Rasmussen's September 18, 2008 poll results has been released, showing the convention bounces gone and the race neck and neck again with McCain and Obama both receiving 48 percent.
With the financial crisis seen on Wall Street uppermost in voter's minds, Rasmussen also shows that 47 percent of voters now think economy will be the top issue of the 2008 election, with only 25 percent of voters believing Obama or McCain are "very likely" to bring about any changes to Wall Street.
In Rasmussen's polling conducted last night they found 47 percent of voters trusted McCain on economic issues with 45 percent trusting Obama, which is a statistically insignificant lead for McCain.
Endorsements.
Yesterday it was reported by multiple organizations as well as here, that a prominent Clinton supporter and Democratic National Committee member has publicly endorsed John McCain for the presidency and last night on CNN’s “Larry King Live, another high profile figure, New York real estate magnate Donald Trump, endorsed McCain as the Politico reports.
Trump had donated to the Hilary Clinton campaign, believing after she lost the primaries Obama should have chosen her as his vice presidential running mate, told Larry King, "I know John McCain, and John McCain's a great guy, a tremendous guy,” Trump told King. “I've known him for a long time. And I'm with him, and I'm with him based on the fact that I have great knowledge of John McCain. Also, this is not the right time for tax increases. And Obama wants to increase your taxes drastically.”
Trump went on to say "I don't understand why Hillary wasn't chosen [for vice president],” Trump said. “ She was really winning. I have a friend that came to this country and was here for the last four weeks of that whole election. He said: How did she lose? She won every primary? He didn't understand it.
“The fact is, that Obama went limping across the finish line. He should have chosen Hillary, It would have been a much different race, I believe. Right now, it looks to me like McCain is probably winning.”
During the Democratic primaries, Trump donated to Hillary Clinton, according to records posted by the Center for Responsive Politics. Trump donated to McCain in May, according to the records.
King pushed Trump's statements asking if he was formally endorsing McCain and Trump confirmed he was.
Advertising.
A new study conducted by Wisconsin Advertising Project, based at the University of Wisconsin, concludes that since the end of the Republican convention, negative advertising has filled the airwaves, with 77 percent of Barack Obama's advertising being listed as negative and 56 percent of John McCain's advertising being shown as negative as reported by The Washington Post. Before the convention McCain's advertising was seen as more negative.
Despite many decrying the negative advertising and many claims about how this campaign season has been the most negative, another Rasmussen survey taken shows that only 23 percent of voters believe this to be true.
55 percent of voters believe this campaign season is no more negative than other election cycles.
Most voters (55%) say the tone of this year’s presidential campaign is about the same as in other recent election years, despite complaints from Barack Obama’s side and some in the media that John McCain has been campaigning negatively.
Only 23% say this election cycle is more negative than most, and nearly as many (20%) say it’s more positive than in recent years, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
While pundits and commentators who favor an individual candidate each sees areas of strength and the presidential debates just around the corner, the race is shaping up to be very tight and barring any unforeseen circumstance, the general consensus from impartial observers seems to be that while we see swings from week to week for one specific candidate and then the other, by election day, the race will still be tight when people go to the voting booth and pull the lever for their candidate.
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