Obama Brand Damaged But Might Not Matter
Allahpundit went over some NY Times poll. The big news from it is Sen. Obama’s brand as a new kind of politician is in tatters. 56% think Obama has changed his position on an issue to please voters. Of them 41% think worse of him. But 53% say it doesn’t make a difference.
Obama’s “new politics” isn’t the key to his support. He’s ahead of Sen. McCain while his brand takes a beating. That’s because of other his other advantages: he’s a Democrat; he’s black; and he’s not George W. Bush.
First, in 2006 voters gave up on GOP leadership and put the Democrats in power in Congress. Outside of energy the Republicans haven’t done a lot to reclaim voters’ trust. That sentiment translates to Obama.
Second, for many an Obama Presidency would do a lot to heal the racial scar the U.S. has had since before it’s birth. The idea that a black man can reach the peak of political power is enticing.
Third, voters are tired of President Bush. The nation has gone through a lot of trauma during the George W. years: the Florida recount; Sep. 11; the Afghanistan and Iraq wars; Hurricane Katrina; and the housing crisis. Fair or not, McCain is linked to Bush simply for being a Republican.
Patrick Ruffini appears to be right that the race has turned into Obama vs. Not Obama. The best McCain can do is put enough blemishes on the new gadget shine of Obama to swing votes his way. That’s a tough position to be in.
“NYT Poll: Majority Now Believes Obama Says What He Thinks People Want to Hear”
[…] Michael Tomasky takes a different tact to what I wrote yesterday: Well, there is some truth to it. The race will be, to a certain extent, probably a considerable extent, about white voters’ comfort with Obama. But it’s not all about Obama. It’s also about an unnecessary war that was based on lies. It’s about a lousy economy and a housing boom that went bust. It’s about $4-a-gallon gas. It’s about America’s dreadful reputation in the world. It’s about federal inaction on a wide range of problems, most notably healthcare and climate change, but a bushel of smaller things besides. It’s about 84% of Americans thinking the country is on the wrong track. […]