Rasmussen: McCain widening lead over Democrats
posted at 3:00 pm on March 24, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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Perhaps the Democrats should listen to the Cassandras forecasting disaster. According to Rasmussen, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have begun to melt down in the crucible of an increasingly nasty primary fight. McCain leads Hillary by seven and Obama by nine, well outside the margin of error:
Looking ahead to the General Election in November, John McCain continues to lead both potential Democratic opponents. McCain leads Barack Obama 50% to 41% and Hillary Clinton 49% to 42% (see recent daily results). New polling shows McCain narrowly behind both Democrats in Nevada while McCain has a solid lead over both in North Carolina. March has been a good month for John McCain. But, a Rasmussen Reports video notes that a good month of March doesn’t get you to the White House, that requires a good day in November. ….
On Monday, McCain is viewed favorably by 55% of voters nationwide and unfavorably by 42%. Obama’s reviews are 46% favorable and 52% unfavorable. For Clinton, those numbers are 42% favorable, 55% unfavorable[.]
The daily tracking polls show both candidates dropping back in McCain’s rear-view mirror. A week ago, McCain led both by six; two weeks ago, only one point separated McCain from either — and Hillary led. McCain has grasped the momentum and steadfastly refused to get between the two Democrats in order to maintain it, and to maintain a much more Presidential mien than either of his prospective opponents.
The favorability ratings make clear the Democratic meltdown. Hillary has spent practically the entire campaign with negative favoribility, but her current -13 appears to be a record. Obama, though, had gotten used to positive favorability, but in March he has gone into the red. He’s currently at a -6, and his 52% unfavorable rating is as high as that number has ever been.
Clearly, the negative campaigning from both Democrats has proven remarkably effective …. for McCain.
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And this is news because? The Dems seem determined to shoot themselves in the head. ANY Republican running now would likely be miles ahead. He doesn’t really have to do a damn thing right now but sit back and watch the carnage.
dustoffmom on March 24, 2008 at 3:06 PM
This is good news all round. A decisive McCain victory will have knock on effects on the Congressionals, in which the GOP faces a very tough fight to reclaim ground. The media will start attacking Republicans again at some point, so here’s hoping that the Democratic civil war continues to worsen all the way to the convention and beyond!
Pax americana on March 24, 2008 at 3:07 PM
Dance! Dance my puppets!!
crazy_legs on March 24, 2008 at 3:07 PM
I see McCain’s unwillingness to attack Obama during the general leading to a reversal of fortune, as the memory of Jeremiah Wright grows more distant. In head-to-head debates I think that Obama, with the aid of the media, will make McCain look as old and creepy as Nixon did in his Waterloo debate.
I hope this isn’t the case. We’ll see.
joewm315 on March 24, 2008 at 3:07 PM
I wish this were a true representation of where the country is, but I think that once the dems finish with their nomination, everything will even back up again within a week.
muyoso on March 24, 2008 at 3:10 PM
These polls don’t mean nothing right now. Still a lot of things can happen from now till November. We just don’t know. If Obama is the nominee I predict he will re-energize the Dem base with another of his glorious speeches that seems to affect Chris Matthews’ leg. Also, McCain is terrible at debating. Either Hillary or Obama will wipe the floor with him in that area.
Looking I’m rooting for McCain but I don’t have my hopes up too high.
terryannonline on March 24, 2008 at 3:12 PM
At this juncture, the Republicans could have nominated a potted plant in 2008, and he’d be leading in the polls by at least 5%.
CyberCipher on March 24, 2008 at 3:13 PM
CyberCipher on March 24, 2008 at 3:13 PM
SECOND LOOK AT A PLOTTED PLANT FOR PREZ!
terryannonline on March 24, 2008 at 3:14 PM
Don’t count your chickens. The MSM will turn its sights on McCain soon enough. The NYT showed that facts won’t stand in the way of a good smear on McCain. An endless flood of “cranky” ‘ill-tempered” “out-of-touch” and “too old” stories will reset the national meme about the election.
Clark1 on March 24, 2008 at 3:15 PM
Using an opinion poll in March to predict the election results in November is like reading the thermometer at 7:30 am March 15th and using the temperature to predict the weather on Thanksgiving.
rockhauler on March 24, 2008 at 3:17 PM
Way way way too early.
But I agree with McCain about him not attacking either Obama or Clinton.
1) There are many others out there to do it.
2) McCain gets to look presidential while the other candidates are forced to keep slinging mud.
