VA-Sen: Allen's nightmare has been confirmed by Rasmussen

Earlier today I reported on this blog about a poll that showed Democratic Senate challenger James Webb leading incumbent Republican Senator George Allen 48% to 43%, and among leaners by a 47% to 43% margin.  I was very skeptical about that poll at first because it was conducted for the DSCC.

But on Sunday night, the well-known Rasmussen polling company, who had Allen leading until this point, now has Webb ahead.  When "leaners" are included, the challenger's lead is outside the margin of error:

Virginia Senate Race

Likely Voters - Including Leaners (10/25 results)
(R) George Allen - 46% (50%)
(D) James Webb - 51% (48%)

Likely Voters - WIthout Leaners
(R) George Allen - 46%
(D) James Webb - 48%

In other words, almost all of the undecided voters are leaning towards challenger James Webb.

I don't want to overstate this, but this poll is probably the best political news that I have heard in my entire young life.  Please hear me out on this.  The Rasmussen poll shown above comes just days after the attacks by George Allen on James Webb's war book, which contained a few sexually explicit scenes that reflected life in certain parts of the world.  so, as according to GOP script, the Allen campaign was out in full force portraying Webb as anti-family values.  Conventional wisdom would have pointed to last week as marking the end of Webb's Senate hopes.  But instead, the poll tells a different story.  It tells the story of a new, much more mature electorate that has become immune to smears, and is no longer persuaded by twisted stunts of the kind that Allen pulled last week.  Voters are above all that.  They know what is happening.  They aren't as dumb as the Republican spin machine thinks they are.  For Senator Allen to pull what he pulled last week was an insult to the intelligence of all Virginia voters, especially at a time when thousands of U.S. soldiers are dying in Iraq.  Voters sniffed it out, and they appear to be voting for change next week.

Let this be a rule for all politicians in years to come.  If you play dirty games like George Allen, then your opponent will get a positive bounce in the polls.  If you discuss real issues, such as the safety of this country and and how to tackle corruption in our nation's Capitol, then you will earn the respect of voters.  Don't insult their intelligence.

Comments

[George]

You got this right. This is a huge development. I think that Webb winning an election like this in a state like VA would be a turning point for the USA back to a place where we were 10-20 years ago. Back to a time when you could be proud to be from the U S and A.

GO WEBB!

[Marcy]

I like Webb. The fact his own son is in Iraq speaks for itself. He has the experience that Allen does not. Plus, Allen is a racist pig (pardon my bluntness). My opinion there. When confronted about his book, Webb hit the airwaves and fought back, which is just what he needed to do. I voted for Kerry and think that if he had not waited so long to fight back, his chances might have been better. Of course, the swiftboaters were particularly vicious so even fighting back right away, might not have done the trick. He would have been a good president as I think he would have surrounded himself with all the right people and most importantly, listened to them. That is something our current president is unable, or unwilling to do.
I am glad to see this poll...

[Marcy]

I know this is a little off the point.....but I just read that while in GA, Bush wanted to talk about NJ and gay marriage, which seemed to get quite an ovation. Does this not seem a little bizarre?! I mean....here we are in a WAR, having lost 101 soldiers this month (fathers, sons, brothers, to someone!!!) and he wants to talk about gay marriage?! Like anyone really cares? I guess the Republicans do, as they certainly gave up the applause.....or maybe it was the only thing in his speech they could find to applaud about?

[Administrator: Todd]

MARCY: You know, that is a good point. But I have a feeling that when voters step into their polling booth, one important issue will be on their minds: Iraq. They will need to choose whether to live in a state of denial, or vote for change. Haha, yeah, and you are right, Allen is a racist pig. I have a sister who used those exact words to describe a different Republican. But yeah, it's sad that we're in the 21st century and some candidates still live behind the times.

GEORGE: Oh, I know!!! That part about being proud to live in the good ol' USA-of-A is right on the money! It's not like I didn't like my own country before....it's just that for now on when I meet foreign exchange students at the University of Washington, I won't have to apologise as much. That kind of thing. lol Also, plain and simple, we have to succeed foreign policy-wise. These are challenging times. We need to stabilize the Middle East and combat terrorism EVERYWHERE in the world -- but that requires smarts, pragmatism and alliances. A Democratically controlled Armed Services Committee (Chaired by Carl Levin), Intelligence Committee (Chaired By Jay Rockefeller) and Foreign Relations Committee (Chaired by Joseph Biden) is what we need to prove to the world that we do want to turn things around and promote democracy THROUGH STABILITY. Oh man, I don't want to get over-excited about these polls, but it's hard not to.