And tight it is, right now--the Gallup daily tracking poll today had the race tied.
And why is the race so close? Pundits have trotted out theory after theory--voters are uncertain about the inexperienced Obama; there's been a negative reaction to Obama's foreign trip and to his perceived arrogance as a president-in-waiting; McCain and Republicans have scored with their emphasis on the need for offshore oil drilling and Obama's opposition to it; etc.
Also, how about this? Have you noticed all the good-news-in-Iraq posts I've been able to put up lately? It's hard to avoid the good news lately--American casualties are down, Iraqi security is up, the Iraqi government is functioning much better, etc. I suspect Americans have noticed that too. Maybe Americans, now, see that we're winning in Iraq? And, instead of that freeing them up to vote Obama, perhaps they're thinking: wait--Obama has opposed this war, he's told us again and again we can't succeed there, he's told us again and again how the surge of 2007 wouldn't work and shouldn't be tried...and maybe he's wrong. Meanwhile, John McCain backed the war, said we could succeed, said we had to hang in there, change strategy (i.e. he suggested and backed the surge from its earliest point)...and he's looking to have been correct all along.
Might that not affect Americans' attitudes towards this presidential race? Just maybe.
Just think what McCain could do, if he'd listen more to his conservative base. He might actually be ahead in this race; and not merely close.
