< Back to Front Page Text size – +

The expectations game

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor August 22, 2008 06:11 PM

John McCain's camp is already trying to set a very high bar for Democratic rival Barack Obama coming out of his convention next week, asserting that his poll numbers should jump by 15 percentage points.

Most national polls show Obama with a slight lead, sometimes within the margin of error. But a memo today from Sarah Simmons, McCain's strategy director, says that Obama should get a post-convention "bounce" similar to Bill Clinton in 1992, whose numbers rose by 16 percentage points.

The memo also says that Obama should gain from his announcement of his running mate, should pick up more support from Hillary Clinton loyalists, and should benefit from coverage of his acceptance speech on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" address.

"We believe Obama will see a significant bump, and believe it is reasonable to expect nearly a 15-point bounce out of a convention in this political environment," Simmons writes.

UPDATE: Obama senior strategist Robert Gibbs responded: "Presidential races are close, and we expect this one to be no different. But they should figure out how to spin the fact that John McCain owns a dozen houses and thinks the fundamentals of our economy are strong before trying to spin our convention."

< Back to Front Page
2 comments so far...

  1. John McCain wants to reinstate the draft so our children can die for Exxon. McCain's voting record on issues regarding our troops and veterans: It's abysmal -- do an internet search and read for yourself; McCain's voting record on women's issues: It's abysmal -- do an internet search and read for yourself -- this is of particular importance to Hillary supporters who are thinking of voting for McCain -- after reading his record, there will be no question that Hillary supporters should NOT vote for McCain. Do an internet search of McCain's voting record on any issues facing Americans today, and you will see how time and time again McCain votes for the interests of big business, big money and rich people, and time and time again McCain votes to give the finger to the rest of us who are just trying to get by in this world and make a living. McCain does not care about anyone but the rich. This is an important vote this year. Don't vote for McCain unless you want your children to die so the oil companies can rake in even bigger profits than the $1,500 a second they are earning today. McCain will kill your children for Exxon.

    Posted by Republican 4 Obama August 22, 08 05:53 PM

  1. R4O -

    hehehe....that's probably the funniest blog I've read on this site in months!!

    "killing your children for Exxon", "our children can die for Exxon".....LOL!!!

    R4O you must live in a cave and eat tree bark all day! (and live off of government entitlements)

    Keep up the good work! You make us hard-working, money-making, keeping-the-economy-going fellow bloggers laugh at the end of a busy week.

    Try working for a living, you might like it! Thanks again for showing off how ignorant (and amusing) you are.

    Posted by Democrat 4 McCain August 22, 08 10:50 PM
add your comment
Required
Required (will not be published)

This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.

About political intelligence Field reports from Boston Globe reporters and editors covering the 2008 presidential campaign and the national maneuvering of Bay State politicians.

Send your comments to masspolitics@globe.com

see all globe blogs
archives

browse this blog

by category