McCain’s stock rises and plummets in New York

Has the bubble burst?

In a mercurial ride that mirrored Wall Street, John McCain jumped to within five points of Barack Obama in New York state this week, a poll that drew headlines around the country.

But the latest Rasmussen survey puts the Republican down by 13%. Was it something he said?

In fact, the spike reflects the mercurial nature of polling itself. Results can skew wildly, depending on the methodology, the timing, and a thousand other details.

Looking at a much broader aggregate of polling data, it’s clear that McCain did enjoy a slight post-convention warming-trend across the Northeast.

But the GOP’s fortunes in this part of the U.S. remain pretty gloomy.

Over the course of the campaign, Democrat Barack Obama has led McCain consistently in the East by an average of 11% points. Today the margin stands at 51% Obama to 40% McCain.

In American politics, that’s a landslide.

It will take a lot more than Sarah Palin to reverse the Republican malaise in this part of the country.