Wallop would be the appropriate word in Minnesota. Republicans think they have a chance in Minnesota and are holding their convention there. They think that Minnesotans like Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
It should be noted that polls can be misleading and that polls are virtually meaningless at this point, except for one aspect -- they influence and give the idea that Obama is ahead, a psychological advantage.
WSJ:
Women, younger voters and minorities, who typically trend Democratic, favor Sen. Obama in all four states. But the Illinois senator's support also seems solid among independents and among some groups that Republicans have been able to count on the in past.
Sen. Obama leads Sen. McCain among all age groups, including voters over 55. He trails among whites in Colorado and Michigan, but leads Sen. McCain handily among whites in Minnesota and Wisconsin. No Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 has carried a majority of the white voters nationally, which suggests that "if he can stay this close, he's going to become president," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the poll.
