Free Republic

I received a tip from someone about how checks can be purchased online with the Obama design on them. He thought I could do something with it... At first I thought I would make a graphic spoofing it, but then I thought of something that was more unusual, and potentially more fun. It's an interactive Flash graphic (my first one, hopefully not the last). So I can't post here, I can only put it put it up at the original post (here.)

Until now, there hasn’t been much indication in national polling that Barack Obama’s embrace of class-warfare rhetoric had gained him much standing with the electorate. On September 8, when Obama gave his jobs speech to a joint session of Congress and kicked off his new populist strategy, the Real Clear Politics poll average for Obama’s job approval was 43.8/51.6. Yesterday’s was 44.0/50.9, hardly any change at all, and the chart shows a more stable period than anything preceding it this year.Today, however, Quinnipiac reports a moderate boost in Obama’s standing to 47/49, up from last month’s 41/55: President Barack Obama’s...

Even in polls like The Washington Post's Obama's are numbers back under 50%...the reason is simple...

Pew had found a 9-point Osama bounce (47% to 56%) last week. Today, Pew reports, two-thirds of that bounce is already gone. Obama's approval rating is already down to just 50%.

Gallup: Bush Got Bigger Bounce for Catching Saddam Than Obama Got for Killing Bin Laden Monday, May 09, 2011 By Terence P. Jeffrey (CNSNews.com) - President George W. Bush got a bigger bounce in his Gallup job approval rating for capturing Saddam Hussein than President Barack Obama got for killing Osama in Laden. Obama got a 6-point bounce in his Gallup job approval after he announced that U.S. Navy SEALS had raided a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan and killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Bush got either a 7-point or a 9-point bounce—depending on the day you calculate from...

Most voters believe the popularity boost President Obama has received following the killing of Osama bin Laden will disappear quickly, according to a new poll conducted for The Hill. Almost three in five likely voters think the “bin Laden bounce” will vanish within three months, the poll indicates. Only one in four believes that Obama will still be benefitting in six months’ time. Obama is currently enjoying a major spike in his approval ratings: A New York Times/CBS poll last week showed an 11-point jump in his approval rating compared to two weeks before. Gallup’s daily tracking poll showed Obama’s...

Call it "scared straight" for bad check writers: a holistic approach delivered with a barking threat of legal action to get and keep their finances in order. The York County District Attorney's Bad Check Restitution Program has been in operation since June 2007. More than $267,225 in restitution has been returned to area merchants because of it. And more than 800 defendants have avoided a bad check charge on their records by making good on their bounced checks and paying for a financial accountability class that makes the program no cost to the county. But one Spring Grove man got...

Just 46% of Americans approve of the job that Barack Obama is doing vs. 53% who disapprove, according to the latest Rasmussen poll. That’s almost equal to the 46%-54% disparity just before his State of the Union address. Earlier this week, Obama got as high as 50% support vs. 49% opposed. The rise and fall isn’t a surprise. State of the Union speeches often give presidents a short-term lift but no meaningful lasting benefit.

MURRIETA -- Two people watched in horror as a 40-year-old skydiver fell to his death during a jump near Murrieta, according to authorities. The man, from Boston, Massachusetts, landed on the driveway of a home in the 38000 block of Calle de Lobo near Avenida Arboles in the rural La Cresta area shortly around 4:50 p.m. Wednesday and was pronounced dead a short time later, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Two witnesses were standing less than 100 feet away at the time of the fall, said Sgt. John Kaiser, of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. The man's parachute...

Rally monkey or a dead cat?Posted by Tracy Alloway on Mar 10 17:56. You decide. (Note, the DJIA currently ahead +321.22 points).

The post-convention national polls mostly show John McCain with a small lead over Barack Obama. But what's been happening in the states? I've been looking at the post-convention state polls at realclearpolitics.com, pollster.com, and fivethirtyeight.com and find some significant differences from pre-convention polls. They tend to suggest that the battlefield is shifting, with more states within McCain's reach and fewer within Obama's. Some caution is in order: We're talking about only one or two polls in some states but as many as eight in ultracritical Ohio. I haven't included the Zogby Internet polls in my analysis. I've rounded off the...

Could it be that the McCain-Palin ticket is seeing a "Charlie Gibson bounce" in their poll numbers? Perhaps. In today's Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll, McCain broke out of a week or more or less being tied with Obama to show a 3% point lead at 50-47%. It also marked the first plus 50 day for the McCain Palin ticket. Now, the signficance of this poll vis a vis Gibson is tdoay's Rasmussen tracking poll includees surveys taken Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In other words, this was the first poll including only surveys conducted after the first excerpts of the...

