Posted on 08/21/2008 8:12:08 AM PDT by Darren McCarty
Among all of the 2008 presidential battlegrounds, Democratic-leaning Michigan - with 8.5 percent unemployment and an auto-industry economy in deep recession - should be an easy slam-dunk for Sen. Barack Obama.
But the freshman senator from neighboring Illinois remains stuck in a dead heat in the state against Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, who is "within striking distance of winning, strange as that may sound," veteran Michigan election analyst Bill Ballenger said Tuesday.
Mr. Obama narrowly leads his Republican rival by 3.2 percent, 46 percent to 42.8 percent, according to the Real Clear Politics Web site, which tracks the presidential campaign polls and maintains a running state-by-state average for all of them.
"We have Obama with a 2 point lead, 43 percent to 41 percent, and a few months before that McCain held a 4 point lead," said Michigan pollster Bernie Porn, president of EPIC/MRA. "With the economy the way it is and higher gas prices, it's a perfect storm nationwide for the Democrats, but the race is tight here, and I think right now the undecideds would break for McCain."
.....
Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, a Democrat in her second term, is being increasingly blamed by voters for her handling of the state's troubled economy, and the Republican Party's campaign to end the ban on increased offshore oil drilling has won support across the state's political spectrum, pollsters said. Mr. Obama supports the moratorium.
...
"During the 2006 gubernatorial race, when we asked voters who do you blame for the state's economic situation, they always blamed Bush more than Granholm. This last poll we did, they narrowly blamed Granholm more than Bush," he said
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Also, Kwame Kilpatrick's problems. When the mayor of the most democrat city over 100,000 people in the country is more and more likely going to jail, it causes a lot of older residents here to remember the days of Coleman A. Young. This will cause the Wilder effect here to increase.
There's also a lot of seniors here. The seniors in Michigan are mostly conservative democrats "for the working man." McCain needs to win the votes of these John Dingell style of democrats with names like Kowalski, Rossi, and O'Neal.
They voted for Clinton because of the economy, didn't like Bush since he was a spoiled rich kid, and don't like Obama, but are not yet sold on McCain. These voters are needed to counteract Detroit, Southfield, Ann Arbor, Flint, and Lansing.
If we can get around 55% of the non-Detroit vote, we probably win. Bush got about 52% outside Detroit.
Michigan is stewing in a sea of Democrat Avarice, greed, corruption, and incompetence...
Democrats have done a wonderful job of Outforcing the well-paying jobs for 30 years, and now that bird has come home to roost.
In 5 years, it will be nothing but a WELFARE STATE, if they don’t do a massive course correction, RIGHT NOW.
An Obama win means 10% unemployment for Michigan by 2010, yet he somehow is tied with McCain. It boggles the mind.
Right now, the dems should be up 10%. Hillary would be up 10% here. Obama doesn't fit in with this tough blue collar lunchbucket state.
After years of Gov. Granholm’s Democrat economic and tax disaster, voters are fed-up with Dems. Rommey as VP will sow things up for McCain in Michigan.
Hopefully, the Dem voters in Michigan will remain too wasted on malt liquor and crack cocaine to ever make it to the voting booth(s).
This is the part I never get in these kinds of articles. When unemployment is this high, industry in the area is tanking, and a whole host of other problems, why would anyone assume that a Democrat is going to fix things!
You beat me to it. That's exactly what baffles me as well. Along with the nation leaning toward demos in Congress. Just what have the demos in Congress done in the past two years that would make people think more of them will improve things?
From some discussions, white retiree Democrats in MI/FL don’t like BHO. I predict many won’t vote this election.
Michigan has just implemented a mandatory picture ID card for voting. Maybe this will hold down the dead and illegals voting in Detroit!
The easy thing to do would be to write it off and give it to Canada. But for the sake of good conservative institutions like Hillsdale College, the easy thing to do is not the right thing to do.
In a sane world, Grandmole would not be Governor here, much less have taken a 2nd term.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.