And now we get to work

By: Rob
Published On: 9/4/2008 11:44:33 PM

The conventions are over.  Obama got his bounce, and McCain probably gets one too.  No matter -- Virginia is going to be neck and neck all the way through election day.  As you can see from the "poll of polls" trend line to the right, Obama has a slight lead of barely over 1% in Virginia (last poll was 8/22).  That's a toss-up -- and if Obama can turn Virginia blue, McCain would probably not be able to recover.  

And, remember, Jim Webb ended the Senate career and presidential aspirations of George Allen with a 1% win in 2006.  So, every moment spent on organizing and phone banking and canvassing and GOTV now matters.  On top of that, every Obama vote we get to the polls is another likely vote for Mark Warner or Glenn Nye or Judy Feder or Tom Perriello or Gerry Connolly any of the other Democratic candidates for Congress.  These are allies that Obama needs on Capital Hill, and winning multiple congressional seats will further the Democratic momentum of the past decade.

So, now is the time.  Click on our "Obama Central" graphic here or on the right-side panel to reach Obama's Virginia page for more info on volunteering opportunities, media and video, and other happenings and news.  And send this link to your fellow Obama fans that want to get involved.

Comments



Remember Creigh Deeds... (Josh - 9/4/2008 11:47:00 PM)
We came up short on the AG race in 2005 by only 323 votes.

F**



Great point. (Rob - 9/4/2008 11:47:43 PM)


I'll be canvassing for Perriello this weekend (aznew - 9/4/2008 11:47:49 PM)
Obama comes up plenty in those discussions.


Agreed. (JPTERP - 9/5/2008 12:22:25 AM)
Especially with New Mexico and Iowa looking to go Blue this year -- and Obama likely holding onto Michigan and New Hampshire -- Obama will still need one more state along the lines of a Virginia in order to put him over the top.


that was a quick bounce (bcat - 9/5/2008 12:17:42 PM)
Obama's convention bounce + right-wing Palin enthusiasm + McCain's milquetoast speech = we're back to mid-August, just barely holding the line. The latest Rasmussen has Obama up by two or one, with or without leaners.

Just when you thought the race was opening up. It's back to fighting for every single vote.



clearly i need html training (bcat - 9/5/2008 12:19:34 PM)
Rasmussen.


Don't worry about that. (Pain - 9/5/2008 12:35:27 PM)

Everyone expected both parties to get a bounce from the conventions.

What is telling is that Obamas numbers are moving up and down and McCains are stuck in the low 40's where they've been for months.  If he can't move his numbers up then it's hard to win an election with 44% of the vote....Unless Ross Perot is running too. :)



Telling Obama's story so that it outshine's McCain's (presidentialman - 9/5/2008 1:42:15 PM)
I think, after reading Krugman's latest, its imperative that we tell up the single mother raising child with grandparents close at hand, to make it seem that all the Harvard and Columbia is what it is, self made man acheiving the American Dream, rather than joining the Eastern elite of the Franklins(for those not in the know, that Richard Nixon's fraternity that he was rejected from) I doubt it will be be an easy sell to Katrinad, unemployed Americans, but voters minds are short and we need to keep reinforcing the true change agents.  


Emotions (Teddy - 9/5/2008 4:43:57 PM)
apparently are what decide Americans' voting patterns, something Republicans know and work ruthlessly. Democrats naively keep parsing Republican speeches for policy substance, and complain when there is none....But Republicans go on to win elections because they sell an emotional narrative to the gullible voter with the notoriously short-term memory problem .

Democrats need to get the emotion back into their narrative, even if it's only an introduction allowing them to slip into something more substantive (pretty soon the voter might even realize the Republicans offer all frosting and no cake). And honest journalists (what there are of them?) should go after Palin on the campaign trail, even if she has more protection than Bush around her. The pregnant teenage daughter was notably absent from the Convention photos, although the younger sister and newborn baby were on display. The whole "narrative" for Palin reeks of falseness, and has the potential to be an ongoing problem.