A new Ipsos/McClatchy poll finds the race between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama is a dead heat, with less than two months until the election. "The race has tightened," said Clifford Young, senior vice president of Ipsos Public Affairs, which conducted the poll Sept. 5-9. "McCain got a very good bump from his convention and now it's a real race." Bounces up in polls immediately following conventions are no guarantee of victory in November. Candidates who got higher post-convention poll bounces than their opponents and went on to lose include Barry Goldwater in 1964, Jimmy Carter in 1980,...

Maybe political conventions don't matter. That seems to be the conclusion from Public Policy Polling, a Democratic firm, and the conservative Civitas Institute, which both released new poll results this week. Officials with both groups said their latest polls showed that the presidential candidates got little or no bounce with North Carolina voters as a result of the recent national conventions. The Civitas poll shows that Republican John McCain was the choice of 43 percent in a survey of 600 registered voters and that Democrat Barack Obama was the choice of 42 percent. When leaners were included, McCain's numbers were...

Obama hasn’t lost ground since last month — he was at 42 then and he’s at 42 now — but McCain’s gained six points since, thanks mainly to that surge among indies. If the CW is right and independents are currently overrepresented by conservatives disgruntled with the GOP but sympathetic to its principles, then the convention was a huge success in drawing them back. Current favorable ratings among indies: McCain 67/21, Palin 55/25, Obama 50/39. 40 percent of them say they’re more likely to vote for McCain after the Palin pick versus 31 who say less, again suggesting a rightward...

Some fear Obama's more aggressive tone could enhance her appeal among white, blue-collar voters.The emergence of Sarah Palin as a political force in the presidential race has left many top Democrats fretting that, just two weeks after their convention ended on an emotional high, Barack Obama's campaign has suddenly lost its stride. Obama has responded aggressively this week to Palin's presence on the Republican ticket, using TV ads and campaign rallies to attack her contention that she is a political reformer who will take on the Washington establishment -- a role Obama has long claimed as his alone. But some...

In an election for President of the United States in North Carolina Tuesday, Republican John McCain suddenly and breathtakingly surges to a 20-point win over Democrat Barack Obama, 58% to 38%, according to this latest exclusive SurveyUSA election poll conducted for ABC11-WTVD.

John McCain’s selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate has given the Republican ticket a boost, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. More than one-third of respondents, 34%, said Palin makes it more likely for them to vote for McCain. However, 25% of likely voters said the selection of the Alaska governor makes it less likely they will vote for McCain, while 40% said it makes no difference at all. On the Democratic ticket, the choice of Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as vice president, has less of an impact, with 58% of voters saying...

Oh no! The polls! They suddenly don't look good for Barack Obama! But does it really matter at this point? Should the campaign—and its supporters—start to panic? We checked in with two Democratic strategists who have different opinions on the situation. Here's the case for pessimism. The jobless rate is up, home sales are down, and the Democrats have an appealing, history-making nominee. So that rash of McCain red, spreading like measles over the RealClearPolitics.com polling chart, is nothing to worry about—a temporary Republican sugar high, right? Not so fast. Yes, this year's trends should favor the Democrats, with a...

YESTERDAY'S Gallup poll had John McCain ahead of Barack Obama by an astonishing 10 points among likely voters. A Washington Post poll had that lead at only two points, but clearly showed a McCain surge - especially among women. This wasn't what Democrats were expecting when they left Denver - yet they have nobody to blame but themselves. Obama's toughest challenge has always been to connect with working-class swing voters. So attacking the poster child for small-town values, Sarah Palin, was a bad strategy. No, Obama didn't engage in the mass sneering at Palin - but he did fall into...

Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain has gotten a jolt of support right where he wanted it - from the independent voters whom he courted so aggressively at last week's convention - and now holds a healthy lead over his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, in the chase for that key constituency. A Gallup Poll to be released Tuesday shows that Mr. McCain's backing among independent voters jumped 12 percentage points in recent days, providing welcome news for a Republican candidate who has been torn between nurturing his maverick appeal to independents and trying to appease the party's conservative base......

Suddenly, it's Poll City around here today. As The Ticket reported earlier, the new Gallup/USA Today poll found a significant post-convention bounce for the John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket, a turnaround of 8 points to give the M-S ticket a 4-point lead over Barack Obama-Joe Biden. A new political button for the Republican presidential ticket of Senator John McCain of Arizona and Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska But now this afternoon come two more national polls essentially confirming the same trends with some significant subterranean changes: -- the ABC News/Washington Post national poll of registered voters, which shows Obama's 6-point August...

White Women Shift to McCain as Republican Erodes Obama Lead on Change, Enthusiasm John McCain's taken the better boost from the presidential nominating conventions, eroding Barack Obama's advantage on change, improving on enthusiasm, moving away from George W. Bush -- and advancing among white women with help from his surprise vice presidential pick. Some of McCain's biggest gains in this ABC News/Washington Post poll are among white women, a group to which "hockey mom" Sarah Palin has notable appeal: Sixty-seven percent view her favorably and 58 percent say her selection makes them more confident in McCain's decision-making. Among those with...

