fourteen! (obama opens wide lead on mccain)

Today (coincidentally the fourteenth of October) a new CBS News/New York Times poll has Barack Obama leading John McCain by a whopping 14 points, 53%-39%.

One week ago, prior to the Town Hall debate that uncommitted voters saw as a win for Obama, that margin was just three points.

Among independents who are likely voters - a group that has swung back and forth between McCain and Obama over the course of the campaign - the Democratic ticket now leads by 18 points. McCain led among independents last week.

McCain's campaign strategy may be hurting hurt him: Twenty-one percent of voters say their opinion of the Republican has changed for the worse in the last few weeks. The top two reasons cited for the change of heart are McCain's attacks on Obama and his choice of Sarah Palin as running mate.

Obama is currently leading in every major poll, and Real Clear Politics gives him an average lead of 8.1 points after factoring in this new poll and an LA Times/Bloomberg poll that has the Democrat leading by nine points. (Obama's second-highest showing is in the GW/Battleground Tracking poll, in which he leads by 13 points.)

Taking a look at the electoral map at RCP, the Democratic ticket also holds a clear advantage over McCain and Palin. Obama has 313 electoral votes according to their calculations, while McCain would only win 158. Even if McCain were to win all of the remaining toss-up states (Nevada, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, and North Carolina), he would still lose the election handily. Notice any notorious swing states missing from that list? That's because Florida, Virginia, Colorado, and New Mexico have shown the potential to become bonafide blue states, and for now are being listed in the Democratic column.

obama out in front in new poll

In a new Washington Post-ABC News national poll, Sen. Barack Obama has opened a big lead on his Republican opponent -- almost ten points.

More voters trust Obama to deal with the economy, and he currently has a big edge as the candidate who is more in tune with the economic problems Americans now face. He also has a double-digit advantage on handling the current problems on Wall Street, and as a result, there has been a rise in his overall support. The poll found that, among likely voters, Obama now leads McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent. Two weeks ago, in the days immediately following the Republican National Convention, the race was essentially even, with McCain at 49 percent and Obama at 47 percent.

Perhaps these new poll numbers -- which give Obama a comfortable lead on the economy -- have something to do with McCain suspending his campaign and calling to delay the first debate.

Jaw Dropping Poll Numbers

No, we're not talking about the 34% overall approval rating for George Bush in the latest CBS poll, the lowest of his presidency. Nor is the 18% approval rating earned by Dead-Eye Dick much of a surprise. We're talking about the Zogby poll findings that 72% of American soliders serving in Iraq think we should pull our troops out within the year. That's the good news. Here's the bad:

85% said the U.S. mission is mainly "to retaliate for Saddam's role in the 9-11 attacks," and 77% said they also believe the main or a major reason for the war was to stop Saddam from protecting al-Qaida in Iraq."

Okay, troops, we're very, very proud of you. And we're doing our best to bring you home. But do we have to say this again? Saddam Hussein thought Al Qaeda was a threat to his power. He wanted nothing to do with them. He had no ties to the attacks on 9-11. There were no Iraqis involved, period. Fifteen of the nineteen hijackers were Saudi Arabians, and two were from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. See, that's why we're turning over our port operations to Dubai Ports World. It's not because Bush is cozy with these guys. It's just that, like the Godfather, the administration likes to keep our friends close and our enemies closer. It's part of our strategery in the global war on terror.