Bump

Obama now +7 and +8 in the two tracking polls.

In the two Presidential tracking polls, Obama has gone from roughly even to +7 (Gallup) and +8 (Rasmussen) since clinching the nomination a week ago.

That’s a bigger lead than either candidate had at any stage of the 2004 race.

When Rasmussen pushes the “leaners,” Obama’s lead shrinks a point to +7, but he hits the 50% mark. Jimmy Carter got 50.6% in 1976. The two previous Democrats to crack 50% were LBJ in 1964 and FDR in 1944.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com