PRINCETON, NJ -- John McCain leads Barack Obama, 49% to 44%, in the immediate aftermath of the Republican National Convention, according to the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking results.

I have never experienced four days like this in my life. So much of the Convention had been planned for months and dreamed of for years, but nothing prepares you for the actual experience. Add to that the craziness of the week, and it made for an experience of a lifetime. The last night was very special to me because it featured both of my parents and allowed our entire family to share in the moment. People don't always see or understand the challenges that a political family encounters; there are some difficult times along the way. But on Thursday...

Look at the Intrade numbers that have been holding at roughtly 60/40 for Obama until two nights ago. Last night they took a 10 point shift. This is one of the most predictive indicators of anything. People put their money where their polling is.

This article is a link only. Link to article here. The upshot: the numbers are now 54%-44% +/- 3%, per the USA Today/ Gallup poll.

http://www.pollingreport.com/wh08gen.htm This is a site that accumulates polling results. They are showing a Gallup poll of likely voter, covering a time period of 9/5-7. It shows McCain with a 10 point lead. 54% vs 44%. Can anyone verify this? Have they gotten a hold of the poll early and updated their site before they were supposed to? The only thing I can find on USA-Today is a Gallup poll of registered voters that shows McCain 50% and Obama 44%. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-07-poll_N.htm It doesn't say anything about likely voters. Can anyone confirm this site's data. I'm trying not to get too excited,...

Can't link directly.

Sen. Barack Obama’s lead in national polls has shrunk to one point, according to CNN’s latest “poll of polls.” Sunday’s poll of polls shows Obama leading John McCain 44 to 43 percent. Obama held a three-point lead in Saturday’s poll of polls. The senator from Illinois was leading McCain 45-42 percent. "All of the surveys included in our national polling average were conducted at least in part during the Republican Convention," noted CNN Senior Political Researcher Alan Silverleib. "It's still too early to know exactly how much of a bounce McCain has received. That said, the daily tracking numbers indicate...

Whether it was John McCain's speech or the presence of Sarah Palin, or whatever, the GOP tickets has emerged from two weeks of convetions with a slight lead in the latest Gallup daily tracking poll. The 48 percent for McCain, 45 percent for Obama lead represents the first time McCain has led in the poll since mid-August. The 48 percent ties his largest base among registered voters being polled since this poll began in March. Again, and as always, poll numbers in September do not determine the outcome of an election, and this is state by state. but it does...

The Beast’s predictions from Friday of a dead heat in the RCP.com average and +2 McCain by Wednesday are looking pretty feasible. The race has shrunk to +.08 Obama in overall polls at RCP.com, which is a 6 point shift in as many days. Expect it to continue on this way a little more as McCain’s convention sleigh coasts to a stop at the bottom of the hill. On Gallup (McCain +3): This is the most, but not all of convention bounce - expect it to maybe even tick up a point or two then drop back down somewhat. By...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday, September 7, shows the race for the White House is tied. In the first national polling results based entirely on interviews conducted after Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech, Barack Obama gets 46% of the vote and so does John McCain. When "leaners" are included, it’s all even at 48%. Tracking Poll results are released at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time each day and a FREE daily e-mail update is available. This past Tuesday, Obama’s bounce peaked with the Democrat enjoying a six-percentage point advantage. Before the two conventions were held, Obama had consistently...

In the first national polling results based entirely on interviews conducted after Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech, Barack Obama gets 46% of the vote and so does John McCain. When "leaners" are included, it’s all even at 48%.

PRINCETON, NJ -- The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update shows John McCain moving ahead of Barack Obama, 48% to 45%, when registered voters are asked for whom they would vote if the presidential election were held today.

John McCain has moved ahead of Barack Obama in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking, 48% to 45%, following last week’s Republican convention. This is McCain’s best showing since May.More ...

UTICA, New York - Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin left St. Paul, Minnesota, with a smallish bounce overall and some energy in key demographic groups, as the race for the presidency enters a key stage and voters begin to tune in to the contest, the latest Zogby Interactive poll finds. The McCain/Palin ticket wins 49.7% support, compared to 45.9% backing for the Obama/Biden ticket, this latest online survey shows. Another 4.4% either favored someone else or were unsure. The Ticket Horserace 9-5/6 8-29/30 McCain-Palin 49.7% 47.1% Obama-Biden 45.9% 44.6% Others/Not sure 4.4% 8.3%

UTICA, New York - Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin left St. Paul, Minnesota, with a smallish bounce overall and some energy in key demographic groups, as the race for the presidency enters a key stage and voters begin to tune in to the contest, the latest Zogby Interactive poll finds. Data from this poll is available here The McCain/Palin ticket wins 49.7% support, compared to 45.9% backing for the Obama/Biden ticket, this latest online survey shows. Another 4.4% either favored someone else or were unsure. The Ticket Horserace 9-5/6 8-29/30 McCain-Palin 49.7% 47.1% Obama-Biden 45.9% 44.6% Others/Not sure 4.4%...