3) Obama’s message about uniting and not being divisive appeals to many, yet he is starting to look divisive himself. McCain however, looks to be a uniter by decrying such tactics. Plus he has an actual record of working with members of the other party (even though I don’t like the legislation itself.) i.e., McCain is walking the walk while Barack is just talking.
rbj on March 24, 2008 at 3:19 PM
It’s a long time till Febuary. McCains finances have been much better. Why spend money attacking Obama or Hillary now. There’s plenty of time. I suspect the real attacks will come from the republican party, Obama and fans will have a fit when Rev. Wright is again before the public along with others. Like that ahole Sen. Meeks.
2theright on March 24, 2008 at 3:20 PM
Jesus, Hillary….are you gonna take this Bill Richardson crap!?
Now, get out there and show the Democratic Party that you’re their queen and that Bill Richardson is some boot-licking bandwagon lackey!!! LISTEN to your advisors…like Carville!
Obama got stung last week…..pile on him now….now while you got the muscle!! Start lashing out at that toad, Chris Matthews!
This race for the democratic candidate needs to be decided in the convention….in the steel cage if necessary!!!
wildweasel on March 24, 2008 at 3:20 PM
I have always said that the real race for the presidency was in the republican primary. The dem candidates were all horrible beyond belief.
Too bad the dem RINO Juan Pedro McShame stole the election with his RINO buddies(F Thompson and Willard(Obama)Romney’s)help.. (not to mention his bolshevik buddies in the MSM and some corrupt officials in certain state caucuses/primaries(Wa/La.etc who literally committed election fraud to help him)…
It’s either that or by some miracle Mccain won the nomination even though 75% of republicans oppose him.
SaintOlaf on March 24, 2008 at 3:22 PM
These polls mean less than nothing right now. As soon as the Dims choose a candidate (or kill one off, whatev), their loons are going to begin coalescing around their pick. These polls will instantly tighten, and then likely seesaw until November. I still like McCain’s chances, now that we are beginning to see what a true d*&^% bag Barry really is. (And, well, we always knew what Hillary was.)
Sugar Land on March 24, 2008 at 3:23 PM
This can go on and on till August 25-28, 2008 when the Democrats hold their convention. Afterwards, if there’s no unity in the party, then McCain may be riding a gravy train. Not to say there’s unity within the republican party either.
Kini on March 24, 2008 at 3:23 PM
The bad news is that we will still get a Democrat for POTUS. Let’s hope the House and Senate races do not turn out that bad.
brtex on March 24, 2008 at 3:24 PM
I doubt it will go the convention. They’re going to pile it on Hillary till she finally gives it up. She’ll have no choice but to leave.
terryannonline on March 24, 2008 at 3:24 PM
So much for the greatest speech in recent history, Newsweek.
mymanpotsandpans on March 24, 2008 at 3:30 PM
Rush, you magnificent blastard !
stenwin77 on March 24, 2008 at 3:31 PM
Right now Im worried about a “tet” in Iraq seems Iran knows it needs to influence the US elections with a higher body count.
Hope Im wrong
William Amos on March 24, 2008 at 3:34 PM
Senator McCain’s popularity is not due to anything he does but rather to the ineptness of the Democratic candidates.
TooTall on March 24, 2008 at 3:36 PM
One of my most consistently liberal friends – a Harvard grad and a lawyer, no less – shared with me that he was thinking McCain was the guy he would have voted for (he was terminally ill and has passed – God bless you, Bill).
Bit of a shocker to me, especially as I hunker down and hide from the media blitz of supposed Obamicans. For this reason alone, I continue to call Bullspit on the Obamican nonsense.
Jaibones on March 24, 2008 at 3:36 PM
Good news for us McHeads…
Long way to go until November tho.
JetBoy on March 24, 2008 at 3:37 PM
Newsweak stands by their analysis, and suggests that the only reason we have not appointed Obama King for life is that white conservatives are all racists, and stupid.
Jaibones on March 24, 2008 at 3:37 PM
BTW OT I finally put in my resume to the RNC to work for them. Its a very long shot but I do want to go back to fighting the good fight if they will let me.
William Amos on March 24, 2008 at 3:38 PM
I think McCain must be taking lessons by watching that “Hardball” sketch from SNL from ‘04 starring the Olsen twins.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on March 24, 2008 at 3:39 PM
I’m with you CyberCipher! I vote for the POTed Plant!
Dread Pirate Roberts VI on March 24, 2008 at 3:39 PM
In which case the middle class moderate women are gonna vote for McCain.
funky chicken on March 24, 2008 at 3:44 PM
Will Saint Mc have Holy Joe in a twin bed next to him at 3AM with the phone on a bed table between them!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6GBdyws5YU
…and this is why he’s the… countdown now… ah one, ah two, ah three…
J_Gocht on March 24, 2008 at 3:47 PM
Just wait until the General Election, and the Main Stream Media starts going after McCain.
