Report: 'Florida May Be Falling From Obama's Grasp'

St. Petersberg Times:

Barack Obama could be on the verge of falling out of contention in Florida.

Despite spending an estimated $8-million on campaign ads in America's biggest battleground state and putting in place the largest Democratic campaign organization ever in Florida, Obama has lost ground over the summer. Florida has moved from a toss-up state to one that clearly leans toward John McCain, fueling speculation about how much longer the Democratic nominee will continue investing so heavily in the state.

Obama can still win Florida despite the polling gains McCain has made since naming Sarah Palin his running mate, and there is no sign Obama is pulling back in Florida yet. Far from it. Obama allies say he has about 350 paid staffers in the state and about 50 field offices, including in places not known as fertile ground for Democrats, such as Sun City Center, Lake City and Sebring.

Read the whole story: St. Petersberg Times

Comments

[huffbuster]

Obama has absolutely no chance. Look for a Mccain Palin landslide. The Dems only hope is Hillary 2008.

Obama's arrogance and stupidity caused him not to pick the obvious choice- uh --can you say Hillary/ DOH! The Messiah blew it. By not picking Hillary he opened the door for Palin..It's all over!

Hillary 2012!

[catinca]

How can anyone vote for McPalin? They are liars & adulterers? Is that who you want for president?
What is wrong wtih you????

[SunshineDaydream]

it is paid per reply to divert our convos. ignore them, they are liars, just like their candidates.

[juzcuz]

In answer to catinca: What is wrong with "them" is they don't know any better. They've been in a rut the last 8 years and digging a deep black hole all over again with McBush and Smudged Lips. Can't reason with insanity. Just ignore them... they know not what they do.

[tantip]

Let's wait until the debates and we will all see McCain and Palin go down.

[wdw101]

no i don't want them however bo's policies i don't like worse than my dislike for McCain....

[huffbuster]

hah wow - so now I'm at roll b/c I think Obama screwed up. ? ok. An obama-hillary tic would have been unbeatable. Biden was a horrible pic.

I guess anyone who disagrees with Obama is now a troll. Those of you with double digit IQs - who cannot think for your selves and call anyone who disagrees with you names - are taking us all down the tubes.

Obama has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory - DOH!

[criquet]

Dream on. If Obama does not in ,with the level of effort she is putting in so far, she'll be lucky to get 5% of the AA American vote in 2012. She won't even win the nomination.
Get over it.

[PizzaGuy1]

Tr0ll......duhhhhhhhhh. He picked the obvious choice.

But thanks for playing our game......

[Tropiholic]

poomie, practice saying president 0bama

[FogBelter]

Who owns the St. Petersberg Times?

[KBAR]

The The Poynter Institute is a school and resource for journalism located in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is the owner of the company that publishes the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly. It is in close proximity to the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library on the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus, built in memory of Nelson Poynter. It was founded in May 1975 by Nelson Poynter, chairman of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly bearing the name Modern Media Institute [1]. In 1984 it changed to The Poynter Institute for Media Studies.

[obamasOHangel]

Nelson Poynter, I believe.

[KBAR]

Nelson Poynter (1903 – 1978)

Still votes Democrat.

[obamasOHangel]

Checked Wiki:

Owner Times Publishing Company
Publisher Marty Petty
Editor Paul Tash

[ezbreezer]

It's St PetersbUrg.
Paper is independently owned by the Poynter Institute.
Regularly taken to task for its LIBERAL stance.
GO RAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FogBelter]

Isn't Liberal in Florida anything left of Batista?

[Mildmannered]

Don't waste your time now on Florida, Obama.

Campaign in OH, VA, NM, CO, and NV

[SunshineDaydream]

and why is that, charlie?

[Mildmannered]

see www.electoral-vote.com

[angryjim]

Looking at the calendar above the monitor it says today is SEPT 13. The election is not unil NOV 4. I would say declaring defeat in Florida for the dems in an article published today is a bit premature.

[zendem1]

There are Obama ads running in heavy rotation all over Florida. There is high voter registration in NE Florida, which is a GOP bastion. The outcome will depend on South Florida voters. Too early to write them off.

[SunshineDaydream]

don't write noflo off - we r wrkin our booties off up here

[obamasOHangel]

It's smoke and mirrors. Don't fall for it.

[ozrox]

I've seen heard people say that they won't vote for a black man- so here's a question for you- how's the white man treating you? I don't care if Obama is purple with pink polka dots we CAN NOT afford 4 more years of the same & very probably much worse.

OBAMA 4 PREZ

[KBAR]

Obama/Who? '08

[SunshineDaydream]

ignore the tr oll

[juzcuz]

People who still won't vote for a black man are scared of their own black shadow. Fear and ignorance is what it's all about. Ever noticed it's the ones who can't stand (hate) themselves that are the bigots... because it makes them feel uppity and better but we all know better about bigots.

[mamacat]

One of the salient truths of this election cycle is that only the Democrats care about truth.

Republicans are telling whoppers every minute of every day, and only now are the MSM catching on that it is OK to call a liar a liar. When shown their lies, McCain and Palin skirt the issue, mutter "no, no, its not a lie," and go on to the next subject, as if it were unimportant.