UTICA, New York - Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin left St. Paul, Minnesota, with a smallish bounce overall and some energy in key demographic groups, as the race for the presidency enters a key stage and voters begin to tune in to the contest, the latest Zogby Interactive poll finds. The McCain/Palin ticket wins 49.7% support, compared to 45.9% backing for the Obama/Biden ticket, this latest online survey shows. Another 4.4% either favored someone else or were unsure.

PRINCETON, NJ -- Barack Obama's advantage over John McCain has been shrinking since the start of the Republican National Convention, and is now down to just two percentage points -- 47% to 45% -- too close to call. This is according to Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Wednesday through Friday, Sept. 3-5.

Rasmussen is unchanged from yesterday, and now includes two days of Palin's speech and one day of McCain's speech. Either Wednesday was a really bad polling day for McCain, or we are overestimating the bounce, if any, that McCain-Palin got.

John McCain headed into the last 60 days of the US presidential campaign neck and neck with Barack Obama after a “Sarah Palin bounce” appeared to have all but cancelled out the Democrat’s lead in the polls. With the Republican Party finishing its convention in St Paul believing that victory on November 4 is truly within its grasp, the Rasmussen tracking poll yesterday had Mr Obama on 46 per cent and Mr McCain on 45 per cent.

A poll conducted from August 23-27 by DFM Research of 400 likely voters shows Obama leading 43% to 40% with 5% Other and 12% Unsure (margin of error +/- 5%). This is the first ND Poll since February showing Obama Leading in North Dakota. (Real Clear Politics has McCain up +3, +1, and +6 in the last 3 polls and Obama up +4 in February) I spoke with Dean Mitchell of DFM Research Today and he stated that the poll was conducted during the DNC Convention with polling ending the day prior to Obama's speech. The full results are listed...

According to Gallup, Barack Obama is now leading the race for president with his highest share of support to date: According to a Gallup poll published in the NYT, 1988: Fifty-five percent of the 948 registered voters interviewed in the poll said they preferred to see Mr. Dukakis win the 1988 Presidential election, while 38 percent said they preferred to see Mr. Bush win.

Looks like Gallup created an Obama bounce. The poll was taken from 8-30-08 to 9-2-08 that is over Labor Day weekend. I thought the weekend polls alway favored Democrates. Not to mention the fact they were all registered voters not likely voters. Also doesn't Gallup poll for liberal news organizations from time to time?

Hmmmm.....I am excited by the Palin pick, but I think the constant hammering by the MSM on her private life is having an effect on the undecided/independents. I'm sure if the media was fair and hammered Obama for Rezko, Chicago Annenberg Challenge, Ayres, Wright, etc. things would be closer. Oh well, wishing for fairness by the MSM is like wishing for clean politics in Chicago.

Leads McCain by eight percentage points, 50% to 42%

Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Aug. 30 through Sept. 1, finds Barack Obama leading the race for president with his highest share of support to date. Fully half of national registered voters now favor Obama for president, while 42% back John McCain. Prior to now, no more than 49% of registered voters supported Obama for president in Gallup Poll Daily tracking. Still, Obama's eight percentage point lead over McCain in the new poll falls one point shy of the lead he attained in late July after returning from a well-publicized trip to Europe and parts of the Middle East. At...

Barack Obama’s post-Democratic National Convention bounce in the polls appears to be slightly smaller than the norm of past conventions, and it's gradually depreciating. The Gallup daily tracking poll has found that since the conclusion of the convention, Obama has risen 4 percentage points in the polls, to lead McCain 49 percent to 43 percent today. That's a slightly smaller uptick in the polls than the 5- to 6-point bounce earned by a typical party nominee, by Gallup’s measure, since 1964. Obama and McCain were evenly split at 45 percentage points apiece prior to the Democratic convention, according to Gallup....

Sarah Palin is a Bounce-Killer. Actually, Palin was only partially responsible for zeroing out Obama’s convention bounce. Obama himself was also to blame. Rasmussen did a three day running poll, which included Thursday (Obama’s speech), Friday (Palin pick), and yesterday. [snip] There have been significant changes in perception of John McCain in the two days of polling since he named Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Since then, 49% of Republicans voice a Very Favorable opinion of McCain. That’s up six percentage points from 43% just before the announcement. Also, 64% of unaffiliated voters now give positive reviews...