While it’s been hard not to let out a primal scream over the last few days, I’m trying my hardest not to get worried. Well, too late. By “not worried,” I really mean “not too worried.”
I know that the McCain post-convention bounce will fade and wither away, but there are two polls from yesterday that concern me greatly:
1) Barack is losing support from white women — for now. An ABC News/Washington Post poll released yesterday finds that among white women, McCain is leading 53 to 41. The pre-convention numbers favored Barack at 50 to 42. This is a key constituency that we absolutely need to win this election. I can’t remember the time that the Democrats haven’t finished ahead in this demographic.
2) McCain is now winning a majority of Independents. Gallup has found that McCain’s support from Independents has also jumped from the low-40’s to the low-50’s. Before the convention, Obama and McCain were tied at 42% apiece. Now McCain has 52%.
Repeat the mantra with me and cross your fingers: “It’s just a convention bounce, it’s just a convention bounce.”
I’m hoping that today’s daily numbers show us doing better. And I’m also hoping that as the state polls come in, we’re still looking good on the electoral map, because that’s the one that really counts.
