By Howard Portnoy
If you want to look at the alternative universe Democratic pundits were anticipating at this point in the election cycle, where we are less than two months out, move the decimal point in the headline one place to the right.
If you want to look at reality — as harsh and unremitting as the naked truth is to the Left and the undecideds — then have a gander at the graph below, courtesy of Real Clear Politics:
That’s right, sports fans. Donald Trump trails front-runner Hillary Clinton by less than a percentage point.
If you look at the breakdown of the seven constituent polls used in determining this average, you find that Clinton is ahead by 5 points (her biggest lead) in the Quinnipiac poll, while Trump is up by 7 in the LA Times/USC Tracking poll.
The Electoral College map is equally disheartening for Clinton voters and undecideds, showing Clinton with 200 votes, Trump with 164, with the remaining 175 up for grabs.
If you look at the specific questions in any given poll, you find that little has changed. A glimpse atthe YouGov/Economist Poll, which has Clinton up to 2 percentage points, you find that both candidates to have unfavorability ratings ahead of their favorability ratings in double digits.
