Close Race Headed for Home

The Elephant and The Donkey's Election Day Predictions

             With just one week left until election day, the campaigns are at a near dead heat in the popular vote. While the Electoral College System gives an advantage to Obama, the race is far from over. Most election trackers show Obama with a 47 point Electoral College lead (now where have I heard that number before?), with 253 Colleges compared to Romney's 206. While six states are still toss-ups, most of them in dead heats, this race isn't as close as it seems. To win, all Obama has to do is pick up either Ohio, or Florida, or an assortment of other states that adds up to 17. Romney on the other hand needs to pick up every swing state (excluding New Hampshire, and Colorado) to win the Presidency.
              While the election appears to be trending Obama on the Electoral College front, Romney could easily win the popular vote. A variety of factors could also change the result of the election. For one Hurricane Sandy could make a mess of transportation. This would let only the most passionate of East Coast voters come to the polls. Voter turn out could be extremely low. While it's extremely likely that President Obama will be re-elected as the saying goes, it ain't over till it's over.

Race Tightens After Obama Flops at Debate

Wednesday's debate was Mitt Romney's last chance. It seemed nearly impossible that Mitt Romney could get back into the presidential race. His campaign was plagued with bad news, the end result had Romney down six points in the polls. Romney's chances were so low just weeks before the election, but Romney did the improbable, he turned the polls around. Obama's seemingly unstoppable lead was neutralized.
From the start of the night, the President was a little shaky. He dodged questions, misrepresented facts, and seemed generally uncomfortable. The debate had Obama on the defense, and Romney leading a strong offense. Nearly every point the President made Gov. Romney would counter. Romney left the debate the clear victor, once again energizing his campaign and base.
Obama, however, leaves the week with two pieces of good news. First, a stellar jobs report shows that the unemployment rate has dropped under the magic number of 8% to 7.8%. Obama had been quoted saying that if unemployment was above eight percent by the next election, then he would be looking at "a one term proposition". The 7.8% unemployment rate will be a huge boost to his campaign, serving as a check mark to one of his most famous promises.
Obama's second piece of good news was the number of donations Obama earned during the month of September. September was a very strong month for Obama. It started with a stellar Democratic Convention, and ended with Romney's infamous 47% comment. The net result of the month: a record setting $181 million. These numbers will provide a boost to the Obama Campaign, which hadn't been raising as much money as the Romney Campaign in recent months.
The race has become much closer after the debate, and it was a missed opportunity for Obama. While this week will not end on an extremely high note, which should normally happen after the jobs numbers and the donation numbers, the accomplishments balanced out the debate performances leaving the Obama Campaign hopeful for the weeks to come. While the Obama Campaign has had an okay week, Romney's campaign has had a wonderful, and possibly game-changing week. Romney's debate performance has put him back in the presidential race. This week's clear winner was Romney. Still, even after a stellar week for Romney, he still doesn't have an overwhelming lead. This could be the sign of a turning point, but the election is far from over.