Poll-itics: McGains in battleground states edition, but "comfortable Obama/Democratic...victory in November"

By GottaLaff

McGaining:

Sen. John McCain has inched ahead of Sen. Barack Obama in Colorado; come within inches in Minnesota and narrowed the gap in Michigan and Wisconsin, according to four simultaneous Quinnipiac polls of likely voters in these battleground states.

• In Colorado, McCain leads 46% to 44%.
• In Michigan, Obama leads 46% to 42%.
• In Minnesota, Obama leads 46% to 44%.
• In Wisconsin, Obama leads 50% to 39%.

Most interesting finding: "Voters in each state say energy policy is more important than the war in Iraq. And by margins of 22 to 31 percentage points, voters in each state support offshore oil drilling, and by seven to 12-point margins, drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge."

If this is why they are leaning toward McOil, then they need to be educated. Badly.

UPDATE: On the other hand...

The Crystal Ball: "While no election outcome is guaranteed and McCain's prospects could improve over the next three and a half months, virtually all of the evidence that we have reviewed -- historical patterns, structural features of this election cycle, and national and state polls conducted over the last several months -- point to a comfortable Obama/Democratic party victory in November. Trumpeting this race as a toss-up, almost certain to produce another nail-biter finish, distorts the evidence and does a disservice to readers and viewers who rely upon such punditry. Again, maybe conditions will change in McCain's favor, and if they do, they should also be accurately described by the media. But current data do not justify calling this election a toss-up."

That's more like it. I've changed the post title accordingly.