We have said over and over again just how important the issue of the economy was going to be in the Presidential election. More important than the war, more important than immigration. And the latest surveys are proving this to be right on target.

As hard as John McCain may try to distance himself from the policies of the Bush administration, the voters are not buying it. Three separate surveys that focus on the economy, and have predicted most of the winners in the past 50 years say the Barack Obama will get as much as 55% of the popular vote come November. Of course, it is not the popular vote that determines who will be President, it is the electoral college, and as we have seen in elections past, there can be a big difference in between the two.

It is only logical that the economy is the biggest issue. It affects every American, every man woman and child directly. And just about every American agrees that there needs to be a big change in American economic policy. On the other issues, Americans are sharply divided. On the war, for instance, there are those who want the troops home as quickly as possible and those who believe that they should stay practically indefinitely.

The candidates must put forth an economic plan that goes into specifics, not just what they will do, but how they will do it. They need to have both short term and long term goals that reflect real change. The rest of it is out of their control. What happens with the economy between now and November 4th will swing a lot of the independents and those of both parties who are not supporting their party’s candidate. If the economy improves, it will be good news for John McCain, if it gets worse, it is good news for Barack Obama. Most experts do not see the economy getting any better any time soon. As a matter of fact, they predict that it will get worse. If the unthinkable happens and we end up in a full scale recession, the independents and unaffiliated voters are expected to fall into the Democratic column in droves and not just in the Presidential race. It will have a big impact on the Congressional and Senate elections as well. It will be most interesting to see how the ups and or downs in the economy are reflected in the polls, especially with the independents and the unaffiliated party members.

Popularity: 19% [?]