Who is going out to vote? That is the question that decides this election. No doubt that early polling is favoring the President. Just as there is little doubt that the remaining "likely" voters favor Romney. The key issue is simply how many people go to the polls. The sub-issue is how many of those are within the demographics favoring one candidate or the other.
Last week the S-T did a piece on young voters, specifically those at U. Mass. Dartmouth. The apathy was clear. Not exactly a great sign for the President as this is the age/type of voter more likely than not with an inclination to vote democrat.
While there is still the fight for that little sliver of undecided, the primary focus on both sides right now is to mobilize the base. Get the strong supporters, and as many of the leaners as possible out to the polls. Obama has the better ground game, the stronger infrastructure as far as campaign preparedness.
As close to burnout as I am over all the info and projections, polling data, etc., I still have a building sense of excitement over anticipating of the results. I love watching results come in. Call it being warped, or worse, but I enjoy seeing the numbers put up on the board. My candidates winning would be an extra bonus, but more important in the excitement factor is whether have I "guessed" the actual outcome correctly.
And there seems to be a lot of guessing going on. The variations in polling are really baffling at this point. Some of the polls are just junk. No other way to put it. But the ones that tend to be a bit better than junk seem to be consistent only to the extent that the results are different.
You well see two polls conducted over the same period with differing results. Two polls came out yesterday for the senate race in Virginia. One had the Republican up by +5 and the other had the Democrat up +4. Obviously there is something wrong somewhere. But that is why we actually hold the elections folks.
The hurricane should throw a wrinkle in the election. Not a major one overall, but given the damage in some of the states, it is certainly going to create problems with voting. The only plus in the matter, the states hit hardest should not have the actual outcome in those states affected. New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia are all states where the outcome is pretty much a foregone conclusion in the presidential race.
Not to down play the adverse impact in other states, but the impact on the election will be limited I think to those allowed to vote early not being allowed to vote quite as early.
Truth be told, as much as I find the whole election process interesting, I am ready for it to be over.
Unlike some, I don't believe the world will end come a week from today if my preferred candidate does not win. The United States of America will continue on. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts will still exist. There will still be about the same number of unhappy people no matter what the outcome.
We will get a couple of weeks worth of sour grapes out of one side or the other. Years of moaning and groaning by some. We will see the facebook posts from one half of the country telling the other half just how stupid it was for voting that way. Let's not forget the claims of stolen, bought, swindled and fleecing. Of course we can't leave out the smugness. What would any election be like without smug expressions and sayings.
But, in the end the world will still turn.
Post election chatter is usually pretty, shall we say interesting. Sour grapes usually make bitter whine, so everyone should keep that in mind.
Anyhow, I think it will be a long night, possibly playing out until Wednesday in some places for final tallies. Not to mention the seemingly new trend of lawsuits after an election could drag things out a bit.
Truly, the best thing that can happen to this country would be a clear and convincing win by one or the other. A mandate kind of win. It doesn't look that way, but there is certainly a need for it. But it is a surprise I would be willing to live with. Who knows, if enough people go to the polls, maybe we could find out whether there really is a silent majority out there.
But until the election happens and the votes are counted, we all simply keep plugging away.
Enough rambling. The only thing I have left to say for today is remember next Tuesday. Go out and vote.
And there seems to be a lot of guessing going on. The variations in polling are really baffling at this point. Some of the polls are just junk. No other way to put it. But the ones that tend to be a bit better than junk seem to be consistent only to the extent that the results are different.
You well see two polls conducted over the same period with differing results. Two polls came out yesterday for the senate race in Virginia. One had the Republican up by +5 and the other had the Democrat up +4. Obviously there is something wrong somewhere. But that is why we actually hold the elections folks.
The hurricane should throw a wrinkle in the election. Not a major one overall, but given the damage in some of the states, it is certainly going to create problems with voting. The only plus in the matter, the states hit hardest should not have the actual outcome in those states affected. New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia are all states where the outcome is pretty much a foregone conclusion in the presidential race.
Not to down play the adverse impact in other states, but the impact on the election will be limited I think to those allowed to vote early not being allowed to vote quite as early.
Truth be told, as much as I find the whole election process interesting, I am ready for it to be over.
Unlike some, I don't believe the world will end come a week from today if my preferred candidate does not win. The United States of America will continue on. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts will still exist. There will still be about the same number of unhappy people no matter what the outcome.
We will get a couple of weeks worth of sour grapes out of one side or the other. Years of moaning and groaning by some. We will see the facebook posts from one half of the country telling the other half just how stupid it was for voting that way. Let's not forget the claims of stolen, bought, swindled and fleecing. Of course we can't leave out the smugness. What would any election be like without smug expressions and sayings.
But, in the end the world will still turn.
Post election chatter is usually pretty, shall we say interesting. Sour grapes usually make bitter whine, so everyone should keep that in mind.
Anyhow, I think it will be a long night, possibly playing out until Wednesday in some places for final tallies. Not to mention the seemingly new trend of lawsuits after an election could drag things out a bit.
Truly, the best thing that can happen to this country would be a clear and convincing win by one or the other. A mandate kind of win. It doesn't look that way, but there is certainly a need for it. But it is a surprise I would be willing to live with. Who knows, if enough people go to the polls, maybe we could find out whether there really is a silent majority out there.
But until the election happens and the votes are counted, we all simply keep plugging away.
Enough rambling. The only thing I have left to say for today is remember next Tuesday. Go out and vote.
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