Fifteen Days to Election Day 2008

Really, it cannot get hear soon enough.  This eternally lasting campaign is finally nearing the end.  The outlook at this moment is for an Obama victory, with an electoral college vote total that will exceed 350 and probably more.  Although some polls may show a tightening of the race this week, any chances for a McCain upset victory are probably not realistic.  But one factor could result in an unexpected change in the anticipated and scientifically researched polling and projected results.  No one is certain how much of a role racism will play in the end.  It cannot be fully foreseen and understood what people will do when the moment of truth arrives behind the curtains in the voting booth.  Some suggest it may tip the election by as much as six to eight percentage points towards McCain.  If this turns out to be more, an upset could happen, but much depends on where these tainted votes will be taking place. If they are in key battleground states such as OH, NC, VA, FL, IN, WV, CO, MO, PA, and NV, enough of these racist votes could tip the final electoral vote to McCain.  Lets hope this ugliness is far less than anticipated and certainly less than feared by some.

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As for the US Senate, it appears there is a reasonable chance for the Democrats to reach the magical 60 number which will allow them to have procedural control and limit fillibusters.  At this time it looks as if Democrats will gain seats in OR, NM, CO, MN, NH, VA, AK, and NC with additional gains in KY, GA, MS, and TX also possible. Republicans will hold onto seats in NE, KS, OK, WY, MS, and ID.  There is no current Democratic seat in the Senate in danger of switching to the GOP. 

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In the US House, most analysts are projecting a gain in seats for Democrats between 15 and 23 seats which could result in 250 seats in the House for Democrats.

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The states still in play for electoral votes for the presidency according to most observers are NV, CO, MT, ND, MO, AR, GA, FL, NC, VA, IN, OH, and NH.  It seems to me that most of those states will end up in the Obama camp when all the votes are counted, but GA and AR would seem to less than 50-50 at this time unlike the other ten states being viewed as up for grabs.

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It will be interesting to see how it all ends up, but the day of decision cannot get here soon enough.  Thank goodness we have the promise of an exciting World Series to help seriously distract us the next week and a half...
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