Posted by
Andrews on Friday, April 11, 2008 10:43:36 AM
I just saw a news report that McCain's poll numbers, versus both Hillary and Obama are improving and appear to be a dead heat.
This is actually better news for McCain than it appears. Since the Republican nomination has been essentially decided for some time, the Republican primaries have largely dropped out of the news cycle, while the Obama-Hillary contest has been receiving nightly coverage. Due to that, it was understandable that both Hillary and Obama, on name recognition alone, would receive higher numbers. Nor were the Democrats hurt by the kid glove treatment Obama received, in addition to the initial tentative efforts to discredit McCain on foreign affairs by constantly mentioning his "
Middle East gaffe".
That McCain is now pulling even says that the Reverend Wright scandal, as well as the fabricated sniper incident Hillary put out to the press, are starting to harm the Democrats. Of course, the relatively positive news from Iraq, coupled with McCain's much stronger position on the war does not hurt either.
In fact, whatever the cause for any individual voter's change of heart, the fact is that McCain is starting to appeal to voters more than the Democrat candidates.
It is still very early, and I would not rely on polls this far out to predict the election, but it does show how little confidence the public has in the Democrat candidates that, despite the favorable treatment they receive, they are still slipping relative to McCain.
As I said before about the Democrats, stuck nominating one of these two,
I almost feel sorry for them.