War and Vulnerability

The Buffalo News has a roundup of Afghanistan positions by the New York delegation. Skepticism and caution are the order of the day.

The Star-Gazette's 2010 preview says that Massa is vulnerable in the 29th.

Comments

Saw something in the Wall Street Journal that said McCain beat Obama in the district. I can believe it but I'm wondering if you can confirm it. That's the gold standard of vulnerability for Democratic congresspeople.

I think McCain beat Obama in the 29th, but I don't have the numbers at my fingertips.

The "gold standard" is actually something called the Cook PVI - Partisan Voter Index. The 29th is R+5, indicating that over the last two presidential elections, the district voted 5 points more Republican for President than the national average. This has always been a tough district for a Democrat, but there are other, tougher districts where a Democrat has held on. For example, North Dakota is R+10, and South Dakota is R+9, and both are represented by Democrats.