As Montana Headlines has pointed out, the selection of Sarah Palin for Veep should make Montana a wrap for Sen. McCain, even in a worst case scenario. The most recent Rasmussen poll shows McCain leading 53% to 42%
More importantly, 70% of McCain supporters in Montana say that they are enthusiastically voting for McCain, while only 28% say that they are primarily voting against Sen. Obama. This is quite comparable to the 79% and 18% numbers among Obama supporters in Montana -- the enthusiasm gap appears to have been largely erased. Based on anecdotal MH experience talking to Republicans, this is an accurate assessment of the right-leaning part of the Montana voting public. It is also a phenomenal turn-around for McCain, and has to be in large part attributed to Gov. Palin's addition to the ticket, not to mention the new general excitement around the McCain campaign.
With the addition of Ron Paul to the ballot, it is said that this could turn the state to Sen. Obama, but this is far from certain. The Montana GOP treated Ron Paul supporters very well, especially when compared to other state organizations. Several former Ron Paul supporters that MH has spoken to have made up their minds to vote for John McCain, in large part because he chose a conservative running mate. Is this representative? Only time will tell, but the wisdom that Erik Iverson showed in welcoming Paul supporters into the party and treating them warmly at the state convention should pay off by at least not having made them hostile to the party organization (other than the malcontents that tend to attach themselves to fringe movements of any kind, who are never satisfied.)
Not that Paulinistas are going to become raving McCainiacs -- but at the very least there isn't the animosity that would have come had Ron Paul's people not been allowed to have their say and to have a genuine, fair shot at nabbing Montana's delegates.
As the choice becomes clear on the differences between McCain and Obama, it would be suprising if Paul and Barr together break 5% in the final vote tally.
__________________
Update: We can perhaps expect the coming state-by-state polls in Western states to follow this trend. The grand "Western strategy" of the Obama campaign may be coming to an ignominious end. Or at least we can hope -- and continue to watch the polls.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Election Day Shenanigans by the governor?
The governor apparently told a lot of east-coast trial lawyers with fat wallets that he used his authority as governor to grease the wheels on the Tester express.
Since the media is currently obsessed with questions about the activities of a certain Alaska governor, we can surely expect that the Montana press will listen to the recording of this speech and do some hard-nosed investigating of things of interest in their own backyard, right?
Maybe there's nothing to it -- or more specifically, nothing illegal to it, but we won't know until the press has thoroughly checked it out. It's not like this is an internet rumor -- the governor's words are on tape.
Have at it, Montana press. Good job to the Montana blogs that have been writing about it.
Since the media is currently obsessed with questions about the activities of a certain Alaska governor, we can surely expect that the Montana press will listen to the recording of this speech and do some hard-nosed investigating of things of interest in their own backyard, right?
Maybe there's nothing to it -- or more specifically, nothing illegal to it, but we won't know until the press has thoroughly checked it out. It's not like this is an internet rumor -- the governor's words are on tape.
Have at it, Montana press. Good job to the Montana blogs that have been writing about it.
Apologia
David Crisp at Billings Blog is displeased with the updated response offered on a disputed MH post, calling it "even by blogsphere standards, remarkably ungracious."
One one word of self-defense before moving on: It is important to point out that the word "Olympian" was intended in the sense in which it is attached to superior and lofty human feats and abilities -- not in the sense that Obama has literally descended as a god from Mt. Olympus. By definition, using the word "Olympian" is literary hyperbole.
But that is not the point to this post. Mr. Crisp, as a longtime MH reader, is doubtless aware that given the emphasis on this site of maintaining an atmosphere of civility and fairness (while trying not to be boring in the process,) few accusations could have cut deeper.
One suspects, given the content of his most recent response, that part of Mr. Crisp's strong reaction to that particular Montana Headlines post is perhaps the result of his reading the full weight of the vile temper of Sean Hannity into certain MH words, when the truth is that unlike Mr. Crisp, no-one in the Montana Headlines household is constitutionally capable of listening to that man for longer than about 3 to 5 minutes. Pretty much the entirety of MH knowledge of the content of Hannity's radio show comes from reading Billings Blog.
While the post in question seemed like standard blogosphere give-and-take at the time, it obviously failed in that regard, and rather than rehashing the entire discussion, it is preferable to do what this post is intended to do: offer a full and unqualified apology for mischaracterizing Mr. Crisp's words and opinions in the post in question.
Given that the eastern Montana political blogosphere currently consists of exactly two active sites -- Billings Blog and Montana Headlines, any sort of unpleasantry in the neighborhood is undesirable. MH would like to offer an olive branch, pledging to take particular care in future posts when making reference to Billings Blog posts.
One one word of self-defense before moving on: It is important to point out that the word "Olympian" was intended in the sense in which it is attached to superior and lofty human feats and abilities -- not in the sense that Obama has literally descended as a god from Mt. Olympus. By definition, using the word "Olympian" is literary hyperbole.
But that is not the point to this post. Mr. Crisp, as a longtime MH reader, is doubtless aware that given the emphasis on this site of maintaining an atmosphere of civility and fairness (while trying not to be boring in the process,) few accusations could have cut deeper.
One suspects, given the content of his most recent response, that part of Mr. Crisp's strong reaction to that particular Montana Headlines post is perhaps the result of his reading the full weight of the vile temper of Sean Hannity into certain MH words, when the truth is that unlike Mr. Crisp, no-one in the Montana Headlines household is constitutionally capable of listening to that man for longer than about 3 to 5 minutes. Pretty much the entirety of MH knowledge of the content of Hannity's radio show comes from reading Billings Blog.
While the post in question seemed like standard blogosphere give-and-take at the time, it obviously failed in that regard, and rather than rehashing the entire discussion, it is preferable to do what this post is intended to do: offer a full and unqualified apology for mischaracterizing Mr. Crisp's words and opinions in the post in question.
Given that the eastern Montana political blogosphere currently consists of exactly two active sites -- Billings Blog and Montana Headlines, any sort of unpleasantry in the neighborhood is undesirable. MH would like to offer an olive branch, pledging to take particular care in future posts when making reference to Billings Blog posts.
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