Election Day Poll No. Whatever

[Buck]

Maybe people don't agree with her policy positions.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Well, about half did. Half didn't.

 

[BTExpress]

Had a huge lead, blew it, kept relying on the top stars until they were worn out and suffered losses in Pennsylvania.

The "lead" was a mirage. Every bit as much as the 500+ market tumble at 3 a.m.

A poll is not a scoreboard. If it was, then she won the election, because she won every poll right up until the time that people stopped answering questions and started punching ballots.

 

[RickStain]

The national polls were pretty much right

 

[Michael_ Gee]

The national polls were pretty much right

Off by about 2.4 points, which is as close as polls get. She had a lead between 3-4, will wind up winning popular vote between 1.2-2. Polls of less than 1000 likely voters don't account for electoral college.

 

[Batman]

I can't blame her for Florida, probably not even N.C. And I don't know how much a spending push in Big 10 country would have helped. You can develop the world's costliest dog food, but if the dogs don't like it ...

Coke, Budweiser and McDonald's have huge market shares. There's a reason they still spend millions on advertising.

 

[Batman]

I think a lot of it was the campaign Clinton ran. She has assumed from Day 1 that she was entitled to be president, that she should be anointed, because it was her turn and she was a woman, by golly, and she ran her campaign that way from start to finish. She didn't work hard enough for it, presumed too much in too many states, and didn't fire up the marginal liberal-leaning votes in key metro areas. Plus, I suspect that there is more to the health issue than she or anyone else let on during the campaign. I don't think she's particularly well health-wise, and maybe that played into her lack of enthusiasm for the race.

Also, nobody has given Trump credit for the campaign he has run. Early on, he sensed the mood of the country and he played to that mood relentlessly. So what started out as a joke became a movement, and he and his people were right at every step along the way.

Trump also did an excellent job of picking his way through traffic. He seemed to have a knack for finding his opponent's weakness and exposing it, from the primaries all the way through the general election. Christie and Rubio got obliterated, Cruz just got annoyed into submission, and maybe this is giving him too much credit but Hillary probably got overconfident while he played the fool.
Trump used his strength as a natural showman to his advantage. His rallies were entertaining events, and he used media access to his advantage. I think it was Megyn Kelly who pointed out last night that access to Hillary was very tight, while Trump basically did a freewheeling press conference or two every day at his rallies. You might not have liked what he had to say, but at least he was accessible and said something.
Those are two important traits. The first, I think, can help him be an effective leader. It shows he knows how to work people, which can definitely be used to get things done and be productive. The second is something we in the media should hope he continues, although now that he doesn't need us it'll be interesting to see if he does.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

It has been three months since Trump had a press availability. Your post is just a myth.

 

[HejiraHenry]

Only about six pages through this thread and it is gold, comedy gold.

 

[Batman]

It has been three months since Trump had a press availability. Your post is just a myth.

I watched him take questions in the spin room immediately after one of the debates.

 

[RedCanuck]

Besides Doc, who are the other 10 who predicted a Trump win? Come forward and receive your prize!

I was one, should have actually put money on it.

 

[BTExpress]

[raises hand]

Saw exactly one Clinton/Kaine lawn sign and no bumper stickers, and I live in a blue county in a state that went blue as recently as 2008.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

There were a sprinkling of lawn signs in my town for Clinton. The tipoff for me as to how people felt about this election came when I went to Cape Cod. The population there is VERY politically active because it's one of the few places in Massachusetts that's pretty evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. So there are zillions of lawn signs every election. There were this year, too -- for local races. Clinton signs were sparse, and I saw more Gary Johnson signs than Trump signs. Trump's problem now is what Clinton's would've been had she won, distrust and dislike from a majority of the public.

 

[RedCanuck]

Trump's problem now is what Clinton's would've been had she won, distrust and dislike from a majority of the public.

That's certainly something we can agree upon.

 

[Buck]

Gary Johnson carried Martha's Vineyard!

 

[Buck]

Does he know what and where Martha's Vineyard is?

 

[swingline]

Does he know what and where Martha's Vineyard is?

Is it in Aleppo?