Optimism

Anyone who knows me knows that despite my strong support of him I've not had the brightest outlook of Obama's chances of actually winning the presidency. Polls and trends help make me feel better, but I still think that when it comes time to pull the lever, advance poll results won't bear out what folks do in the booth.

Recent poll results are helping to change my mind, though, based not on the numbers of likely winner, but on other questions, like some of those cited in this article from today's NY Times.

Some key points:

¶Mr. Obama is maintaining his lead, with 51 percent of likely voters supporting him and 40 percent supporting Mr. McCain in a head-to-head matchup.

¶Some perceptions of race are changing, with a marked increase in the number of people who say they believe that white and black people have an equal chance of getting ahead in America today.

¶Mr. McCain’s focus on taxes, including his talk about Joe the Plumber, seems to be having some effect, as a growing number of voters now say Mr. McCain would not raise their taxes.

¶Eighty-nine percent of people view the economy negatively, and 85 percent think the country is on the wrong track.

¶Mr. Obama continues to have a significant advantage on key issues like the economy, health care and the war in Iraq.