The Buzz Log What’s hot on Yahoo! Buzz™ (and why)...

Prognosticating the outcome of the election has become a national pastime. You’ve got your national polls, your electoral vote maps, and your state-by-state analysis. All valuable tools, to be sure. But this year, there’s a new gauge that may turn out to have just as much (or as little) accuracy. The Halloween Pumpkin Index is predicting a solid Obama victory.

That’s right. Barack-O'-Lanterns are taking off. Republicans already thought the Democratic candidate scary enough, and now they have to cope with his grinning visage, name, and campaign slogans carved into thousands of pumpkins across the country. A site called YesWeCarve.com, started by four Obama supporters, has been archiving photos of these Halloween-inspired political statements. The site also collects downloadable stencils for those looking to add to the mix.

Search trends also reflect the Jack-O'-Bama advantage. Queries on “obama pumpkin,” “obama pumpkin pattern,” and “obama pumpkin stencil” are all scaring up strong numbers, while similar McCain-related look-ups are paltry. The stats, however, do show a fair amount of Web users hunting for ways to Palinize their pumpkins. As for Biden pumpkin searches—nary a one.

Maybe because it’s too hard to carve him with his mouth wide open.