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| Dem's Autumn Angst: "I'm so depressed. It's happening again. It's a nightmare." |
| 2008-09-11 |
| Polls showing John McCain tied or even ahead of Barack Obama are stirring angst and second-guessing among some of the Democratic Party's most experienced operatives, who worry that Obama squandered opportunities over the summer and may still be underestimating his challenges this fall. "It's more than an increased anxiety," said Doug Schoen, who worked as one of Bill Clinton's lead pollsters during his 1996 reelection and has worked for both Democrats and independents in recent years. "It's a palpable frustration. Deep-seated unease in the sense that the message has gotten away from them." Joe Trippi, a consultant behind Howard Dean's flash-in-the-pan presidential campaign in 2004 and John Edwards' race in 2008, said the Obama campaign was slow to recognize how the selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate would change the dynamic of the race. "They were set up to run 'experience versus change,' what they had run [against Hillary] Clinton," Trippi said. "And I think Palin clearly moved that to be change [and] reform, versus change. They are adjusting to that and that threw them off balance a little bit." A major Democratic fundraiser described it a good bit more starkly after digesting the polls of recent days: "I'm so depressed. It's happening again. It's a nightmare." Adding to Democratic restlessness, McCain has largely neutralized some issue advantages that have long favored Democrats. This week's USA Today/Gallup poll reported a split on which candidate "can better handle the economy"; 48 percent chose Obama while 45 percent said McCain. In late August, Obama had a 16-point edge on the issue. Also this week, an ABC News/Washington Post poll reported that when voters are asked "who can bring about needed change to Washington," McCain still trails Obama by 12 points. But in June, McCain trailed by 32 points. That shift in the public's perception of the issues, in Democratic pollster Celinda Lake's words, "tremendously concerns me." Lake joined other Democratic veterans, some speaking not for attribution, in emphasizing a classic liberal woe: that the Democrat let the Republican define him. "Obama needed to define himself," Lake said. "I do think that during the Democratic convention we should have done a better job of defining McCain." Steve Rosenthal, a veteran field organizer for Democrats and organized labor, said that some entrenched Democratic vulnerabilities never receded this year. And in his view, Palin has reawakened those liberal weaknesses. "For some white, working-class voters who don't want to vote for Barack Obama but weren't sure about McCain, Palin gave them a good reason to take another look and consider supporting McCain," Rosenthal said. "On the one hand, it could be a temporary reshuffling of the deck," he added. "And on the other hand, it underscores the deep-seated problems we have in this race with race, class and culture. |
| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
| #11 Damn it, Capsu! Didn't I warn you about the Diet Coke alerts....? ;-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-09-11 19:47 |
| #10 He has Sarah P camping out between his ears, and Michele Obama camping out just outside his ears. The guy couldn't hear a freight train coming. |
| Posted by: Capsu 78 2008-09-11 18:23 |
| #9 I'm not whining........ but it had better be worth it. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2008-09-11 16:26 |
| #8 Anonymoose, Sorry you and your state might have to take one for the team, but quit your damn whining and man-up. I'm from Massachusettes and every damn pol is like the 0. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2008-09-11 16:23 |
| #7 Obama is generic democrat + non-threatening black. The combination really appealed to some folks but at the end of the day they want to know who the person is and obama has yet to really provide that. To even mention anything on his resume is played as if he were being attacked leaving nothing to talk about except hope. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-09-11 16:12 |
| #6 Anonymoose, Sorry you and your state might have to take one for the team, but it's for the best. Really, it is. Buck up there, little soldier. :-) |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2008-09-11 15:53 |
| #5 and he just may be my state's teddy kennedy. BUT I'm willing to take it in the shorts for the good of the country. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2008-09-11 14:42 |
| #4 "Obama needed to define himself... Now that's an accurate assessment. If anyone knows who the real OB is, will you please stand up? OB is a characature, and the donks are worshiping what and who they think he is and represents. The real OB is starting to surface, I think. Those "GW flubs" in front of the microphone are as much part of who he really is as the weariness of the campaign trail. I thought it interesting when the debates started...what was it 10 years ago?...that he was consistently unimpressive. I attributed it to unease on the national stage, not quite having the talking points down, etc.. I now think that that is who he is. He may be shallower than even the trunks think. We will see. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2008-09-11 14:39 |
| #3 "Obama needed to define himself," Lake said. "I do think that during the Democratic convention we should have done a better job of defining McCain." he's had 19 months - now it's John's job - Mr. Alinsky. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2008-09-11 14:36 |
| #2 Does this mean we should prepare ourselves for those lame "I'm Sorry" websites? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-09-11 14:35 |
| #1 For like the last three or five presidential races, the Democrats were always ahead of the Republicans by at least ten points right after the conventions. For them to be tied right now is starting to look like Obama is going to tank, if not as badly as McGovern, then close. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-09-11 13:49 |