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PoliGAF 2012 |OT4|: Your job is not to worry about 47% of these posts.

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SmokeMaxX

Member
I really like this article:
Why the President Is Still a Heavy Favorite on the Prediction Markets

David Rothschild: The uncertainty in election forecasts is not about what would happen if the election were held today. It is about what could happen between now and Election Day that could shake things up. And so when a state is 55 percent, or 60 percent, or 75 percent for a given candidate, what we're saying is that there is a 45 percent, or 40 percent, or 25 percent chance the other candidate could win if something happens that shifts that balance, not what would happen if the election were held that day.

...

PS: As between prediction markets and polls, which do you trust?

DR: I'm going to take prediction markets because prediction markets have all of this polling information available to them as well as additional information. They understand some things that will definitely happen that polls have not picked up yet. And I'm going to give you a good example: job numbers. We know that they're going to affect the trajectory of the election. They're going to be involved in the debates, they're going to be in commercials, they're going to help change donations. But unlike you and me, most people are not refreshing the Bureau of Labor Statistics website at 8:30 in the morning on the first Friday of every month. It's the prediction markets who know about these numbers before the polls do, and so that's what makes a difference.

PS: So prediction markets reflect more information because they are played by people with an incentive to stay on top of the information as opposed to react naturally to it over time.

DR: That's correct. Putting your money where your mouth is incentivizes you to go out there and gather as much information as possible and more importantly in some ways, to then reveal that information correctly. And so those kinds of things combine to provide a very high level of information in these prediction markets that you don't necessarily have in a poll that's a snapshot of today, versus a prediction market which is looking at what's going to happen on Election Day.

Made some snips here and there, but bolded the main points that I personally liked.
 

AniHawk

Member
if tomorrow polls come out and, say, gallup is pointed even further downward (worse approval rating, worse rv, worse lv), i'm going to prepare for an obama loss.

i know i'm not joseph-gordon levitt, but i sorta see the future, where the numbers worsen through the weekend, lead to a debate that does nothing to shift the narrative or substantially improve numbers for obama, and a final debate that continues the trend, leading to a loss nationally and across swing states.

i see romney laying low and letting this play out, aside from the debates, where he'll give it his all.

the only counterpoint to this all is that the senate races still pretty much haven't wavered for the democrats, so people are mostly not-enthused for obama in particular. it might mean that these people could be persuaded to come back. at this point, since it doesn't appear this was a 'bump', i think it means romney would have to fuck up again, or obama would have to land a decisive knockout blow somehow.
 

Godslay

Banned
if tomorrow polls come out and, say, gallup is pointed even further downward (worse approval rating, worse rv, worse lv), i'm going to prepare for an obama loss.

i know i'm not joseph-gordon levitt, but i sorta see the future, where the numbers worsen through the weekend, lead to a debate that does nothing to shift the narrative or substantially improve numbers for obama, and a final debate that continues the trend, leading to a loss nationally and across swing states.

i see romney laying low and letting this play out, aside from the debates, where he'll give it his all.

the only counterpoint to this all is that the senate races still pretty much haven't wavered for the democrats, so people are mostly not-enthused for obama in particular. it might mean that these people could be persuaded to come back. at this point, since it doesn't appear this was a 'bump', i think it means romney would have to fuck up again, or obama would have to land a decisive knockout blow somehow.

This is all fine and dandy, but you can't fake the ground game.
 
I think I'll take a break from the Poli thread as well, maybe give it a week, and see where we stand after that. I'm disappointed in the numbers, but I still fully intend to do my part and vote in November. Short of Obama eating a baby, nothing will change that.
 
Romney dropped to 39% in Silver's model. REVERSAL!!!!

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytime...-power/?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-thecaucus

Not that it's a positive article.

The forecast model is being very aggressive about pricing in Mr. Romney’s gains. In our “now-cast,” he’s added a net of 4.8 percentage points since the debate. He will need to have more strong polling days like Friday to maintain his current standing in the model.

The forecast model adjusts Mr. Obama’s numbers up slightly based on its economic index and his incumbency status, but only by about 0.4 percentage points.

Yet some of the plausible arguments that Democrats were making earlier in the week about Mr. Obama’s standing — like that his position would be more robust in the swing states — are looking weaker now.

