Kobuchar on New Strib Poll

It's the Star Tribune, so the validity is in question. The other polls were at about a 10% lead. But, if it makes you feel warm inside, go ahead, sit back and relax. This one will be won with less than a 5% victory of margin for whoever is the victor.

I think Goldfarb's statement echoes your predictions, Gary.

Interesting predictions, I'm with Amy all the way!

Not touching this one.

What other polls say about 10%? Please cite your sources.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2006/State%20Polls/August%202006/MinnesotaSenateAug28.htm

I have yet to see a Klobuchar TV commercial. Is it just bad timing on my part?

Meanwhile Kennedy is blitzing TV with ads. His ad about supporting legislation which would make it mandatory for corporations to pay off their pension obligations first is fine. It's nice to think folks will get their pensions before top executives get paid, but there's a problem. They get their big bonuses and stock options in advance. And when those companies run into difficulty with a cash crunch and file for bankrupcty how is the federal government going to guarantee that the former pays out?

Isn't this campaign idea an admission that the U.S. economy is troubled? Airlines are losing billions. The big three automakers--Ford, GM, and Daimler-Chrysler are bleeding red ink all over red state blue-collar workers who will be voting blue.

Who says optimists can't be Democrats? Lots of voters are thinking they can do a better job than the Republicans who have squandered their days of glory in power.

Klobuchar's big lead reflects that, but remember the Minnesota Poll on the eve of the 1978 election? It confidently predicted Democratic Senate candidates Bob Short and Don Fraser would defeat Republicans Rudy Boschwitz and David Durenberger. The GOP candidates upset the Minnesota DFL two years before Ronald Reagan ran for president.

Minnesotans still mourn the loss of Paul Wellstone. His legacy looms large. He never would have joined the groundswell after 9/11 to authorize the president to go to war in Iraq. The question is: Does Klobuchar endorse the Hillary Clinton stance on staying the course in Iraq or does she support Ned Lamont's position?

Meanwhile, the Kennedy camp is working hard to ignore Iraq. But it is the major issue in Minnesota, not just in Connecticutt where Democrats cut their ties with Senator Lieberman.

Another odd thing. Several Republican senators are assuming leadership in opposing Bush on Iraq. This points up the Democrats' Achilles heel--they are quite confused on how to give voters a real alternative to the president's conduct of the war despite the fact they have mastered the political art of dissent on staying the course in Iraq.

If the Democrats continue running like this watch for the Klobuchar-Kennedy race to tighten up considerably.

I've seen a number of Klobuchar commercials on CNN and KARE 11, but I've also seen plenty of Kennedy's. I do think the Democrats have to be careful about not getting too complacent. The Mark Kennedy Camp hasn't even rolled out the inevitable Swift Boat ads attacking Klobuchar, and if they can't find a swift boat, they'll build one.

You make an excellent point, Kingston, about Kennedy's clever positioning on pensions. I'd also point out that Kennedy voted with the Bush Republicans 95% of the time which belies his attempts to paint himself as an independent.

By the way, you can read about Amy Klobuchar's position on Iraq HERE. She was against the decision to go into Iraq in the first place and now supports a drawdown of troops - but not an immediate withdrawal - and a definite change in course. She says 2006 is the year that Iraqis must take control.

I predict a tight race, indeed.

That's an awfully high jump in poll numbers, but this week several other Democratic candidates also had big jumps. Who knows? It could be a stampede.

Being the tough crime enforcer she claims to be, why did she wait 4 days to report the possible federal crime a person in her campaign staff was involved in?

You know that's not fair, Gary. If you are referring to her Communications Director, I'm sure she reported it as soon as she knew. The point is - it was reported and the employee was asked to resign.

Who knows how many times a similar incident has occurred in other camps - but went unreported? The fact that this came out at all speaks to the high integrity of the Klobuchar campaign.

good article, good comments!

I hope that this Democratic Senatorial candidate goes all the way: Here in Europe, a lot of Americans sick to death of the anti-American meme that has developed worldwide are waiting anxiously to see if the American people are going to wake up after 6 years of corruption, robbing from everybody to give to the rich, incompetence, and the worst foreign policy in a century.

I'm returning to my native state for a wedding next week. I should try to firm up support.

"Gridlock" between the president and congress sounds very attractive to me at present with W taking his stolen election (or narrow victories if one believes the official results in Ohio) as a mandate to undo the New Deal, destroy US credibility, and burden future generation with debts so multimillionaires can have tax cuts.

My highest priorities are Pennsylvania and Ohio. I am especially worred about another election being stolen by electronic ballotbox-stuffing in Ohio and Sherrod Brown would make a great senator (something even few republicans would claim for DeWine).

You are crazy. Almost all the accusations of voter fraud are in Democrat districts. Every damn election. The dems are stuffing the ballotboxes. And losing. They think, because the Republicans won, they must be doing a better job of cheating.

Every damn election cycle you idiots get all your hopes up with phony polls that show some magical voting bloc is going to save the day. Its the swing voters. Its the soccer moms. Its the youth vote. But everytime, the bloc doesn't show up. So it has to be corruption. The gremlins are tampering with the voting machine.

Give it up.

Well, which party does Diebold contribute the most money to? Maybe if we follow the money...

The kind of argument expected from a 5th grader.

Perhaps - it's a pretty simple formula.

Democrats pushed these machines for years. After 2000 they wanted to make all voting machines in the US electronic. Don't try to feed me that BS. The Republicans never wanted those machines.

Diebold promised Ohio to Bush. Exit polls where there was backup documentation were accurate. High-tech chicanery comes from software supplied by companies owned by ultra-rightwingers. And the mass removals of voters before the last two presidential elections in Florida and Ohio were under Republican auspicies, especially targeting black districts.

Democrats are fine with new technology - but remember, they are the ones pushing for the paper trail.

I'm so happy for you!