All of this will be long forgotten.
Seven Percent Solution on March 24, 2008 at 3:48 PM
William Amos, let us know if they hire you. I’ll send a donation in and try to let them know why.
funky chicken on March 24, 2008 at 3:48 PM
The MSM will pop up McCain’s numbers now and under report them, only to show a rebound later..(then report the rebound.. Ad nauseum)
Chakra Hammer on March 24, 2008 at 3:50 PM
Sure but like I said is extreme longshot I have been out of politics for over a decade.
William Amos on March 24, 2008 at 3:54 PM
It’s March, for crying out loud. Trot this poll out in October so we can all have a good chuckle.
Limerick on March 24, 2008 at 3:54 PM
I’d be so happy if he still had this lead…..in October. But it’s still March.
But this is why we need to keep Hillary in this election as long as possible. Help her win those remaining states, or come close to it. Republicans are in a serious disadvantage this year, so we need the Democrat party in a total disarray, we need them bickering and in-fighting at least through the convention, just so we can get ANY sort of edge for the general election.
Vyce on March 24, 2008 at 3:59 PM
It’s testimony to the Boomers’ seizure of our establishment institutions (multi-media, academia, entertainment, mainline denominations, the arts, etc.) and public and private infrastructure (federal and local bureaucracies, non-profit agencies, Silicon Valley and Wall Street titans, white collar unions, etc.) that the country’s cultural/ideological center has shifted Left so much our 2008 presidential options are between a black Marxist, a feminist Progressive and an ‘ole white Liberal.
Mojamaiko on March 24, 2008 at 3:59 PM
Potted Plant ‘08- Because all the others are just manure.
terryannonline on March 24, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Way too early for this survey to mean anything about November. What it means about March is McCain is right for now to just stand in the background and let the Hillary and Obama camps have at it, since the more both sides there ramp up their hostilities the more likely it is come the fall that even more Democrats will be severely unhappy with their nominee than many Republicans are with their party’s candidate.
jon1979 on March 24, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Barry will get the better of any presidential election debates, I’m afraid. Style over substance, fawning media, biased moderators. Restricting the spotlight to just the two of them is not gonna work well for McCain, and I’m not sure he’s fast enough on his feet to counterpunch productively. Hope I’m wrong.
a capella on March 24, 2008 at 4:01 PM
I agree.
terryannonline on March 24, 2008 at 4:02 PM
And on another note, our County Registrar has dispatched Notices advising that non-partisan voters in California may cast cross-over partisan votes in the California primaries.
Mojamaiko on March 24, 2008 at 4:03 PM
Vyce, are you posting from West Palm Beach?
No no, I’m not psychic.
J_Gocht on March 24, 2008 at 4:07 PM
Even when Obama gets the nomination, the Clintons will continue to undermine his candidacy. Hillary will want to run against McCain in 2012.
Capitalist Infidel on March 24, 2008 at 4:08 PM
You mean it might be a replay of the Nixon, Kennedy debate?
J_Gocht on March 24, 2008 at 4:17 PM
Landslide
Hening on March 24, 2008 at 4:19 PM
I love Operation Chaos. If only Jihadis were this dumb.
Iblis on March 24, 2008 at 4:25 PM
If I learned anything from my time in combat, it was that I never let my guard down, ever. This McCain lead is just temporary and today. I don’t trust liberals any farther than I can throw them collectively. I still don’t trust McCain, even. Wait till he picks the VP nominee.
MNDavenotPC on March 24, 2008 at 4:26 PM
Iblis on March 24, 2008 at 4:25 PM
What the heck is… “Operation Chaos”?
I said I wasn’t psychic!
J_Gocht on March 24, 2008 at 4:36 PM
Nice.
My collie says:
CyberCipher on March 24, 2008 at 4:38 PM
Stay sharp! Keep your head down! Never make the same trek twice!
Damn fine advice!
J_Gocht on March 24, 2008 at 4:43 PM
Or how about
“The reeferendum of the new millenium: POTted Plant in ‘08″
CyberCipher on March 24, 2008 at 4:45 PM
I`m worried that this is too good news, way too soon.
