Polls today show Barack Obama leading John McCain in the presidential election, but will that lead remain? Will the Democrats have the sweep in the Senate and House of Representatives predicted by some political pundits? Will public disenchantment with incumbents in general instead cause upsets for both parties?

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William Kristol, the neo-con columnist at the New York Times, has surrendered the campaign of John McCain. “His campaign is totally overmatched by Obama’s…….. McCain is doomed.”

Obama’s lead in the polls is lengthening. He is far ahead on domestic issues although today’s stock market rally will help McCain by modifying the wave of bad financial news. Public concern about foreign and military policy, issues on which McCain is strong, continues to slide.

Look for a shift in the McCain strategy, away from issues of public policy, away from attacks on Obama’s associations, away from Obama’s inexperience.

The McCain focus in the last two weeks of the campaign will be his life story, his ancestors, his military service, his five year imprisonment in Hanoi, his bi-partisan initiatives in Congress, his embodiment of the American Hero and American values, making him the person who “deserves to be President.”

This story, this strategy, may not work but it appears to be all that McCain has left.

Sic transit gloria mundi

Read or listen to the original post at relentlessliberal.com.

With additional Senate contests tightening as Republican support ebbs in the face of the terrible economic situation, another political pro calls the  possibility of Democrats winning 60 seats in the next Senate plausible. Wrote Chris Cillizza in…

A Daily Kos poll out today confirms an earlier poll showing Eric Massa with a solid lead over Rep. Randy Kuhl.

Research 2000 for Daily Kos (10/7-8, likely voters):
    Eric Massa (D): 49
    Randy Kuhl (R-inc): 42
    (MoE: ±5%)

This is good to see.  Massa came real close to defeating Kuhl in 2006 with little support from outside his district (other than Council for a Livable World – not that we’re bragging).  He did it by working hard and assembling a strong grassroots operation.  It’s nice to see that work paying off this year.

Click here to help Eric Massa close the game ahead.

 

My instinct was that Dan Maffei held a lead against his Republican opponent to replace retiring Rep. Jim Walsh (R), but not as large a lead as shown in a poll Maffei released this week:

Kiley & Co. (10/2-3, 500 likely voters)
     Maffei – 49%
     Sweetland – 31%
     (MOE ±4%)

Learn more about Dan Maffei here.