Dodging the Swift Boats

Dodging the Swift Boats

by Jean Carnahan

Trend lines are drifting upward for Obama in most of the battleground states and Republicans are getting nervous.  McCain is tied, or trailing, in ten states carried by Bush in 2004—states with a total of 123 electoral votes: Colorado, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, and Virginia.

What’s more, McCain does not lead in any state that Kerry carried in 2004.  This bleak scenario makes it more and more difficult for the Republicans to nail down the 270 electoral votes needed for victory. 

 Loses could be big and devastating for the GOP.  McCain shows a 6-point deficit in national polling, a shortfall that is nearly impossible to make up in the final four weeks.  In addition, party strategists concede that they are likely to lose 6-8 seats in the Senate.  

No wonder top Republicans told the Washington Post that the McCain campaign is planning an “aggressive assault on Sen. Barack Obama’s character.”  In the coming weeks, look for the GOP to come crashing into your living rooms with their desperate fear and smear Swift Boat attacks. 

 Gear up, folks, it’s going to get nasty. 

P.S.  I am off on a bus tour this week with Senator McCaskill’s mother, Betty Ann, visiting cities along I-44.  The following week I will be in Indiana for the Obama campaign.