Chuck Todd told me about the new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll during the first half hour of the TODAY Show this morning. It's the kind of news we want to hear the morning before election day. The key thing about this one is that it was "conducted Saturday and Sunday" so it should have caught any late movement:
Sen. Obama's lead, reflected in other national and battleground state polls as well, has been in place since September, when the financial crisis reset the presidential contest. Sen. McCain's advisers were gunning for a come-from-behind victory, noting that he did it before to capture the Republican nomination.McCain can't make up the difference if Obama gets out his vote. That's the whole focus now: Get Out The Vote.
The new Wall Street Journal poll, conducted Saturday and Sunday, found 51% of likely voters favored Sen. Obama, versus 43% who favored Sen. McCain. Six percent remained undecided, with a third of those saying they were leaning toward a third-party candidate. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
"The poll shows some slight movement for McCain. But with just 48 hours left, it's going to be a challenge to make up the rest of the difference," said Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster who conducts the survey with Democrat Peter D. Hart.
And, check out this finding from the poll:
Fully 58% of those polled said they would be optimistic and confident or at least satisfied and hopeful if Sen. Obama were to be elected, compared to 46% who said that about a McCain victory. The Obama figure exceeds President Bush's on the eve of his twin victories and Bill Clinton's level just before he was re-elected.Americans are ready for Obama to be our president.
