Is it possible that Obama could win in North Carolina?

I am in Virginia and we working like mad here...I think he may take Virginia.
There are plenty of military and also new people from other parts of the country.
So far 3 out of 5 I ask they are for Obama.

He did a terrific job in the Virginia and North Carolina primaries. I've got my fingers crossed.

Maybe NC is waking up!

George W-
When I was growing up 40 years ago, the two historical figures that were stressed the most in our public schools here in Virginia were George Washington and Robert E. Lee. And it was about that time that the schools were integrated. We are not just talking about 150 years ago that the idea of a black man running for president was a crazy idea, we are talking about black people having trouble even getting their vote counted in the memory of people still living. It was illegal when I was born for a white man to marry a black woman. and let's not even discuss the other way around, you could get hanged for that in the 1930s, and many were, though not in Virginia to my knowledge.

Prima, jane, and lea-
yes, Obama did sweep the primaries in VA and NC. My family delivered 3 votes to him here in VA. We still have our fingers crossed, but we are not counting on a win in either state.

I do have to notice that his lead in the great lakes is looking good right now. Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, even Iowa look like Obama country now.

NC is looking good. Anything within 6 pts right now can either way. Most of these states polls where taken before last Monday. I hope they poll NC, CO, NM, and Virginia this week.

NC and Virginia are not long shots.

Having grown up in Virginia, I was moved by your references to the history we were taught and how we had to find out the ugly details about race relations later. Some of the most vivid memories of my childhood revolve around the first black students at my school and how the entire county was integrated a year later; it was a little uncomfortable for a while, but in retrospect it all went so smoothly that it's unbelievable now. So I know that there is a very old and quiet kind of dignity stored in Virginia that knows such change is possible once a committment is made to go forward with it. Maybe that's a little farther along in North Carolina, but I wouldn't count Virginia out.

Thanks Gerry. I hope we can continue to grow and change in Virginia while retaining that old and quiet kind of dignity you refer to, the kind that helped us to suddenly reject the "massive resistance" to desegregation, once we finally realized that it stood squarely in the way of our collective future.

Well said, Chris. So maybe the challenge now is to achieve societal awareness that old paradigms again stand "in the way of our collective future."

I think people everywhere are waking up, and no state should be discounted for Obama. About time!

Iowa here. Typically we are swing state but I predict Obama will carry Iowa with no problem.

Well Sandy, I don't think Obama has a prayer in Texas or Wyoming. But there are a surprising number of states that are in play.

Lori- I agree with you that Obama will win in Iowa. Ad I think that win will be critical to his hopes of success. I personally think that he will probably fail in Ohio and in Florida, and that means that it is vital for him to pick up a few smaller states such as Iowa. If he could also win in NC and in CO, that would probably give him the win. But it is not at all clear that he will win those two.
I have to chip in that I am so tired of the electoral college. If we simply had a system that gave the White House to the popular vote leader, we would not have to slice and re-slice things this way. Obam'a substantial majorities in New England and California would no longer be "wasted" (in the sense that any votes beyond winning a given state are not counted in your favor) and he would benefit from that and be more likely to win.

I dread the possibility of another election like 1876 or 2000, in which the popular vote winner is turned away by the electoral college.

I have family in the Carolinas. Lots of college age and new grads people. NC has a growing population of 1st generation americans...large, diverse population. The same demographics, believe it or not, of Tennessee. I figure Arkansas will go to McCain though. MO is most probably going to go to Barak O.
Good article!
Wilka

Wilka- the atest poll this morning looks like I was wrong about NC. It looks now as if McCain is going to win there- not with absolute certainty but with strong likelihood.

However, Virginia has gone back to giving Obama a razor thin one point lead. Yeay!

and today, Saturday, day after the debate, that lead is looking more solid. McCain can't lose Virginia. he has got a problem that he needs to fix.