Blog Buzz: Election Predictions Give Barack Obama the Win, Rep. Jerrold Nadler on Obama's Courage, Controversy Over Coal Industry

Our daily look at stories and topics that are lighting up the Internets:

Election Predictions (Mostly) Give Obama the Win

The day before the election, bloggers make their final predictions and analyses about the showdown between Barack Obama and John McCain. Liberal bloggers say the polls have no good news for McCain and think that if McCain manages to win, "it will produce the largest demolition of the public opinion research profession since Dewey and Truman." Bloggers at the New Republic say that even though Pennsylvania and Virginia have tightened slightly, there are more than enough reasons why Obama supporters don't need to worry about a thing. Chris Cillizza has his final electoral map, putting Obama at 319 electoral votes and McCain at 219. One conservative blogger predicts McCain will win a "squeaker" against Obama, but another gives it to Obama, 318 electoral votes to 220. Even if Obama wins, though, a conservative warns that his past will continue to haunt him throughout his years in the White House.

Ouch: Harsh Words From an Obama Surrogate

At an event in Boca Raton, Fla., Obama surrogate Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, was asked why Obama remained a member of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years. His response was not so complimentary to Obama: "He didn't have the political courage to make the statement of walking out." Ben Smith says it was a "gaffe" that was actually a politician "saying what he really thinks." Conservative bloggers are jumping all over the comment, noting how it "doesn't reflect well on Obama" and predicting that the line "may haunt Nadler for four years or longer."

"Coal Killer" Obama Vs. "Coal Booster" McCain

Conservative bloggers are having a field day today: First, Nadler questions Obama's courage, and now, Drudge posts a video from January in which Obama talks about bankrupting coal plants. Conservatives criticize the San Francisco Chronicle for its reporting—the video has been available on its website since January, but the paper never published a transcript and the story did not mention certain quotes from Obama. They also say it's another example of Obama's arrogance and argue that his views on coal "represent very substantial danger to several states." RedState has a response from the Ohio Coal Association and hopes it "spreads like wildfire." Liberal bloggers say that the attack is a fraudulent assault and point out McCain's recent flip-flop on coal—going from a plan that would, as one senator said, "put coal out of business," to being a self-proclaimed "coal booster." Our Sam Dealey wonders why Republicans didn't unearth the video months ago.

—Gretchen Hannes