Why is there a 20 point swing in favor of Obama with Independent voters?

Question

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/01/opinion/polls/main4405106_page2.shtml

Before the Democratic convention, McCain enjoyed a 12-point advantage with independent voters, but now Obama leads among this group 43 percent to 37 percent. Obama's lead among women has also grown to 14 points (50 percent to 36 percent), and the Democrat maintained the lead he had before the convention among voters who supported Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries.

Answer 1

Obama gives very good speaches.  And the backing of Hillary Clinton helped.  For the longest time McCain was in the news attacking Obama over and over and over.  At the Democratic Convention, Obama finally got the chance to respond and make his voice heard.  I think it partly has to do with who gets more news coverage at the time.

Answer 2

they finally got of the fence.

Answer 3

CBS is the least trustworthy of any of the major networks.

Katy Colic needs to go back to sleep.

Just say NO to Osama Biden Laden.

McCain/Palin '08

Answer 4

His speech.  If the GOP wants them back, they need to do more then make a surprise VP pick, McCain HAS to retort and come back with a gigantic speech, compare able to what Obama did last week.  I know many people on Y!A "forgot" about it, but back in Reality, USA, the bottom line is this:

Palin may be a great pick...but if McCain and his running mate do not wow at the RNC...none of this hype will matter.  Obama threw some punches and commented on every major issue in this election, now John McCain needs to do the same.  

Answer 5

Hmm, someone is really manipulating the numbers as McCain was leading Obama in the latest Zogby poll and a 20 point swing in any voting group would have wiped that out by a long shot...

Answer 6

Because CBS is paid by Obama to skew poll results!

Nice try!

Next....

Answer 7

Generally, the Republican party is very strong in their views, and not often open to compromise.  An Independent is just the opposite, in that they look at all the issues.  Perhaps the Independents were surprised to see that McCain chose someone just a heartbeat away from the presidency with LESS experience than Obama, when that is a major issue for them (that Obama doesn;t have the experience to lead).  This is typical politics, and polls don't often reflect the true feelings of the voters.  Kerry was way ahead in 2004, and Dewey was way ahead of Truman in 1948 - they both lost.  One should always vote for who THEY think is the best candidate, and not what "polls" tell them.  What one person may be an important issue for them (Iraq, the economy, etc.) may NOT be an important issue for another person.

Answer 8

Palin can't even control her teenage daughter, how will she control our CUNTry if something happens to McCain? lol

Answer 9

I don't know. I haven't changed my mind.

Answer 10

Who swung in McCains favor then because the polls really haven't changed. SO if he lost that many swing voters, he gained somewhere else. The polls are still within 6 to 1 points.

Answer 11

yet his post convention bump is alot smaller than anticipated...great question! NOT

Answer 12

Because Obama amazed the world with his vision and speech in Denver and McCain amazed with that laughable VP pick.

Answer 13

Let's just see what the polls say soon with the announcement of the VP

Answer 14

Your interpretation of this article is wrong.

From your link:

"One in five independents say the choice of Biden will make them more likely to vote for Obama. "

This does not equate to a "20 point swing" for Obama.

Your other "statistics" aren't mentioned anywhere in the

article.

If you want to pick & choose your quotes, here's another one:

"Seventeen percent of men say they are more likely to vote for McCain as a result, while ... eighteen percent of Republicans say they are are more likely to vote for McCain."