Yukon Ho!

In penance for our Pennsylvania poll, I was banished to the Yukon this morning.

Actually the CBC affiliate in Whitehorse, capital of the Yukon, was one of seven Canadian radio stations I did interviews with this morning in cities large (Vancouver, Edmonton) and small (Whitehorse, Corner Brook, etc.)

What I found really interesting was that several of the folks I talked with were truly surprised at the possibility of McCain winning this fall. Their perception was that the Democratic nominee would easily win in the general election, but at this point I think it's pretty much a toss up.

It will really come down to how well both candidates cooperate with each other once one finally loses. If Obama is the nominee, both halves of the Clinton couple need to go out and campaign for Obama in places where it would be helpful this fall. If the Clinton campaign genuinely thinks Obama is going to have a hard time winning in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania then they need to go out into the interior of those states and campaign with him to convince the folks who put her over the top in those primaries that he's better than McCain.

If Clinton somehow winds up with the nomination, Obama needs to do the same to ensure that young voters and black voters who have come out for him will also turn out to support her at the polls.

I hope the perceptions of these Canadian journalists were correct, but I think it's going to be a close one.