ThePrez on March 24, 2008 at 5:10 PM
Y’know, Maverick may a much smarter campaigner than many of us have given him credit for.
irishspy on March 24, 2008 at 5:40 PM
One wild card that could change the election is North Korea, which could implode in the next half year. Food shortages have reached Pyongyang, where only the privileged elite live. If North Korea pops, the government breaks down, we could see a mad scramble for the borders, Chinese and South Korean. Anything could happen from there.
That could throw the emphasis on the presidential race back on foreign policy, where Hillary and Obama are weak, if not flatout defeatist. It could remind the voters we live in a risky, dangerous world with multiple threats.
Tantor on March 24, 2008 at 5:52 PM
Sigh.
We could have nominated anyone, ANYBODY AT ALL, and got them elected.
And we nominated an amnesty-loving, free-speech-hating, bipartisan hack.
misterpeasea on March 24, 2008 at 6:08 PM
wOO-WOO!!
Our potted plant can whip their potted plant!
TexasJew on March 24, 2008 at 6:56 PM
ED:
THIS IS WHY MITT DROPPED OUT:
To Allow us to consolidate, and the dems to disintegrate – pun intended.
reliapundit on March 24, 2008 at 7:03 PM
There. Fixed that fer ya’. No need to thank me. Just bein’ neighborly.
CyberCipher on March 24, 2008 at 7:29 PM
Hey Tantor,
Did you happen to catch Senator McCain with Senator Liebermann at his side last week?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6GBdyws5YU
I would say Holy Joe better stay real close to Saint McCain anytime Senator McCain is talking about foreign policy or the War in Iraq?
You say!
J_Gocht on March 24, 2008 at 7:32 PM
If I’m not mistaken, that’s Rush Limbaugh’s campaign to get Republicans to vote for Mrs. Bill Clinton in droves, and then eat popcorn as they watch the Dems start to run around like headless chickens.
Del Dolemonte on March 24, 2008 at 8:11 PM
Del Do…
It’s common’ thru… OH O, O, Jesus….Del Do… it’s commin’ thru…!
“…confusion…confusion…coming from the southeast…southeast. A pensulia in the southeastern part of …America …the American nation…the southeasteran part, a pensulinisa a thumb into the southern sea?
West Palm Beach, what address? what address?
Gosh, Del Do…
It vanished?
What can I do D. Dolemonte!
What can I do…?
J_Gocht on March 24, 2008 at 9:07 PM
That’s right McCain, just steer clear of the dimowatic primay until they choose a winner, and then campaign hard against the bloodied and scarred survivor.
Hog Wild on March 24, 2008 at 9:28 PM
Let’s start getting used to thinking and saying “President McCain”!
.
BTW, the Democrats only control the Senate by ONE seat, 50 Dems, 49 Reps and 1 Independent who caucuses with the Dems. So, maybe we’ll see President McCain AND a Republican majority Senate after Nov 11th!
DavePa on March 24, 2008 at 9:41 PM
Hog Wild…
I’ve been “Holy Jesus” scared…!
I’ve shed and seen more “sweet warm smelling death, of blood, when it’s last” then you’ll ever know!
Next Question, soldier?
J_Gocht on March 24, 2008 at 9:59 PM
The mere fact you would make such a claim destoy’s your credibility. Veteran’s who have seen such horror’s don’t refer to them in a “off hand” way as you just have.
Any war veteran who has earned the Combat Action Ribbon and see’s this will understand what I am talking about and I will elaborate no further other than just to say, my military career went a bit further than playing soldier in the backyard.
Hog Wild on March 24, 2008 at 11:30 PM
very much hoping that this trend will continue through november.
time will tell…
homesickamerican on March 25, 2008 at 12:23 AM
Some do, some don’t.
Never heard of the Army having a Combat Action Ribbon. Maybe I’m dated.
MB4 on March 25, 2008 at 4:12 AM
Combat Infantry Badge [CIB]—US Army
Hog Wild’s — “Combat Action Ribbon”— I don’t know?
There’s a lot of “fruit salad” out there!
J_Gocht on March 25, 2008 at 7:26 AM
Probably a lot of “liberty” ribbons running around in here to.
Hog Wild on March 25, 2008 at 7:43 AM
Potted Plant would definitely get the vote of (or at least cause to shut the hell up) the enviro-wacko crowd.
I can see the bumper sticker now:
Potted Plant ‘08 — The only truly green candidate.
Harpazo on March 25, 2008 at 9:38 AM
Probably a lot of “liberty” ribbons running around in here to.
Hog Wild on March 25, 2008 at 7:43 AM
MB4 on March 25, 2008 at 12:07 PM
Now that sounds like a Navy thang.
MB4 on March 25, 2008 at 12:08 PM
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