If the Democrats err on a fact, and the Reps or the MSM point it out, the Dems are embarassed and correct themselves.

Whatever happens this election, I would rather keep my honor than sell my soul to the Devil to get into the White House. If both parties abandon integrity, and become nothing but liars and liars-light, I will stop voting.

- a vet for Obama

[sendpizza]

Why call the Hillary supporters trolls? Because they are disgusted with the way the Obama campaign treated her? Because they KNOW and Hillary knows that she has nothing to lose and everything to gain by not supporting Obama now, since she will be running in 2012??
Because they are telling you what you don't want to hear?
Thats why you are losing, you know. Because you don't want to hear what anyone else says.
What was it you tried to sell about "Democratic unity" again?? Sure looks like a pretty fractured party to me.

Even with the media helping your candidate, nothing will save him now.
Nothing.
You guys are on the Titanic. And there are no lifeboats in sight.

[burndtdan]

"Why call the Hillary supporters trolls? Because they are disgusted with the way the Obama campaign treated her?"

actually, yes. you just hit the nail on the head.

the obama campaign hasn't done anything but treat her with the utmost respect. but no matter what his campaign does, you will never be satisfied. thus, it is not worth wasting anyone's time trying to talk to you.

if you show that you aren't willing to respond to attention, you will get no attention. thus, you will just be ignored as trolls.

[ezbreezer]

A troll is a troll.
A Hillary supporter is a vote for Obama.
Rove operates by using the big lie, but it doesn't work here.

[ezbreezer]

Wasn't McCain a passenger on the Titanic?

[obamasOHangel]

The Obama campaign paid her debt. The end. She gave a great speech in August 2008. The end. No animosity, but I call 'em like I see 'em, and with what they're posting...uhhh...trolling.

[criquet]

Well ,you and your candidate for 2012 can forget it. After the way she has behaved to date, if she does not do some serious campaigning for Obama, she won't get the AA vote in 2012 and she won't have achance at the Dem primary .

[zendem1]

Hillary Lost. It was in all the papers. Now get over it.

[KC333]

Listen up Obama supporters, the Republican party plans to steal the elections by voter fraud. Click the link below from a Republican who worked in the McCain camp until recently, after he quit because he knew what they were going to do. Pass it to everyone you know. PASS THIS ON IN E-MAILS LETTERS; WHATEVER WAY TO GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/What-YOU-can-do-to-prevent-by-Mark-Crispin-Mille-080912-383.html

[SunshineDaydream]

it is called election fraud. the voters are the victims in this situation, please do not call it voter fraud.

[ObamasGuardianAngel]

Obama needs out help.

Guess what Barack? Help is on the way!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQX6k5wQjI4

www.GuerillaMediaXchange.blogspot.com

Time for us to take our country back!!!

[Freddiejr]

Thank You! Keep it up and spread the message. This is what will change womens minds about PALIN.

[Vantunow]

Thats 10 million down the drain.

Save MI and PA and the Pull out Colorado.

If New Hampshire or Nevada comes through you are there.

Otherwise You have 269-269 tie.

Dem Congress would put him in.

However, O's EGO is making him chamse Montana and South Dakota and whatever else.

If he doesn't change tacticts, he is toast.

[LibertarianVoter1]

I predict that McCain will win this race by a significant margin. I am an unbiased independent voter and have predicted this long before he chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, a move which tilted the playing field in his favor even more. While I recognize the possibility that the current polls (which indicate a lead for McCain) may not reflect recently registered voters, especially those without landlines, it also does not recognize the fact that many potential voters polled over the telephone may for one reason or another tell the live pollster they would vote for Obama but will then actually vote for McCain when they are in the privacy of the voting booth. Additionally, during the past several elections, Republicans gain more voters than the Democrats between September and November. In other words, if the Democrats don't have a sizeable lead during the first week or two of September, they are toast. For example, Clinton had a large lead over Bush in 1992 and Dole in 1996; each of these leads were eroded during September and October but not enough to overcome Clinton's Labor Day lead in the polls (thanks to Ross Perot). Bush and Kerry were neck and neck around Labor Day 2004 before Bush pulled ahead and won with about a 5% margin.

[Bubba Gump]

This isn't about stats. This is about American freedom and the path our country faces after 8 years of Bush. It's simple: are you better off today than you were 8 years ago?

[allwrite]

If there is not a complete and thorough cleansing of Republican dogma from the institutions running our country, this country is finished. The jackboots are pressing their uniforms and polishing their weapons. As in Germany Post WW I, economic decline will provide fertile ground for recruitment. They put their army on display in Minneapolis. They will lead the sheep to slaughter and slaughter those who decline to follow. I, for one, am very fearful of where a McCain victory will lead.

[gevan]

You can alway predict the future by using the templates of the past. But you may be wrong. Think Maginot line.

[lornejl]

Explain to me how you can be an independent having witnessed the last 8 years of W ?

[mamacat]

After watching the last two elections get lost to Dubya (running against men who would have actually been good for the country), I am genuinely afraid that you might be right.

