The Florida Panhandle

Today, Bush and McCain will campaign together in the solidly Republican Florida Panhandle and some have scratched their heads and wondered why Bush would spend time in a portion of the state he is bound to win - where he beat Al Gore by more than 2-1 in 2000. The conventional wisdom says that Bush is looking for a strong Republican turnout in the Panhandle to help counter the anti-Bush sentiment of heavily Democratic southern Florida.

But there may be another reason. According to a recent Florida poll released last week by the Republican polling group, Strategic Vision, Bush is leading in the Panhandle by only 13 points (53-40). Now call us crazy, but 53-40 doesn't sound like a 2-1 margin to us...

And here's a nice article about the Kerry campaign's efforts in the Panhandle yesterday, which included Bob Graham, Max Cleland and Jim Rassmann and their attempt to pre-but the three day Bush campaign swing.