[quote=svelte]I always figured the polls would get closer.
It looks like it has happened for several reasons:
– people typically grumble then end up falling in line with their traditional party of preference
– people have had time to get used to the idea of Trump carrying the GOP torch
– press needs to portray the elections as close so folks will get out and vote instead of thinking it doesn’t matter anyway
– Johnson siphoning off Bernie supporters
It will be interesting to see how Trump changes his stance in Debate 2.0.
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That’s really appropriate observations from a week or 10 days ago. New polling data comes out 10 times a day, sometimes much more than that. Beginning 10 days ago, independents started losing ground, and Trump and Clinton gained. Some days one gained a little more than the other. Until Monday, even before the debate. Since then, there has been a clear spread, with Clinton continuing on the same track she’s been on (in the polling), and Trump on a decline, with Clinton now holding the largest lead she’s held since the beginning of the month.
There’s currently little evidence that Sanders supporters are now supporting Johnson.
Trump is now being who Trump is. The arrogant know-nothing narcissist, who can’t ignore an insult, and is incapable of staying focused for more than a few seconds at a time. Rather than attracting new voters, he’s convinced that his cheers from existing voters means he’s doing well, and reacting to the next shiny object rather than taking the advice of his experienced political operatives. And his own problematic past is catching up with him at the very worst time for his campaign.
He can’t negate the “racist, anti-woman image he has”, because it’s not an image. It is Donald Trump. He didn’t pick a woman because he doesn’t think of women as equals. He might understand TV, but he doesn’t understand politics. And he’s sharply underestimated how bad this campaign could be for his franchise. He could be bankrupt and broke in 5 years.
