Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Polls, huh, Good GOD, what are they good for?

I think I've put up at least 3 ______, huh, Good God posts before, but this one I'm pretty excited about, and I think the title is very apt.

I just finished reading a long but interesting and very worthwhile post over at Americablog about polls, why they matter, the current polling, what it tells us, and what folks should anticipate as they look towards this fall's election. There are pieces of what they talk about that make me think all the more that Biden could be a good VP pick, and there are pieces that explain some of the context for where things stand here looking towards the conventions in the next couple weeks.

The bottom line in the article is that basically while this year has been talked about as a potentially transformational or completely new/different kind of election there are many indications that it will be very traditional in many ways. Polling and other indicators seem to show that Obama and McCain will need to fight and fight hard for every vote through the fall, and that we'll likely see the battles shaping up on familiar ground (think Ohio, Florida, etc.).

That said, I think people should continue to push to get new folks excited about engagement in this election. Obama is an electrifying presence, and one that I still believe can turn out flocks of new voters, but only if the campaign and those who already are behind it continue to try and find those new folks, register them, and get them to show up in November. In the meantime, having someone like Biden on the ticket seems (as I said before) like it could really help sure up some of the folks who are searching for depth of experience on a ticket. Blah blah blah... anyway, check out the Americablog post, "Why people should be worried about the polls." It's worth a read.