"Tonight’s debate is all about Barack Obama.

The storyline is oft repeated at this point. The president was not on his game at the first debate. He didn’t challenge Mitt Romney on the facts. And, he opened a door to the very idea that Romney could be president.

But scratch that story and this truth remains: Before the last debate the United States was a country divided. Divided over the choice ahead. Divided by views about economics, party and philosophy. Divided over a vision of what the next four years will look like.

That division is projected into voter thinking about the election. The polls have steadily reflected that: Obama was up by a couple, Romney ahead by a point, and then a tie. But nearly every poll is reported without considering the margin of error. Add that factor into the equation and Obama is leading. Or Romney. Or a tie. The most recent Real Clear Politics poll captures this better than most, showing Romney at 47.4 percent and Obama at 47.1 percent – a spread of three-tenths of a point; a split smaller than the number of voters from Indian country."

Get the Story:
Mark Trahant: Elections 2012: Obama and Romney Debate the Divide That Is America (Indian Country Today 10/16)

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