NEW YORK - Obama campaign staffers are privately worried about the reliability of polls showing Barack Obama with a commanding lead over John McCain, because of the so-called Milton Bradley Effect.

The Milton Bradly Effect, named after the American game company, refers to the tendency of some voters to lie in polls conducted during an economic downturn by saying they intend to vote for either a Democratic or Republican candidate while actually intending to vote for Monopoly board game mascot Uncle Pennybags. 

“McCain doesn’t worry us; [Uncle] Pennybags does,” said an Obama aide who asked not to be idenitified.  ”People think he’s got all the answers about money matters, but a vote for Pennybags is a vote for four more years of the failed Bush policies and out of control spending to build hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place.”

Mr. Pennybags, contacted for this story, attacked Obama for his ties to William Ayers, whose Weathermen movement was responsible for bombings in the 1960s of the Community Chest, Marvin Gardens, and the Free Parking space. “With Obama in the White House,” Mr. Pennybags explained, “he’ll double the amount owed on the Income Tax space, which is just past Baltic Avenue.”

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