Obama tries to close deal, McCain vows to fight on
Republicans never won the White House without carrying Ohio, and the
last time Missouri backed a losing candidate was in 1956 It also claimed
South Korea is planning a pre-emptive military strike and threatened to
reduce it to “debris” in retaliation
US: With six days left before election day, U.S. presidential
front runner Barack Obama is making maximum efforts to close the deal as
soon as possible, while underdog John McCain remains unyielding and
aggressive against all the odds.
Obama, a Democratic senator from Illinois, when campaigning in the
pivotal states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida, told his
enthusiastic supporters they are “so close” to victory.
But McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, was determined to
fight to the end. According to ABC World News, McCain is now focused on
defending a number of Republican states, and has become more aggressive.
However, doubts about McCain’s chances for the presidency are
growing, even among fellow Republicans. Two Republicans once on his
short-list for vice president sounded skeptical.
Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, hinted “the very real
possibility of an Obama presidency.” Tim Pawlenty gave a dour assessment
of McCain’s chances in his state, saying Obama has a pretty good
advantage in his state of Minnesota.
The U.S. president is elected by the Electoral College, which is
elected on a state-by-state basis and a person needs at least 270 of the
total of 538 electoral votes to win the presidency.
Therefore, presidential candidates will focus on key states that will
determine their fate. In this election, five states are considered very
crucial.
The Republicans haven’t lost Virginia in 44 years and they absolutely
need Florida to reach 270 electoral votes.
Republicans never won the White House without carrying Ohio, and the
last time Missouri backed a losing candidate was in 1956.
Although a traditional Democrat-leaning state, Pennsylvania is also
pivotal because McCain does have a chance there. However, new poll
numbers for these states look grim for him. A SurveyUSA automated poll
of 648 likely Ohio voters shows Obama leading McCain 49 to 45 percent.
A Bloomberg poll of 639 likely Florida voters taken Oct. 25-27 shows
Obama leading McCain 50 to 43 percent. The Rasmussen Reports automated
poll of 500 likely Pennsylvania voters taken Oct. 27 shows Obama leading
McCain 53 to 46 percent. Obama is also leading in Virginia and Missouri.
Although national polls continue to show Obama leading McCain, the size
of Obama’s lead, however, continues to vary widely in different surveys.
That’s why McCain says the race is still close and the polls are
inaccurate. A Pew Research poll of 1,198 likely voters taken Oct. 23-26
shows Obama leading 53 to 38 percent. The Gallup daily presidential
tracking poll of 2,781 registered voters taken Oct. 25-27 has two likely
voter models. One model based on past voting behavior and current
intention to vote shows Obama leading McCain 49 to 47 percent.
The second model based on current intention to vote shows Obama up 51
to 44 percent. The Zogby daily presidential tracking poll of 1,203
likely voters taken Oct. 26-28 shows Obama leading by 5 percentage
points. The Rasmussen Reports daily presidential tracking poll for Oct.
27 shows Obama leading McCain 51 to 46 percent.
The ABC News/Washington Post daily presidential tracking poll of
1,301 likely voters taken Oct. 24-27 shows Obama leading McCain 52 to 45
percent.
The Wall Street Journal reports Republicans are losing ground in the
battle over taxes — turf they have dominated since the Reagan
administration,
The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed voters preferred
Obama to McCain on taxes by 14 percentage points.
Obama will focus on the economy and how his tax plans would help the
middle class in a half-hour political TV ad to be shown on major U.S.
media networks. The ad, called “Infomercial,” will be broadcast on NBC,
CBS, Fox, Univision, BET, MSNBC and TV One.
Washington, Thursday,
Xinhua |
