Posted on 05/15/2008 10:06:55 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The political climate couldn't be much more favorable for Democrats in their efforts to take back the White House this year, but that doesn't necessarily mean they will, two national political observers said in Columbus today.
President Bush is unpopular, more people consider themselves Democrats than Republicans, and polls show Democrats enjoy a clear advantage on issues Americans care about, pollster Peter D. Hart and columnist Mark Shields said.
Also, the economy is near or in recession, the nation is mired in an unpopular war, and for the first time in many generations, a majority of Americans don't think the next generation will be better off.
“Given the lay of the land, the fundamentals of this election, I've never seen a more favorable environment for Democrats,” Shields said during the first public event of the new Gilligan Institute, named after former Ohio Gov. John J. Gilligan.
“If the Democrats lose this election, they ought to seriously consider going into the aluminum-siding business or taking up needlepoint,” said Shields, a nationally syndicated columnist and PBS political analyst.
But expected nominee Sen. Barack Obama is running even in national polls with presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain because the Democratic nomination battle still is raging, and Obama is not connecting with the white, blue-collar and non-college-educated voters he will need in the fall, the experts said.
Hart, a pollster and founder of Peter D. Hart Associates, described a focus group he conducted with independent voters in West Virginia. He said it was clear that their impression of Obama was shaped by the controversial comments of his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and that many thought Obama was a Muslim.
Also, 9 percent of Sen. Hillary Clinton's supporters said in a recent poll that they would not back Obama if he wins the nomination, Hart said.
“That is the difference between winning this election comfortably, or winning it narrowly, or even losing it,” he said.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Gilligan's daughter and moderator for the event at the Columbus Athletic Club, said in an interview that she expects that the nomination will be decided by June and that Clinton supporters will support the party.
Sebelius, who endorsed Obama, said that in Ohio and other states that Clinton carried in the Democratic primaries, backing from governors such as Ted Strickland will be key. Strickland campaigned hard for Clinton before the Ohio primary and has said he will do the same for the nominee.
“I'm an optimist that what unites us as Democrats is far stronger than what divides the two candidates,” she said.
Sebelius downplayed national speculation that she will be considered as a running mate for the Democratic presidential nominee this fall, but she stopped short of saying she wouldn't accept if asked, as Strickland has said.
The Gilligan Institute is a new nonprofit group that will study Gilligan's career and encourage discussion and debate about politics and government in Ohio.
Neither can John S McCain. Uh...
We're in trouble. Personally, I'd rather have a democrat enacting democratic policies than a purported Republican.
Also, the economy is near or in recession, the nation is mired in an unpopular war, and for the first time in many generations, a majority of Americans don’t think the next generation will be better off. “
“Given the lay of the land, the fundamentals of this election, I’ve never seen a more favorable environment for Democrats,” Shields said during the first public event of the new Gilligan Institute, named after former Ohio Gov. John J. Gilligan. “
That’s the Democrat Party in a nutshell. Fully invested in America’s failure as a means to gain power.
George Bush's number one job is to defend the US, no attacks on the US in 7 years. BTW, Military deaths, have held steady for the past 10 years at a about 4,000 per year war or no war.
I imagine Commies the world over will be tuning in to the election coverage on the 24 hour cable stations in November to watch history in the making. America is going to decide to commit suicide with the 2008 election. I may sound like an alarmist but the GOP no longer exists. The ‘Rats are going to own the WH, the House and the Senate with only a few token Republicans kept around for the ‘RATS’ amusement. What happened to my country?
-PJ
Inexact wording of the flawed liberal premise. We must fight back with precise language.
The "nation" is not fighting, by and large, nor is it consumed in aiding the war effort as it was, say, during WWII. Only a brave dedicated portion of our Armed Forces is doing the fighting. The rest of us are only "mired" in war if we allow the libstream media to say so.
bump
Suuure! Not by the state by state presidential polls that I've seen and posted on FR?
Obama looks like a Mondale/McGovern candidate.
I think conservatives should take command of assumptions and words. The war was won long time ago when Saddam’s regime was ousted. What we are doing now is supporting the new Iraqui government by securing the peace so the new institutions can take root in a stable environment and the Iraqui people can be self-determinant as a sovereign people. We are fighting conflicts with Al Queda and various insurgent factions that are breaking the peace, not the Iraqui government. We are not at war.
Yeah, I don’t know why the Bush Administration doesn’t fight back or at least put the message out more strongly. An answer I’ve heard is that they don’t want to get into a verbal pissing match and prefer to keep quietly pushing their agenda. But that just lets them be painted — nay, tarred and feathered — by the media and Democrats. How do you get the American public on board? Perhaps another 9/11 and even then they will be screaming, “It’s Bush’s fault.” Maybe it is the hubris of Bush believing that he is a “uniter,” maybe it is a “sticks and stones” philosophy... but, whatever it is, there is still the injustice of it.
And it also doesn’t help in the upcoming election.
That’s just the problem. There’s no way in the world I, or many others, can get behind John McCain.
This Campaign is the only war being fought right now, we have won in Iraq, the Economy is back on track and we have a lot of ammunition to defeat the DRats if we choose to do so... the Left knows that BHO is flawed and cannot stand up without 100% suppost by their CrapMedia...I think we ignore McCain’s pussy footing. Just say NoBama!
There is the answer. It's because we have a Nation of sheeple. We will deserve everything we get and the greater population have no one but themselves to blame. Of course they won't do that but will find a scapegoat, one conveniently provided them by the left and their pals ion the treasonous media.
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