Joe Biden

Just like that, another year has come and gone.

The second installment in our retrospective series looking back at the last twelve months is an overview of the year's most significant achievements, accomplishments, and noteworthy events. So as we look forward to what 2009 has in store for us, here's a look back at important events and achievements in 2008.

January 3rd, 2008: Barack Obama wins the Iowa caucuses, setting the stage for a long six month battle for the Democratic nomination between himself and Hillary Clinton. NPI's caucus coverage receives significant traffic.

January 24th, 2008: NPI Outreach & Advocacy Director Rick Hegdahl testifies in Olympia in support of the Homeowner's Bill of Rights, NPI's top 2008-2009 legislative priority.

TACOMA -- Below are some images from the campaign rally for Democatic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) at Tacoma's Cheney Stadium.

J-O-E: Politicker photo

Sen. Biden, Gov. Gregoire, Sen. Murray, Sen. Cantwell: Politicker photo

Cheney Stadium fills up: Politicker photo

 Gov. Chris Gregoire: Politicker photo

Sen. Maria Cantwell: Politicker photo

Darcy Burner, Rep. Adam Smith, Rep. Norm Dicks: Politicker photo

John Ladenburg: Politicker photo

Joe Biden: Getty Images PhotoTACOMA - Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) spoke very highly of a handful of women at a rally today in Tacoma's Cheney Stadium better known as some of this state's top political leaders, Gov. Chris Gregoire, Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and 8th District Congressional candidate Darcy Burner (D-Carnation).

"I know why you are here," he said as the crowd of 12,000 roared in approval of his arrival. "Where I come from this is what we call power."

The Delaware Senator was referring to Murray, Cantwell and Gregoire who all stood on the stage alongside him.

TACOMA -- Chris Gregoire received a rollicking reception from the crowd of 12,000 at the Cheney Stadium rally for Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden, stopping her speech short at one point to acknowledge a section of the crowd that was frantically waving to her from the right field bleachers.

Gregoire, somewhat surprisingly, spent much of her time on stage, about seven minutes, talking up the Obama-Biden ticket.

She said Obama hit it out of the ballpark when he chose Biden, who she said she had worked with while attorney general, and that he would be a vice president" each and every one of us can count on."

Sen. Joe BidenDemocratic Vice Presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) will be heading to Tacoma this weekend in addition to his previously scheduled fundraiser in Seattle, the News-Tribune is reporting.

Biden will attend a rally at Cheney Stadium, which holds 7,500 people, alongside Gov. Chris Gregoire. It will be the first appearance by a member of either party's ticket since Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) came to North Bend in the spring.

Sen. Joe BidenDemocratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) will be visiting the Puget Sound area later this month, the Seattle P-I is reporting.

Biden, who was chosen as a running mate by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) this August, is expected somewhere in the region for a rally on October 19. His counterpart, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) was supposed to come to the state in September but her schedule changed at the last minute and she was replaced by her husband and Cindy McCain.

It will the first visit by a member of either party's presidential ticket since Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) visited North Bend in May.

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Throughout most of the presidential campaign, polling by Survey USA showed that there has been a gender gap between U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) among Washington state voters. Obama has typically led among both groups, but by a considerably larger margin among women than men. That margin had been relatively consistent:

Obama lead over McCain among women/men (gender gap)

4/17: +19/+7 (+12)

5/13: +22/+2 (+20)

6/10: +25/+7 (+18)

7/16: +22/+10 (+12)

8/13: +15/+0 (+15)

In these cases the gender gap -- the difference in support margins between women and men -- was +12, +20, +18, +12 and +15 points.

On Aug. 29, McCain announced that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) would be his vice-presidential running mate. The next Survey USA poll conducted between Sept. 5 and 7 showed a major change in voter preferences:

Obama lead over McCain among women/men (gender gap)

9/8: +5/+4 (+1)

The gender gap disappeared to a statistically insiginficant one point. In the latest survey released yesterday, the results are even more dramatic:

Obama lead over McCain among women/men (gender gap)

9/23: +8/+13 (-5)

There is once again a gender gap, but it is now 5 points in the opposite direction, a phenomenon not yet observed in many other states. Men in Washington state now prefer Obama over McCain by a wider margin than do women, despite -- or perhaps due to -- the presence of Sarah Palin on the McCain ticket.

Note that we have used a different definition from what is traditionally refered to as the "gender gap." It is usually defined as the percentage difference in support for the winning candidate between women and men. Using that definition, the analysis still holds. The gender gap has been: +6, +9, +9, +4, +8, 0, -3

Washington State voters have no problem with the selection of Joe Biden and Sarah Palin as vice presidential candidates, according to a KING-TV poll conducted by SurveyUSA. 46% say Joe Biden is an asset to Barack Obama, while 26% view him as a liability.  45% say Sarah Palin is an asset to John McCain, while 39% say she is a liability.  80% of Washington State voters say that the pregnancy of Palin's teenage daughter is a private matter, and 15% suggest it is legitimate campaign issue.  46% say Palin as received too much media scrutiny; 25% say too little and 24% believe it is about right.

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