Since I have to be on the road the next four days, unfortunately I have to post my final projections four days early and in an abbreviated form. I hope to post again Monday night before the polls close. However, giving you my best look without benefit of the only real time the polls mean anything: the last week, let me just say the recent financial crisis has hurt John McCain by about 4 points. This would be a tossup now with McCain surging if the meltdown hadn't occurred. I am forced to guess by historical standards that the following will occur over the next four days: some Americans will realize the Democrats are primarily to blame for the fiscal problems; in any case, McCain's plan for recovery is better than Obama's (for these 2 reasons I give McCain a one point gain); There is a "Bradley effect" of two points, and the undecideds (about 12 per cent of the vote) will break 2-1 for the underdog. Since the traditional polls show Obama with about a 4.5 point lead, all this adds up to a 2.5 point McCain win.
State-by-state (below) shows a 270-268 McCain scrape. Colorado and Virginia are the keys. If either candidate sweeps both, he will win. A split makes for a lot of interesting scenarios.
On the general scene, I will say the GOP will own the last week. Any Republican within 5 points in a congressional or gubernatorial race should win. Therefore, I predict a Democrat gain of 8 seats in the House and 4 in the Senate. The Dem Senate gain might be as low as 2 if Sununu of New Hampshire and Stevens of Alaska pull out what should be cliffhangers. Will continue essay on the not too distant national socialist cycle after the election. A real possibility, in either case but especially with Obama, is that we are electing a Kerensky this time.
ALABAMA:McCain 26.
ALASKA: McCain by 24.
ARIZONA: McCain by 14.
ARKANSAS: McCain by 13.
CALIFORNIA: Obama by 12.
COLORADO: Obama by 1.5.
CONNECTICUT: Obama by 14.
DELAWARE: Obama by 16.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Obama by 83.
FLORIDA: McCain by 2.
GEORGIA: McCain by 7.5.
HAWAII: Obama by 19.5.
IDAHO: McCain by 41.
ILLINOIS: Obama by 18.5.
INDIANA: McCain by 7.
IOWA: Obama by 6.5.
KANSAS: McCain by 22.5.
KENTUCKY: McCain by 15.5.
LOUISIANA: McCain by 17.
MAINE: Obama by 7.5.
MARYLAND: Obama by 12.5.
MASSACHUSETTS: Obama by 18.
MICHIGAN: Obama by 6.5.
MINNESOTA: Obama by 4.5.
MISSISSIPPI: McCain by 15.
MISSOURI: McCain by 3.5.
MONTANA: McCain by 11.
NEBRASKA: McCain by 22.5.
NEVADA: McCain by 3.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Obama by 1.
NEW JERSEY: Obama by 7.
NEW MEXICO: McCain by 1.5.
NEW YORK: Obama by 18.
NORTH CAROLINA: McCain by 6.5.
NORTH DAKOTA: McCain by 11.5.
OHIO: McCain by 2.5.
OKLAHOMA: McCain by 33.5.
OREGON: Obama by 7.
PENNSYLVANIA: Obama by 2.
RHODE ISLAND: Obama by 17.
SOUTH CAROLINA: McCain by 22.
SOUTH DAKOTA: McCain by 16.
TENNESSEE: McCain by 18.
TEXAS: McCain by 16.5.
UTAH: McCain by 39.
VERMONT: Obama by 17.
VIRGINIA: McCain by 2.
WASHINGTON: Obama by 7.5.
WEST VIRGINIA: McCain by 11.
WISCONSIN: Obama by 2.
WYOMING: McCain by 27.5.
FINAL: McCain 270; Obama 268.