Virginia's Still a Dead Heat

It's still the doldrums of the political season, especially with the Olympics in their full glory. Whoever thought of pairing the Olympics with the U.S. presidential election years was a genius.

When the Olympics finish at the end of this week, we'll start blogging frequently on the political scene.

For now, we pass along--for what they're worth, which isn't much--the most recent presidential election preference polls for Virginia (three of them, taken between Aug. 8-12), which continue to show a dead heat between Obama and McCain:

1. Rasmussen has McCain up by 1, 48%-47% (but if you take out "leaners" Obama leads by 1, 46%-45%);

2. Insider Advantage has the to candidates tied, with 43% apiece;

3. Survey USA has McCain up by 1, 48%-47%.

What's nice is the remarkable consistency between these three polls. We'll use this as our baseline for future polling. The next round of polls from these three reputable pollsters should be quite interesting as the campaign for the Old Dominion heats up.