katie Couric’ in the title.” Amid the barbecues, the concerts, the Oktoberfests and the debate parties, I couldn’t help but [...]

In addition to sabotaging our economy and putting “main street” at risk, the Republican back-benchers have also blind-sided John McCain’s campaign by keeping the bailout front and center for at least another week.
It’s clear now that the politics of the bailout is working against McCain; every day it dominates the news cycle is a bad [...]

It represented one of the most shameful of stories. Yet as is always the case with shameful stories, it soon made its way across America.
Apparently an 11-year-old boy in Colorado was suspended from school for failing to remove a t-shirt that school officials had deemed a disruption to the school’s learning environment. According to [...]

Watch…

It’s happening.

…listen to Megan McArdle:
It is worth noting, in answer to the libertarians who are wary of government intervention in the economy, that if there is a serious crash, we will get even more government intervention in the economy–and intervention that is much less to our liking. That cost has to be weighed in your assessment. [...]

McCain gains one and Obama loses one to pull this one right in line with Rasmussen’s polling.

The thing to take note of isn’t necessarily the spread at this point as it is how low McCain’s numbers are. The Republican convention has proven to be an anomaly at this point, and McCain simply has trouble reaching [...]

“I think she has pretty thoroughly — and probably irretrievably — proven that she is not up to the job of being president of the United States. [...] The story of Dan Quayle is he did probably 1,000 smart things as vice president, but his image was locked in and it was very difficult to [...]

It makes a lot of sense, not the least of which is when folks think their bank is in trouble and they decide to start pulling their money because they don’t think the FDIC will cover them, it creates a “run on the bank” situation that makes a collapse for that particular institution almost inevitable.
Obama [...]

And here are the details…

Fewer than half (45%) believe the rejection of the economic plan will actually hurt the economy

33% think the media and members of Congress have portrayed the current economic situation as worse than it really is.

Just over one-in-five voters (22%) remain undecided.

Eighty-eight percent (88%) are following news stories about the rescue plan.

Fifty-two [...]

I keep hearing that the financial crisis is some grand rebuke of free market principles. I also keep hearing that the bailout plan will ruin the free market. What I’m not hearing is what I believe is the most accurate description of the situation: we never had a true free market to begin with.
Those who [...]

Obama - 51%
McCain - 45%
Obama adds one today and he matches his highest number since Rasmussen started polling his matchup with McCain in June.
Also, Obama has been at 50% or better for 5 straight days and has hit that mark 12 times. On the other hand McCain has only hit 50% once. But this stretch [...]

Some House Republicans are claiming that the following speech made them change their vote.

I’m sorry folks, but that’s hardly the hyperpartisan tour-de-force House Republicans claim it was.
Still, was it helpful? No.
So, in the end, she probably shouldn’t have made it, but from what I was hearing about this I was expecting some fire and [...]

Here’s an interesting fact pulled from the AP about the bailout bill’s failure:
Thirteen of the 19 most vulnerable Republicans and Democrats in an Associated Press analysis voted against the bill despite the pleas from President Bush and their party leaders to pass it.
The article doesn’t say who these 19 are but this figure tells us [...]