by Linda Thieman
The Des Moines Register's latest Iowa Poll was released yesterday, showing that not only has Obama "solidified" his lead over McCain in Iowa but that he has widened the gap to a whopping 17% (MoE +/- 3.4%).The poll was conducted between October 28-31 using a sample of 814 likely voters. (The September poll had Obama with a 12% point lead.)
This would put the lie to the GOP spin that Obama came to Iowa this week because the race is tightening here. In fact, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis claims, "Our own data has us dead even in the state of Iowa."
Is it spin or does the McCain camp sincerely believe it?
Boy, if their own internal polls do indeed show that the race in Iowa is "dead even," the McCain campaign should have seriously considered hiring a better team of pollsters. I mean, that's not just "slightly off" or "within the margin of error." That's a major screw up. Although, that may finally explain why McCain has been spending time and money in Iowa when all other polls show he is unlikely to have a chance here.
If I were a betting person, my money would be on the Des Moines Register.
