Poll watching and boosting the base

Yesterday it was Gallup. Today it's Rasmussen and for the last week, or so, it's been IBD's TIPP poll. They all show the race tightening as we come down the final stretch. For the most part, they're all in the margin of error which means the election could go either way.

So why am I confident that McCain will win?

That's a question I hear from friends and chat-mates; from co-workers and colleagues. They want to know how I can be so optimistic when things seem so gloomy, so pessimistic.

Well, I used to be a severe pessimist. I used to look at the bad before the good because I didn't believe the good could really be there, or at the very least it was overshadowed. But sitting here and covering this election made me realize that if I looked at this race from a pessimist's point-of-view, I wouldn't be doing anything other than bringing down the people in the base of the party which is what the media seems intent on doing this time around.

Turn on the news -- any news -- and watch as they show you scenes from Obama rallies, and talk to Obama supporters that are fired up. Then they'll switch to the talking heads who opine about the "vaunted" youth vote, the seemingly incredible record voter registrations, the large swaths of people turning out for early voting, and they'll remind you that Obama is still raising gobs of money.

That can take the wind out of your sails pretty quick, huh?

Why? Why should you be concerned? Think about it. You think that the media's going to touch this Rasmusen poll today? They didn't talk about Gallup's yesterday. Why not? Because they're in the tank for Obama, and anything that's negative to him -- and these polls are -- they're not going to talk about. They'll talk about Zogby being up by five for Obama because that makes him out of the margin of error.

The media has set this up to do one thing, and one thing only. They are trying to demoralize our base so we don't turn out. They don't want us going to the polls because they know we're not voting for Obama. So they're doing whatever they can to perpetuate this image of an unstoppable juggernaut. They'd like us to believe that an Obama presidency is inevitable. They'd like us to believe that come voting day the kids will swamp the polls, and elevate Obama to the highest office in the land.

Just one small problem. The kids have NEVER been reliable at the polls. Oh sure, you get a few that turn out -- first-timers or longtime, hardcore, activist-minded youths. But you never see them turnout in the numbers the media hypes. This year, if you listen to the media, millions upon millions of fired-up, excited youths are supposed to turn out, and we're led to believe they're going to vote for Obama.

I was talking to a guy yesterday who worried about that. I assured him that the kids today -- those college-aged kids that Obama's been targeting -- aren't stupid. Sure we think they are because they seem to think with emotion rather than logic, but when you get down to brass tacks, and root around in the specifics of an argument, these kids get it. They understand that when they get out of college, or if they're in college and working, that electing Obama means that their taxes are going to go up. If they graduate and move onto that job they've been prepping themselves for, they're gonna get knocked out of bed by the taxes they get hit with.

Toss in abortion (if they're Christian), the war (especially if they have family serving overseas), or federal judicial appointments (if they pay attention to such things) and you have the makings of a disastrous presidency if Obama is elected. these kids get it. Marcie and I have had the opportunity to talk to high school seniors who really seem pumped for Obama. Using fact and logic we have explained to them why Obama is the wrong choice this year, and why his inexperience in certain realms could invite disaster to this nation. It wasn't easy, nor was it pretty. Some raw nerves got exposed, but in the end the kids understood where we were coming from.

If the media were truly doing it's job and abiding by it's own ethical standards, then Obama wouldn't have a chance this year. Think about it. More scrutiny has been executed on Sarah Palin and John McCain than on Barack Obama. You question Obama on his past associations, you're racist. You question him on foreign policy, you're racist. You question him on taxes and his socialist ideas, you're racist. He's not throwing the race card around nearly as much as the media is. They're a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Obama campaign, and they're not hiding it.

So, again I ask why is anyone paying attention to their reports regarding the state of this race when you all know damn well that they're lying their butts off?

Here's my prescription for you for the next seven days. Turn off the news. Don't watch. Don't read it in any newspaper. You need news? Go to the 'Net. There are plenty of news sources on the 'Net that you can stay updated with what's going on in the world. Next volunteer to help the McCain camp whether it's through phone work, knocking on doors, or promising to help in the GOTV efforts. It'll help bolster your confidence that McCain can win. Lastly, when that's all said an done, pick a representative or a senator that needs help, and help them. This election is about the presidency, but it's also about the Congress.

If John McCain wins he' not going to be doing much if the Democrats have a veto-proof majority in the House and a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. It's a necessity for us to maintain the margins in both, or reduce the Democrat's majorities. Retaking either House this year isn't feasible, and as Hugh Hewitt would agree, to retake either is going to take this election and the midterms in 2010. (And here's a hint for any Republican in the Congress that might send a staffer on over here to peruse this. Stay true to your word and your ideology, and we can win either House back, or possibly both. Veer off again, and watch the base stay home in 2010.)

Quit fretting about election day. We have confidence that McCain will win. While I've had to adjust our electoral vote map, it hasn't changed as to who will win. Barack Obama is the most non-vetted, inexperienced, unqualified, liberal person to run for the highest office in the land ever. John McCain has been tested and proven to be a real reformer; a reformer that has upset his base more times than we can count, but one who has always put his country first.

So close up ranks, and make sure you show up at the polls with as many friends as possible to vote for John McCain. If we can turn out the vote this year, we can surprise the media into humiliation. And nothing tends to brighten our day more than watching a bunch of glum chumps moan and gripe about their guy not winning an election they thought they had sewn up.

Publius II