However, I sincerely hope you are wrong. On the issue of land lines, that is a possibility. One of our adult daughters uses only a mobile phone, so she and those like her could not have been counted in the polls.

[FogBelter]

There are 20 million more voters registered Democrat than Republican ... the Palin bounce will dissipate as more revelations about her emerge ... and if Obama targets Ohio and Michigan with ads reminding voters how miserable the situation has been in those States under Bush and how McCain would equal four more years of misery, Obama wins those states.

I think fraud is the only thing that will put McCain in the White House and that is what the DNC and ACLU lawyers have to be aggressive about confronting.

I am an unbiased Non Partisan voter for 28 years.

[wdw101]

well now your biased...........welcome to the club

[reggie1298]

Things are bad here in Michigan because of four things:

1.) The auto companies let the unions have what they asked for when there was no competition.
2.) Union teachers have colluded with lawmakers and local school boards to line their pockets and make the state's high school graduates too dumb to do anything but install a hub cap.
3.) The business tax structure in the state scares off prospective investment.
4.) The governor (who's prepping the dishonored Joe Biden for his debate) won't cut back on any of her pet social peograms.

Yeah it stinks, but it's not the fault of GWB!

[LibertarianVoter1]

Even if more "revelations" about Palin emerge, the general public may not believe them or may choose to ignore them due to the "revelations" about her that have already been dismissed as exaggeration or downright lies, such as the false allegation that her 5-month-old child was her grandson.

As for Michigan, I don't doubt that many there blame Bush for their weak economy. However, with an incumbent Democratic governor in that state with a rather low approval rating, many Michigan voters may be inclined to vote for McCain, especially with Palin's union ties and NRA affiliation. A recent criminal indictment of a Democratic mayor of Detroit does not help Obama either with Michigan voters.

I am altogether amazed at the support McCain has gained since picking Sarah Palin as his VP. I live in Maryland, a state in which Democrats double Republicans. Still, a middle-aged pro-choice woman government worker very close to me who has voted Democratic for the past 16 years has confided in me that she was going to vote for McCain/Palin. My 26-year-old niece, a public school-teacher and a union member, has also stated that she was going to vote for McCain/Palin. I know many male construction workers here in Maryland who usually vote for Dems because of their union jobs, but they reluctantly do so because of the Dems anti-gun stands. This year, however, they are voting for GOP because of Palin's NRA and union ties.

[criquet]

I hope the Obama campaign has lawyers all over because the McCain state campaign co-chair has filed suit to begin vote purge in Wisconsin.
Which state is next?
Look for challenges in Florida and other battleground states with new registrations as well.

[SunshineDaydream]

the first time i ever heard of voter caging it caught my eye bc it was happening in my town......and it was mostly those serving in the military. no joke.

gregpalast dot com ----- for info on voter caging, etc (great journalist)

bradblog dot com -------another great journalist fighting election fraud

blackboxvoting dot org -----get involved in fighting election fraud

[Frogdad11262]

He doesn't need lawyers, he has Biden's son as a lobbyist.
What this blog didn't cover that as corruption, I'm shocked at the bias. I thought this was about the truth.
So this blog covered Obama's condo in the DC area right? I know you mentioned his beach house?
Go Florida it was a matter of time, our education system is better that NYC's, Chicago's and LA's.

[FogBelter]

Spin

[LibertarianVoter1]

What, may I ask, is wrong with making sure voters are eligible to vote? If felons are not permitted to vote in a certain state, then that is a law that must be abided by regardless of voter affiliation. Similarly, if states require voters to produce certain identification requirements, then ALL voters should produce those requirements.

[SunshineDaydream]

wow. here comes the onslaught of faux-pumas.

they really do think we are stoopid.

don't fall for it. don't reply to them. they are baiting you, trying to change the subject.

this is what you call manipulation.

don't fall for it.

ignore the trol lz!!!!

ENOUGH!!

[obamasOHangel]

EXACTAMUNDO!

[SunshineDaydream]

it is almost offensive at this point. as if!!

[brabra]

The Whole world is watching this election closer than many Americans. They are witnessing the many lies told by Mccain that have proven to be lies. They have access to the internet and the news media. How is it going to work to have a president that the world knows as a liar, or does that matter to the American people?

[ppp1604]

REQUIEM FOR OBAMA SOMEWHAT PREMATURE!

McCain threw his best punch and all he has to show for it is an even score card with 8 rounds to go.

HELLUVA BIG DISAPPOINTMENT, HUH JOHN?

Obama has really picked up steam in the second half and RALLIED TO GET HIMSELF BACK INTO THE FIGHT.

I would like to take the time to thank every American in Florida for doing what is necessary to win in November. This election will be determined by voter turnout. In Florida and Virginia. I live in Tennessee and will take a weeks vacation to go to Virginia to get out the vote and register new voters.

That is the way to win, in Florida, Virginia and the USA!

[SunshineDaydream]

wow, pp (giggles) - that is awesome!! good on ya!!

[obamasOHangel]

I'm in Ohio and devote most of my mornings volunteering at nursing homes registering elderly and getting lists of those who need rides to the polling stations. Doing the same at the local high schools too. Together we CAN!