Although we prefer to describe the race in quantitative rather than qualitative terms, the nomenclature that we use in our Senate forecasts is to describe a race as a “tossup” if each candidate has at least a 40 percent chance of winning. Mr. Romney is on the verge of that threshold.
 

Oblivion

Fetishing muscular manly men in skintight hosery
So Ann Coulter said Obama's even more liberal than FDR, and SS is LESS liberal than Obamacare.

Well, then.
 

AniHawk

Member
This is all fine and dandy, but you can't fake the ground game.

just watch me

seriously though, i hope it's as good as people are saying, because they really fucking need it in ohio, virginia, florida, and colorado.

i remember reading a while ago that an overwhelming amount of people voted for mccain in one of the swing states on election day, and that obama was basically saved by early voting. if people are less enthusiastic about obama now than they were 4 years ago, things are going to get hairy, at best.

in 2008, it was obama in

ohio by 250k (5.6m votes)
florida by 240k (8.3m votes)
virginia by 230k (3.7m votes)
colorado by 210k (2.3m votes)

he has to really do his best to outnumber them early this time. i don't know if it's possible.
 

Trurl

Banned
Don't become dispirited, Anihawk. I ordered an Ohioans for Obama shirt and I'm going to wear it all around the state. It'll shore things up a bit.
 
just watch me

seriously though, i hope it's as good as people are saying, because they really fucking need it in ohio, virginia, florida, and colorado.

i remember reading a while ago that an overwhelming amount of people voted for mccain in one of the swing states on election day, and that obama was basically saved by early voting. if people are less enthusiastic about obama now than they were 4 years ago, things are going to get hairy, at best.

in 2008, it was obama in

ohio by 250k (5.6m votes)
florida by 240k (8.3m votes)
virginia by 230k (3.7m votes)
colorado by 210k (2.3m votes)

he has to really do his best to outnumber them early this time. i don't know if it's possible.
People gotta chill. You do realize that Obama can lose Florida, Colorado, and Virginia and still win easily.
 

AniHawk

Member
Don't become dispirited, Anihawk. I ordered an Ohioans for Obama shirt and I'm going to wear it all around the state. It'll shore things up a bit.

what i'm about to say is one of the dumbest things ever, but this actually makes me feel a little better.

People gotta chill. You do realize that Obama can lose Florida, Colorado, and Virginia and still win easily.

i was hoping the path would be possible without ohio, florida, virginia, and colorado. colorado's really let me down.

somewhat nervous about wisconsin and nevada, but i think they're like iowa and north carolina where their results are already a foregone conclusion.

Everyone was freaking out until Biden started spittin' dat hot fiyah.

man i really hope it stops the bleeding. tomorrow's gallup needs to not be more negative than it was today. if tomorrow's gallup is worse, then it means romney's new lead is sticking, and people actually do plan on voting for the guy.
 

Godslay

Banned
just watch me

seriously though, i hope it's as good as people are saying, because they really fucking need it in ohio, virginia, florida, and colorado.

i remember reading a while ago that an overwhelming amount of people voted for mccain in one of the swing states on election day, and that obama was basically saved by early voting. if people are less enthusiastic about obama now than they were 4 years ago, things are going to get hairy, at best.

in 2008, it was obama in

ohio by 250k (5.6m votes)
florida by 240k (8.3m votes)
virginia by 230k (3.7m votes)
colorado by 210k (2.3m votes)

he has to really do his best to outnumber them early this time. i don't know if it's possible.

The have a natural advantage in that Obama didn't have to deal with getting his parties nomination. He was far ahead of Romney in all the swing states in establishing offices. It's a very real advantage. Only time will tell if it's effective.
 

Enk

makes good threads.
RepubFreaked.jpg


Thanks to Alex Winter this is all I can think off when I see Paul Ryan now. I wonder what his Freaked form would look like.
 
I think Obama supporters here, and especially the ones who are worried, really need to take a step back for a bit. It seems were all feeding of each others negativity, and we really don't need to. Sure were having a rough patch, but we can easily win it all back, this week. But also consider volunteering, one of the advantages Obama has is the better ground team, and the democrats need to use that to their full advantage. So if your worried, go out and do all you can to make sure you win, now I'm not saying volunteer time you dont have or donate money you really need, but if have a little extra, do what you can. It'll go a long ways further than panicking at poll results and making each other miserable.
 

