WHAT IS THE SOUND OF THE ONE'S HOPES IMPLODING?:

LADIES' MAN MAC IS A PLAYER IN NY (FREDRIC U. DICKER, September 15, 2008, NY Post)

The internal Republican and Democratic polls, details of which were provided to The Post, have stunned members of both parties - and produced deep worries among Democrats.

One great concern for Democrats is that the data show a continuous movement toward the McCain-Palin ticket by women, a majority of whom traditionally favor Democrats.

The movement by women toward McCain is being credited to Democratic attacks on Alaska Gov. Palin, last week's "lipstick on a pig" crack by Obama and to the continuing unhappiness by female Democrats over Obama's failure to pick Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate.

"If it winds up being tight in New York, that means McCain wins the election nationally," said a prominent Democrat familiar with some of the polling data.

You'd have to assume he can hold NY, but he'll have to defend it and the fact he has to means that places like CT, NJ, etc. are definitely winnable for Maverick. And that's after the battleground has shifted to the Rust Belt already.

MORE:
Poll of polls: Dead heat in Ohio battleground (Paul Steinhauser, 9/15/08, CNN: Political Ticker)

A new CNN poll of polls of the latest surveys in Ohio suggest the race for the state and its crucial 20 electoral votes is a dead heat.

Republican presidential nominee John McCain is the choice of 46 percent of Ohio likely voters, one point ahead of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, according to the poll compiled Monday morning. Nine percent of those questioned are undecided.

The CNN poll of polls is an average of the most recent surveys in Ohio, using a Suffolk University poll conducted Sept. 10-13, a University of Cincinnati survey taken Sept. 5-10, and a Quinnipiac University poll conducted Sept. 5-9. All three surveys were taken after the completion of both party's political conventions.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 15, 2008 8:30 AM