John McCain's Convention Bounce Panics Many

Image from source, Daily Kos

OK, I'll admit it, I was bummed out too, but far from panic. I'd love to know the story about how these conventions landed on the schedule back-to-back. And if we've got to give John McCain credit for anything, it's that he did manage to steal some Barack Obama thunder.

Few of us could even imagine, after Obama's big speech at Invesco Field/Mile High Stadium, how in the world John McCain was going to top that. And with word that a hurricane was coming, that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney (and many GOP Congresscritters) were not going to show; even that the RNC might be scrapped. . . Well, we felt that the Republican National Convention, in whatever form it took, was gonna suck.

Most liberals--me included--would contend that it did suck. But Republicans have been living in a parallel universe for eight years now, and while it was showing fractures, the addition of Sarah Palin managed to plaster over all of them. Without knowing much of anything about the woman, the entire convention audience (and many Republicans at home) fell in lurve. And when you're in love, everything is a little fluffier, a little sunnier.

So a bounce was to be expected, and the gap has rarely swung very wide in the first place. But with Barack Obama having been ahead (at least a little) in almost every previous poll, it's a little scary seeing McCain have an edge, however slight, nearly across the board.

But I'm holding my panic. Check out the story below, if you're feeling the need to calm down a bit.

[Excerpt]

State of the race: 9/8 (panic edition)

I haven't done of these since August 1, since the Olympics and conventions sort of froze everything in place. We should be seeing the numbers shift around quite a bit over the next couple of weeks as the convention bounces fade and whatever is left over begins to assert itself. So while many of you panic over the national polling numbers, let's take a look at the numbers that actually matter -- the state-by-state polling. . .

Read more at: Daily Kos