Averon

Member
just watch me

seriously though, i hope it's as good as people are saying, because they really fucking need it in ohio, virginia, florida, and colorado.

i remember reading a while ago that an overwhelming amount of people voted for mccain in one of the swing states on election day, and that obama was basically saved by early voting. if people are less enthusiastic about obama now than they were 4 years ago, things are going to get hairy, at best.

in 2008, it was obama in

ohio by 250k (5.6m votes)
florida by 240k (8.3m votes)
virginia by 230k (3.7m votes)
colorado by 210k (2.3m votes)

he has to really do his best to outnumber them early this time. i don't know if it's possible.

Early voting has actually become even more popular since 2008 and the numbers reflect that. All indications say that Obama has a huge advantage in early voting, particularly in Ohio and Iowa, and states are early voting at a higher rate than they where in 2008. Romney will really have to greatly out perform the current polling in Ohio and Iowa for him to win either it if early voting in both states continues are they are going. Going into election splitting the remaining voters just won't do it for Romney to overcome Obama's advantage in early voting and ground operations. If going into election day Romney is polling 2-3 percent better than Obama, than, yeah, it's grim. But if it continues to be something like 50-48, 49-47, 48-47 and so on, I feel pretty good that Obama's bank of early votes will pull it off.
 

Trurl

Banned
I would campaign, but phone banking, canvasing, or bothering strangers in unsolicited ways really makes me uncomfortable and as a result I'm horrible at it. I respect its importance and am glad that people do it, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm being rude when I do it.

Instead I've decided that I'm going to come out as an Obama supporter at work and talk to people around me about the election generally. Until recently it's a subject that I would avoid out of politeness, but this idea that one should be silent about his or her political beliefs is a mistake.

Granted, 3 of the 4 colors available are blue.
He's trying to trick liberals into donating to his campaign.
 

XenodudeX

Junior Member
The pressure for Obama to do well at the debates is huge right now. If "slow Joe" can beat Ryan, maybe Obama can score a convincing win at the debates.
 

Measley

Junior Member
if tomorrow polls come out and, say, gallup is pointed even further downward (worse approval rating, worse rv, worse lv), i'm going to prepare for an obama loss.

i know i'm not joseph-gordon levitt, but i sorta see the future, where the numbers worsen through the weekend, lead to a debate that does nothing to shift the narrative or substantially improve numbers for obama, and a final debate that continues the trend, leading to a loss nationally and across swing states.

i see romney laying low and letting this play out, aside from the debates, where he'll give it his all.

the only counterpoint to this all is that the senate races still pretty much haven't wavered for the democrats, so people are mostly not-enthused for obama in particular. it might mean that these people could be persuaded to come back. at this point, since it doesn't appear this was a 'bump', i think it means romney would have to fuck up again, or obama would have to land a decisive knockout blow somehow.

You have to seriously ask yourself though; Why exactly would Obama lose the election?

The economy is rebounding (especially in Ohio and Virginia). The wars are winding down. U.S. auto industry is doing fantastic. The stock market is back up. Osama Bin Ladin is dead. Home sales are rebounding. Americans are also more respected on a global level. There hasn't been a terrorist attack on U.S. soil since he took office.

I'm just not seeing why Obama should lose this. People say he can't run on his record, but that is absolute nonsense. His record is pretty damn good all things considered.

The pressure for Obama to do well at the debates is huge right now. If "slow Joe" can beat Ryan, maybe Obama can score a convincing win at the debates.

In the current media atmosphere, the best Obama can hope for is a tie. Conservative media won't let him have a win, and mainstream media wants the horse race to continue.
 

Trurl

Banned
In the current media atmosphere, the best Obama can hope for is a tie. Conservative media won't let him have a win, and mainstream media wants the horse race to continue.

People actually watch these things and have opinions about them other than just what the media tells them to think.
 

Angry Fork

Member
You have to seriously ask yourself though; Why exactly would Obama lose the election?

The economy is rebounding (especially in Ohio and Virginia). The wars are winding down. U.S. auto industry is doing fantastic. The stock market is back up. Osama Bin Ladin is dead. Home sales are rebounding. Americans are also more respected on a global level. There hasn't been a terrorist attack on U.S. soil since he took office.

