I figured the polls would show some movement to Obama at some point and I was discouraged to see Rasmussen show the race as tight as ever. But Gallup today, with two nights polling after Obama's trip began and last night as one of the strongest in the season, shows Obama up 47-41

I admit that I watch Fox News now and then.  It's like watching a trainwreck - I can't look away. But the semi-serious weekend news shows can sometimes be revealing in ways that neither O'Reilly's buffoonery or CNN's placidity can not.

My family and I took a huge road trip out West this past month. From our home in East Tennessee we went through Memphis, Arkansas, Oklahoma, the Texas Pandhandle, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, southeast Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky and back to Tennessee. It was a wonderful family trip and we saw tons of national parks along the way.

PPP has a new poll out today showing Barack Obama beating John McCain by 11 points in Ohio, or 50-39. In March, PPP showed McCain beating Obama by 49-41.

For all the talk about the economy, Iraq is still a central issue in the 2008 election. And the most important issue in Iraq is the future relationship between the US and the Iraqi government. This question was driven home by what many interpreted as a gaffe by McCain when he said "it doesn't matter" when US troops return home. As he has said before, John McCain envisions a permanent and large-scale occupation along the lines of Korea and Germany. Hw also imagines that occupation to be peaceful and blessed by the Iraqi government and Iraqi people as a whole.

John McCain suffers from low enthusiasm in his own party. A Diageo poll today found that 45% of Republicans are dissatisfied with John McCain as their nominee (30% of Dems are dissatisfied with Obama). This is three months after he clinched the nomination, so there should be no holdover hard feelings. Republicans just don't like him. They may vote for him, but they may stay home and they probably won't do the extra legwork for him.

No, I don't mean this in terms of age or "oldness." I mean this in terms of campaign style. Fred Thompson threw away what could have been a sure nomination. All the GOP bigwigs loved him. He was a true conservative Republican, Southern and breathed gravitas. He was, as many hopeful Republicans claimed, a "Southern-fried Reagan." Here in East Tennessee there were Fred 08 stickers everywhere.

For all the talk of John McCain eating into the Democratic base, siphoning off angry Hillary Clinton supporters, the latest Rasmussen poll gives that whole meme the kabosh. John McCain secures the support of six percent of Democrats. That's right: 6.