Where We Are As Of Today: The VP Effects

Less than two months out from the 2008 election, it's time to take a look at our present situation. The last major factor in both campaigns was the selection of VP nominations. In the week since McCain evoked the Palin Effect, his numbers have leapt upward and his re-energized campaign has geared up into overdrive. Obama also nominated someone to be his running mate, which added no spark whatsoever to his somewhat flagging, post-climactic campaign.

With a turn toward the negative on both sides as they attempt to gain momentum in the ramp up to the debates, the campaigns find themselves in a virtual dead-heat in nearly every national poll. While Obama had been leading by a handful of points over the last months, McCain will likely surpass his rival this month - almost certainly as a result of Sarah Palin's dramatic effect on his campaign.

The time has come to begin getting serious about statistics and electoral mapping. Exciting stuff! Well, at least, important stuff - as the election turns on a handful of swing states. The best current data is Real Clear Politic's electoral map and chart spread, hosted on Politico.

At present, Politico has the national poll with Obama 45% and McCain 47%, though the electoral count has McCain 265 and Obama 273. Which is to say, everything is pretty much even, and a single state or a single blunder could decide the whole race!