Howard Elliott

 

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday November 4, 2016

It’s almost over

Hillary Clinton’s mirthless slog toward the presidency is entering its final full week. Donald Trump, meanwhile, enters the final eight days of the campaign upbeat, having seen his chances of winning double over the weekend after news Friday afternoon that the FBI is reviewing additional emails in its investigation of Clinton’s private email server.

The candidates’ contrasting moods have changed — but those moods belie the reality of a race that still favors the Democratic nominee.

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Trump now has a roughly 20 percent chance of winning the White House next Tuesday, almost double what it was days earlier after a month of poor debate performances and increasingly unfocused, angry speeches. Surveys taken over the weekend show that the FBI’s decision is bringing some disaffected Republican voters home to Trump but that a majority of voters are unlikely to change their minds in light of the latest “October surprise.”

“I’d characterize it more as Trump consolidating some of the available anti-Clinton vote as opposed to Clinton’s support eroding,” said GOP strategist Bruce Haynes. “Now the question is do people interpret this news in a way that raises enough doubts about Clinton’s judgment to cut into her number. Because it’s not enough for Trump’s number to move up. Hers has to go down.” (Source: Politico)