Eleicoes Americanas: estado actual de preferencias dos eleitores

Twenty-eight days to go and the most recent polls show Sen. Barack Obama continues to widen his lead against Sen. John McCain.

The Electoral College map that used to be a wash of red (with a few exceptions like the West Coast and the Northeast) is starting to look like the Smurfs are progressively marching across the country. (In other words, the map is turning a Democratic blue.)

The latest NBC/WSJ poll has Obama up six points with registered voters, 49%-43%. Just two weeks ago, that lead was within the margin of error at 2 points.

A CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll has Obama even higher, with an 8-point lead (53%-45%). That's double the 4-point lead Obama held in their poll taken last month.

And, in today's Gallup Daily Tracking poll, registered voters prefer Obama 51% to McCain's 42%. Gallup points out the importance of this:


The nine-percentage point lead in Oct. 4-6 tracking matches Obama's highest to date for the campaign, and the highest for either candidate.

Our own Yahoo! News Political Dashboard highlights the difference -- what used to be GOP safe havens, like Florida and North Carolina, are now trending toward Obama territory.

How does a map that looked so red in November 2004 look so blue October 2008?

The electoral college map based on current polling (above).

One, er, two words: the economy.

Consider a Washington Post-ABC News poll of likely Ohio voters. Obama leads McCain 51% to 45%. For those who say the economy is the biggest issue, Obama wins 61%-34%.

All of this paints a do-or-die backdrop for Sen. McCain in tonight's second presidential debate.