Keeping tabs on presidential poll results (for those of us who just can't help ourselves)

Are you like me today, sitting on the edge of my seat, fingers and eyes poised to pounce on any and all information about the presidential and other elections? Well, those of us going crazy with anticipation about who’s going to win what just about everyone agrees is the most important election in many years and perhaps of our lives … will have to keep on going crazy.

We won’t know any real information about whether Barack Obama or John McCain is winning until this evening, EVEN if we start seeing poll results (or supposed poll results) this afternoon.

The hard lessons of the last two presidential elections have resulted in major changes to the way poll results are tracked and kept under wraps. For clear information about all things poll-related on this urgent Election Day go to www.pollster.com, the co-creation of Charles Franklin, who’s also behind the blog PoliticalArithmetik (http://politicalarithmetik.blogspot.com) (“Where numbers and politics meet”) and a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

According to Franklin's analysis of numbers and trends on PoliticalArithmetik, by the way, Obama is ahead on the electoral account 364 to 174. For McCain to squeak out a 270-268 electoral win he HAS to capture both Ohio and Florida. He'll need more than that to do win, but he's got to take those two states to have any chance. So, keep your eye on Ohio and Florida, which, according to Franklin's analysis, are the two very close states where McCain has a glimmer of a shot. But if Obama takes one of those, the election is over -- and could become a mandate-type victory for the senator from Chicago.

On the Pollster website is a good and clear explanation of what presidential polls are and what they mean (http://www.pollster.com/blogs/looking_for_presidential_exit.php).

Hold tight!