Author: Matt Margolis

Election Day Open Thread

Matt Margolis77 Comments

We’ll add important updates in this post today. You can also follow me on Twitter, where a majority of my Election Day coverage will occur.

UPDATE:  Instapundit is getting e-mail updates from voting precincts around the nation; just “man on the street”, as it were.  The trend seems to be strongly that in heavily Democrat areas turnout is so-far light while in heavily Republican areas turnout is strong.  One thing to always keep in mind – as one old general once said when report of a military disaster was brought to him, “the situation is never as bad, or as good, as first reports indicate”.  Don’t put too much stock in anything you hear throughout the day – not anecdotal reports, not leaked exit polls, not MSMers saying that “trends” indicate an Obama victory.  Until the votes actually start to be counted, no one really knows.  The only job you have today is to vote.  Do that and let things fall where they may.

UPDATE II:  An interesting story about how the early voting went in Ohio.

UPDATE III:  From Russ over at Ace of Spades – this is Operation Visine:  Get the Red Out!

UPDATE IV:  GOP turnout way up in Ohio.

UPDATE V:  Huge turnout in Louisiana and Missouri.  Why is this important in these certain-to-go-Romney States?  Because it is a gauge of GOP engagement…very, very high.  Also, it might drag Akin across the finish line and help us gain a Senate majority.  Also helps Romney run up the popular vote score in case it does come down to 10 or less electoral votes separating the candidates and no one knows who wins tonight.

UPDATE VI:  Early exits show the economy is the number one issue and that people think the economy sucks.  Remember:  the exits are not the last word on anything.  Whatever they say, don’t let them get you elated or down…go vote if you haven’t already.  But it is bad news for Team O that Big Bird, lady parts and revenge are not high up on the list of voter concerns…

UPDATE VII:  Vigo County, Indiana, a bellweather county (has picked the Pres winner since 1956) has a big swing to Romney.

UPDATE VIII:  Right now Romney is winning the popular vote 50% to 48%…

Santorum Drops Out

Matt Margolis204 Comments

Blogging from my phone here, so I can’t speak much yet, but please discuss the latest development in the primary.

UPDATE, by Mark Noonan:  CBS has the story.  Santorum was my guy from back when he was polling 0.005% in the Iowa polls.  I never thought he’d get as far as he did and he remains, in my view, the best possible person we could have picked in 2012.  But, such is not to be – congratulations to Mitt Romney for a superbly run primary campaign and I look forward to enthusiastically supporting Romney for the rest of the campaign.   Obama is doomed and America will be rescued.

Poll: Obamacare Hurts Obama

Matt Margolis191 Comments

In a presidential election it is all about the swing states, and, if you are an incumbent, a record of accomplishment to run on.

Unfortunately for Obama, swing states don’t view his one big policy “accomplishment” favorably

The health care overhaul that President Obama intended to be the signature achievement of his first term instead has become a significant problem in his bid for a second one, uniting Republicans in opposition and eroding his standing among independents.

In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of the nation’s dozen top battleground states, a clear majority of registered voters call the bill’s passage “a bad thing” and support its repeal if a Republican wins the White House in November. Two years after he signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act— and as the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments about its constitutionality next month — the president has failed to convince most Americans that it was the right thing to do.

So, what does he run on? A failed stimulus? High unemployment? High gas prices? Seriously, this guy promised to fix the economy in three years, and he has made it worse. He can’t even run on ObamaCare. How does he run at all when he has to run from his own record?

Obama Needs a New Slogan

Matt Margolis195 Comments

When you don’t have a record worth running on, apparently coming up with a new campaign slogan isn’t easy.

Advisers say a fresh slogan to replace the winning “Change we can believe in” mantra of 2008, is unlikely to appear before Obama knows who his Republican opponent will be and starts big campaign travel swings, likely in the spring or summer.

His campaign posters now say simply, “Obama 2012.”

But Obama’s surrogates have roadtested some slogans in recent months, including “Winning The Future,” which the White House used to promote its budget, and “Greater Together,” which the campaign has used to brand its youth outreach effort.

A new tagline will have to reflect a new reality.

Obama is no longer a Washington outsider, unemployment is falling but still high, and economic insecurity for many voters is a huge concern that a simple slogan cannot overcome.

Got any slogan suggestions?