I love these new insta-polls. (By the way, these are real scientific polls, not garbage internet polls.)
CBS (which polled uncommitted voters only): Obama wins big, 39-27, with 35% saying a tie.
Another key point: Obama before debate on “handle the economy” was at 54%; increased to 68% after. Also, before, Obama was at 60% for “understands your needs and problems,” and a whopping 80% afterward.
Finally, in being “prepared for president” — a big jump for Obama from 42% to 57%.
Outstanding results.
UPDATE: CNN’s instapoll:
Who did the best job in the debate?
McCain (R) 30
Obama (D) 54
(Independents only: Obama wins 54-28.)
Opinion of Barack Obama (before debate)
Favorable: 64 (60)
Unfavorable: 34 (38)
Opinion of John McCain (before debate)
Favorable: 51 (51)
Unfavorable: 46 (46)
James Carville is flusteringly saying that if Obama goes into this race five points in the lead and loses the election, then, well….and he doesn’t finish the sentence. I think he was going for “we’ll need to seriously examine the seething yet secret racism that still burdens America”, but he also looked as if he could be imagining race riots.
<
p>Then Paul Begala relates the racist background of the writer Palin quoted in her RNC speech (“we grow good people in our small towns”) and follows up with the AP calling her attack on Ayers “racially tinged”. I’m not sure, but he edged toward calling her a closet racist. That’s a strong assertion (though if anyone say the Daily Show report from Wasilla, the odds look appreciable.)
<
p>Some strong stuff, that I’m not sure I agree with.
He needs to shut his pie-hole.
I think he’s pretty good, though this guilt by association is a bit of a stretch.
<
p>Nevertheless, there’s no doubt in my mind that one of the reasons Palin was picked was because she comes from “small town America” and can keep saying that phrase over and over again (which she has).
<
p>”Small town America” is juxtaposed with urban areas, and it’s pretty clear the subtle messaging going on there. Not sure it worked (in fact, I don’t think it has), but that was unquestionably part of the McCain camp’s thinking.
…why certain places are more “American” than others? Why is a small town more “American” than a big city? Why is the “heartland” more “American” than the coasts? If we were going strictly by statistics then wouldn’t the opposite be true in both cases? After all more Americans live in coastal states than in the middle of the country and by definition more people live in cities than small towns. I believe this has been true for several decades if not quite a century yet. Why are small town/heartland values considered more genuine, or for that matter why is it assumed that they are all that different? One of these days I’d like the urban coasters to rise up and say, “Hey, we’re Americans too!”
<
p>Have the same people who invoke the founding generation as a model and reason we should return to values they may or may not have held forgotten that this country was, after all, founded by eastern elites? For Massachusetts in particular, I’m tired of the state that staged the Boston Tea Party, experienced the Boston Massacre, and fired the “Shot Heard Round the World” being lectured about patriotism; I’m tired of the state with one of the lowest divorce rates (THE lowest?) in the nation, that recognizes the dignity of all families, and has the closest thing to universal health care being lectured about values; I’m tired of the state originally founded as God’s Commonwealth, the legacy of which has continued through committment to social justice and education being lectured about religion. We have contributed much to this country throughout its history and I wish we were appreciated for it.
Guilt by association, or intentional?
Remember, the lion’s share of that speech had been written for Generic Vice Presidential Nominee.
if one of their ‘generic’ speeches quotes from such a vile person.
Obama did an overall better job – I was stuck by two McCain cmments – the very strange and dismissive “that one” and how he chided Obama on being a taxer and spender but then drops a new 300 Billion dollar home mortgage program – Whee the hell did tha come from?
Is McCain’s “That one” reference to Obama sitting as badly with anyone else as it is with me? At best, it’s condescending. Who refers to their opponent, especially if it’s a fellow senator, like that? Was he that riled up that he couldn’t say “Senator Obama” or even just “Barack”?
<
p>Or am I overreacting?
<
p>I need to sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning.
also mccain saying to the only black man in the audience that he’s sure he’d never heard of fannie mae or freddie mac. what a condescending racist pig.
It was a strange statement, and he should have said “may never have heard of” instead. It’s tough when every word counts and some of ’em are unscripted.
<
p>There was at least three black woman in the audience in addition to Michele Obama, and I think I saw an older light skinned black male as well.
<
p>I don’t remember how many people they said were in the audience, but surely they could have found more than 4 black people in Nashville Tennessee… seemed strange to me.
Maybe it was a coded attack. It was still very weird. One of the commentators pointed out McCain may just be overly used to speaking to the converted.
The audience was selected by Gallup to be representative, not of the population at large, but of undecided voters in Nashville.
<
p>I’m betting that the percentage of black people among undecided voters is a bit smaller than of the population as a whole.
<
p>More here.
just trying to frame his response in a non-wonky, kitchen-table way.
<
p>Not to the man who actually asked the question, but to the viewing audience.
<
p>An equal-opportunity condescender, in other words.
racist and xenophobic coming our the the M-P campaign lately, he no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt.
It was pretty late for McCain to be up, and he couldn’t remember the names of his interlocutors, either…
Interesting, though if you asked most pollsters, they would likely agree that these insta-polls are not particularly “scientific”, given that they are taken within such a limited time frame instead of over a full day. Nevertheless, better that they are this way than vice-versa (and they certainly are better than internet polls, at least!).
<
p>I think it was a tie like the first one, but as everyone else is correctly saying, a tie goes to the one in the lead. No game-changers tonight, which is A-OK for Obama.
how differently an undecided voter views these things. The polling even a day or more after the last prez debate, Obama was clearly favored by them – a lot. But ~I~ spent the whole night cringing at things that Obama shoulda-coulda-woulda said to refute some whoppers from McGoo. I thought it was somewhat of a tie with McGoo the aggressive one, I was worried he came off as “strong” to the undecided. But they saw him as even more negative than I did!
because Obama made two very important steps forward, 1) he came across stronger on foreign policy to the extent that I think he has wiped out McCain’s early advantage on this issue and 2) his “likability” factor has increased further in comparison to the snide and negative McCain attitude. In one case Obama overcame a negative, and the other he stretched his lead, especially with the majority female voting block.