Potpourri for $400, Alex

I think we have tried to maintain a sense of originality on this site and make sure that out blog posts are original works rather than link or quote dumps. Some of us (Dark Horse) are better at that than others (Official Scorer). Nevertheless, there are several articles this morning that I wanted to draw your attention to.

First, Nate Silver, whom we adore at the Whistle, has a very insightful article about how McCain may try to use the new media (read: Drudge) to resurrect his campaign. I think Nate hits the nail on the head, and I think he gives a great explanation of why and how this might take shape. Obviously he is not unbiased in the endeavor, he is hoping that by calling it out, the move will appear to be just another stunt in the McCain campaign.

Second, Left Wing Jumper and I have been having a spirited argument (off-line for the benefit of our readers) about whether the polls are going to be accurate this year and whether some Bradley-type effect will be in play. This morning there is a revealing look at the effect by one of America's top pollsters, V. Lance Terrance, Jr. In his article, Terrance argues that there never was a Bradley effect, and that we are foolish to continue to believe it exists. He closes with this paragraph, although I strongly suggest reading the entire article:

The Deukmejian campaign tracking polls did not confirm any Bradley Effect and to interject this type of speculation into the 2008 presidential election is not only folly, but insulting to the political maturity of our nation's voters. To allow this theory to continue to persist anymore than 25 years is to damage our democracy, no matter who wins.

Third, Minnesota State-Moorhead, polling on behalf of the Fargo-Moorhead Forum, completed a survey showing Barack Obama leading John McCain 45 to 43 percent in North Dakota. The long and the short versions read the same: it's the economy stupid, and they trust Obama more on that subject. For an idea of how rare a Democratic win in a presidential race in North Dakota is, consider this:

Democratic presidential candidates have carried North Dakota only three times since 1916. Each Democratic victory was decisive, and two came during the Great Depression.