Boy, what a difference opinion polls make on morale. John McCain is sliding, and his followers are angry. Now that McCain needs to play catch-up, he’s pulling out the smears and avoiding economic issues. After his running mate said that Obama was “palling around with” former Weathermen militant Bill Ayers, it set a dangerous course for his campaign. With McCain, Palin, all their surrogates, and Fox News now telling conservatives that Obama is a “pal” of Ayers, the recipients are terrified and outraged that their candidate is losing to a terrorist sympathizer. Perhaps that explains this unpleasant moment.

Meanwhile, with Obama projected to win on average around 350 electoral votes and an undeniable lead in national polling, morale is pretty high at Obama HQ and on the ground. Fundraising is continuing to pour in, allowing Obama a considerable advantage in ad spending in pretty much whichever states he chooses. The buoyant mood of the campaign is reflected at its rallies, such as this one in Philadelphia:

The mood in the long lines to get into the five blocks in front of the stage is the precise opposite of the surly scenes outside GOP rallies that have made the rounds on YouTube over the past week. It’s hard to get anyone to say a nasty word about anything. References to John McCain are conspicuously absent from signs and buttons and sidewalk conversation. “Look how beautiful this is,” says Elsa Waldman, 26, a midwife, whose poodle is clad in an Obama shirt. “There’s babies, old people, people in wheelchairs. Historically, us young people don’t get and vote. It’s so exciting.”

Tags: 2008 Presidential Election, Bill Ayers, McCain, Obama, Palin

This entry was posted on Monday, October 13th, 2008 at 9:00 pm and is filed under State of the Race. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.