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“The worst thing to happen to journalism in 20 years.”
The Moderate Voice — ... That’s how Obama’s communications director, Dan Pfieffer, described the Gallup Daily tracking poll when discussing the campaign’s polling strategy. I think he’s being a little hyperbolic—but only because several bad things have happened to journalism and it isn’t fair to give the Gallup Daily all the credit. ...

Whose Tea Leaves?
Talking Points Memo — ... Here's Mark Blumenthal's (formerly 'mystery pollster' and the guy behind pollster.com) take on an on-the-record briefing top Obama staffers gave on how they see the state of the campaign, the polls, where they're focusing their attention, etc. ...

David Plouffe On The Race
Daily Kos — Marc Ambinder (whose reporting has been must-read) and Mark Blumenthal offer nuggets from an on-the-record briefing by David Plouffe. From Ambinder: Barack Obama's margin among independent swing-voting women and sporadically voting Democrats are two of the main metrics his campaign is closely monitoring, Obama's election manager, David Plouffe, said today. Plouffe, speaking to reporters, editors and executives of the Atlantic Media company in a throwback conference room in downtown Denver, said that Obama's internal polling suggests ...

Wednesday's Mini-Report
Political Animal — ... in Alaska yesterday. * Dan Pfieffer, Obama's communications director, thinks the Gallup daily tracking poll is "the worst thing that's happened in journalism in 20 years." * Even after Paul Begala set the record straight, on the air, CNN still ...

Chris Meserole: Obama's Speech, and the Strategy Behind It
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... out, until the electorate at large unconsciously thinks of the other side as being weak. For the last month or so, the Obama camp appeared to recoil in the face of that challenge. It all but handed the initiative to the McCain campaign. And now we know why. This wasn't a case of fatigue, as some suggested; nor was it a case of Democratic timidity rearing its head yet again. Rather, it appears to have been a calculated decision on Obama's part. As Mark Blumenthal and Marc Ambinder have reported, the Obama ...