By Dave Andrusko

As promised, I'm collating data and commentary that appeared since last Friday to keep you abreast of where we are heading as the November 2 mid-term elections rapidly approach.

BE SURE to read "Not Just Election Day Anymore: Early Voting in 2010," by Liz Townsend. As Liz says in her first sentence, "States now give voters many different ways to cast their ballots in elections," including early voting. In every election cycle there are nail-bitters, the outcome of which is determined by a handful of votes. Be sure to vote--and, of course, be sure you have registered to vote so you are eligible to vote!

The best line of the weekend came from pro-abortion retired Gen. Colin Powell, appearing yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press." As is often the case his mild rebuke of President Obama was unintentionally revealing.

Moderator David Gregory said, "You described him as a transformational figure. To have the potential. Has he lived up to that? Or do you find yourself disappointed." To which Powell replied, "I think he … is a transformational figure. Some people don't like what he has done in transformation. And it's caused him some difficulty."

Well…yes! You don't lose 60+% approval ratings into no time by merely mildly irritating folks. From our single-issue perspective, Obama is trying to transform the federal government into the Abortion Lobby's Biggest and Best Friend, the result of which would be a massive increase in the number of dead babies both here at home and abroad. (See "Congressman Chris Smith: Abortion Undermines Programs to Reduce Maternal and Child Mortality.")

Actually, on second thought the most revealing conclusion may have come in answer to a question from Rasmussen Reports.

A word of background: is there any politician in the known galaxy (except for Delaware's Christine O'Donnell) whom the Mainstream Media beats up more regularly than Sarah Palin?

Yet "Fifty-two percent (52%) of Likely U.S. Voters say their own views are closer to Sarah Palin's than they are to President Obama's, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey," we learn. "Just 40% say their views are closer to the president's than to those of the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate."

And in that context it's very much worth remembering that last month Rasmussen Reports found that

"Forty-eight percent (48%) of all voters now regard Obama's political views as extreme. Forty-two percent (42%) place his views in the mainstream."

One other item. With party identification dropping like a rock (meaning fewer people identify as Democrats or Republicans), winning the hearts and minds of Independents has become absolutely crucial to winning elections. (Independents make up 36% of the electorate, a May 2009 Pew survey found.)

According to Douglas E. Schoen and Heather R. Higgins, writing in today's Wall Street Journal, " A new comprehensive national survey shows that independent voters--who voted for Barack Obama by a 52%-to-44% margin in the 2008 presidential election--are now moving strongly in the direction of the Republican Party." The survey, conducted in late August, "raises the possibility of a fundamental realignment of independent voters and the dominance of a more conservative electorate."

To be specific, "Today, independents say they lean more toward the Republican Party than the Democratic Party, 50% to 25%, and that the Republican Party is closer to their views by 52% to 30%. This movement comes in spite of independents' generally negative views of the GOP--a majority of independents (54%) view the Republicans unfavorably, compared to 39% who have a favorable impression," Schoen and Higgins write. "Yet Republicans still have a 14-point lead overall among independents who say they intend to vote in the upcoming congressional elections (37% to 23%). Forty percent remain undecided."

More tomorrow. Be sure to read Liz Townsend's "Not Just Election Day Anymore: Early Voting in 2010" and link it on your social networks.

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