Last week’s media theme was that the Republican National Convention was a disaster, and that it failed to boost Republican chances against Hillary Clinton. Americans, said the media, aren’t worried about the economy, crime, illegal immigration, or terrorism. Therefore, Trump’s message was sure to fall flat.

New polls, however, prove that Americans liked what they saw in Cleveland. The description of a nation facing multiple crises and needing new leadership hit home. Post-convention polls show Republican nominee Donald Trump catching up to or pulling ahead of Clinton.

Perhaps most important was a poll conducted in “battleground states”, the swing states in which the election will be decided. Trump now has a small lead in those states and the momentum is on his side.

Polls from CNN, CBS, and the Los Angeles Times give Trump a national lead of from one to five points.

Even more significant is the effect of these new polls on the election prediction model of analyst Nate Silver. Readers may remember that in 2012 Silver correctly dismissed the optimistic claims of the Romney campaign and pointed to a likely victory by Obama.

While Republicans were disappointed by his computer model in 2012, they should be excited by what it shows as of Monday, July 25. Trump stands at 262 electoral votes, just eight short of victory. If Trump moves ahead in any one of the battleground states where Clinton still leads, it would put him over the top.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Silver was saying that Trump had only a 26% chance of winning in November. Now he puts that number at 47% -- almost an even chance.

Why were the media so wrong?

They don’t understand the average American, and neither does Hillary Clinton. Their ideology will not let them see what we see. The sluggish economic “recovery” has been nothing like it was under Reagan, Clinton, or Bush. Crime is skyrocketing in some areas. Police are being hunted down and murdered. Illegal aliens, even if deported, easily sneak back and commit more crimes. Terrorists strike without warning. Around the world, the U.S. seems powerless and is neither respected nor feared.

The media can tell us everything is fine, and that Hillary Clinton should be allowed to carry out Barack Obama’s third term. But no matter how often they say it, they cannot cover up the truth that the American people know from experience.