Ledger DC Journal - News, Politics & Crime

Can we trust the exit polls? How should they be handled by the networks? As the exit polls rolled in in 2004, it appeared John Kerry would win the race handily. However the exit polls missed big in 2004. So here we are, it is Election Day 2008 in the United States and while there are many very important races around the country, most eyes are on the White House race. The popular vote and the Electoral College vote may not matter this year if the pollsters are accurate. Most have predicted a comfortable Barack Obama win over John McCain.

Exit Polls 2008: Electoral College Scoreboard, The Map Countdown

There are 538 Electoral College votes at stake Tuesday and it takes any combination of 270 Electoral College votes to win. There are scenarios of a 269-269 Electoral College tie. What a frightening thought.


Political Wire has live election results tonight here. 'Dave does the Blog' has this, "Obama maintains his significant (if electoral-magnified) lead and lock in all the polls and results. Several sites have shown that number dropping; a few have showed it increasing (mostly at the expense of toss-ups). None of the sites -- left-or-right-leaning -- sees McCain winning the EC."

He has a great write up of all of the Electoral College projections here and report, "Numbers here have gotten pretty stable. The Dems will be close to, but certainly not at or over a filibuster-proof Senate. It will be interesting to see how that plays out, as it means that only a few Senators crossing the aisle can make stuff happen if it is worth their while or if they believe strongly in it. It does mean that a disciplined GOP can, if they are willing to, block pretty much anything the Dems put forward. Will that make for a restraint on excess, or a gridlock that belies the Obama narrative of change and reconciliation?"