Election mechanics, more than just a poll (voters, campaign, thought)

[TnHilltopper]

I hear a lot about what this poll says, that poll indicates, and what it is supposed to mean. I hear the pundits each day saying this person or that one got a bounce from this speech and a hit from that gaff. Then of course there are the issues, those things that most politicians talk about in generally broad and ambiguous manner so as to never get boxed in. Some might even call that the semantics of attorney speak.

However, I have to take my hat off to those folks who grind numbers, set strategy, and hold the rudder that the hollow suit or political figure of choosing will take.

Consider that election mechanics are less about the nation and far more about each state. Each state having a given number of electorates which when one candidate or the other wins 50.1%, the entire state goes in their favor, discarding the other 49%. So for obvious reasons, national campaigns are fought in the trenches of states, and even within districts of any given state, depending upon its make up.

Polling does matter and it doesn't. At best it is a guide and additionally is subject to the greatest amount of external influence. Things such as how questions are phrased, who is polled, what times polls are taken, are they likely voters or registered voters, etc...

The effects of media, be it CNN, ABC, FOX, or even Saturday Night Live and talk radio. What are the topics being discussed, what are callers, emailers, and letters to editors saying? How a candidate reacts and responds to the content of the press as well as the press itself has an influence.

What type of ads are being run, positive, negative, issue oriented. What audience is being targeted, where is a given message or ad most effective, metro, rural, north, south, rust belt or sunshine state.

How is the whole sha-bang being coordinated, I mean, posters need hung up, signs need paid for, tv and radio slots in given markets, who is doing the leg work, who is managing each office, district, region, and who is cutting all those small checks for reams of paper that will eventually end up stapled to a pole in Palookaville?

As a kid, I always thought it was amazing how when the circus or carnival came to town, how it just appeared one day and a week later it was just gone. Like someone flipped a switch. Today, I am amazed again, but this time it is watching the election circus come to town, and while it may not just appear overnight, it is still a pretty amazing event all the same.

Now if we can just get James Carville and Karl Rove to pick up all those faded signs when this thing is over.

[walidm]

It's an awesome show is it not? The stage is set, the characters appear and the drama unfolds. Your guy (Plato) would be enthralled and possibly disgusted in the same breath. We are always left in the end to suffer the will of the majority, and I suspect if nothing else the Founders wisdom in this regard still manages to endure, no matter how diluted the process, sometimes and somehow it's all we've got.

Popcorn?

[sanrene]

Both parties have it down to a fine science that's for sure. They know exactly who to target, where to target and when it is a losing proposition.

[Slash83]

Polls don't matter, Obama has lost, I don't care if I wake up tommorow and every poll shows Obama 100% McCain -1000000%. Obama will lose on November 4th. End of story.