I'm just not seeing why Obama should lose this. People say he can't run on his record, but that is absolute nonsense. His record is pretty damn good all things considered.

Americans are stupid.
 
If By Tuesday the polls show it tightened, then I agree. If it shows Romney much better off than that, then it's much more than just tightening.

As I said, this should be a 2-2.5% election. Obama was higher than that. But if this is tied before the debate, that is bad.

It's going to be bad then.

While I do believe Obama will win (I'm not in a location where there are swing voters. I'm in a part of a country where Republicans can say they will kill 200 million people, and they will still win the election), no one ever lost money betting on the stupidity of the American people.

I believe Biden won the last debate, but it hasn't stopped the bleeding.

Seriously, it took the demise of the economy to vote in a Democratic president. What does that tell you about the proclivity of the public to vote Democrat?
 

Link Man

Banned
I would campaign, but phone banking, canvasing, or bothering strangers in unsolicited ways really makes me uncomfortable and as a result I'm horrible at it. I respect its importance and am glad that people do it, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm being rude when I do it.

Instead I've decided that I'm going to come out as an Obama supporter at work and talk to people around me about the election generally. Until recently it's a subject that I would avoid out of politeness, but this idea that one should be silent about his or her political beliefs is a mistake.

No better way of making your coworkers hate you than talking politics at work! Especially if you're a bit smug about it, acting like a know-it-all!
 

Averon

Member
It's highly unlikely Obama won't have a better debate Tuesday, both media and polling wise simply because he couldn't possible perform worse than he did in the first debate. He is keenly aware he shat the bed and he squandered the lead he built up pre-debate.
 
Question to all of those whining on here like little kids: Where do you live? If you live in or near a swing state (which in now the majority of the United States), shut the fuck up and volunteer. If you have the time to bitch on here, get off your lazy ass and do something about it! Have you people seriously never faced any adversity?
 

isoquant

Member
PublicPolicyPolling Twitter said:
Ohio looks pretty darn close on the first night of our poll there.

Ouch.

PublicPolicyPolling Twitter said:
VP debate looks like a draw in the swing states where we launched polls tonight.

Sorry guys, no game-changer here.

One of the problems as I see it is that all of Obama's Bain / tax attacks seem so passé now. They really blew their load early. These days whenever I see an article or an ad about how Mitt killed babies at Bain and has offshore accounts in the Caymans I tune out. I imagine the electorate is pretty becoming more and more immune to it all too.
 

Trurl

Banned
No better way of making your coworkers hate you than talking politics at work! Especially if you're a bit smug about it, acting like a know-it-all!

In the past I have deliberately steered conversations away from politics. That really isn't necessary. I'm not about to start accosting people and yelling at them about what a horrible person Romney is.
 

Averon

Member
Ouch.



Sorry guys, no game-changer here.

One of the problems as I see it is that all of Obama's Bain / tax attacks seem so passé now. They really blew their load early. These days whenever I see an article or an ad about how Mitt killed babies at Bain and has offshore accounts in the Caymans I tune out. I imagine the electorate is pretty becoming more and more immune to it all too.

To be fair, VP debates never matter in the long run. At best, they are used to pump up the base, which Biden succeeded in doing. As far as I'm concerned, Biden did his job perfectly. Obama need to do his on Tuesday night.

edit: Looking at the map, Obama needs to hold WI and take either VA or OH and he won. I don't think Iowa or Nevada is flipping. When WI, OH, and VA are called, we'll know whether we have Pres, Obama or Pres. Romney.
 

XenodudeX

Junior Member
This is beginning to look the the tortuous and the Hare story.

Only the tortuous is a lying rich asshole who will do and say anything to be president.
 
It's going to be bad then.

While I do believe Obama will win (I'm not in a location where there are swing voters. I'm in a part of a country where Republicans can say they will kill 200 million people, and they will still win the election), no one ever lost money betting on the stupidity of the American people.

I believe Biden won the last debate, but it hasn't stopped the bleeding.

Seriously, it took the demise of the economy to vote in a Democratic president. What does that tell you about the proclivity of the public to vote Democrat?

It's been 1 day!

Romney's bounce didn't appear the next day either.

Good grief!
 
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