Friday, May 02, 2008

Let's Get Serious

I have to agree with Gabriel over at Ace's. We need to stop being gleeful over Obama's decline in the polls and face reality.

Obama is the weaker candidate against McCain. That is simply the truth. If Hillary gets the nomination she will be much tougher to beat. The bloom is off the rose with Obama. He has alienated a great swath of working class voters with his "bitter" remark and there is enough on the Obama/Wright connection to fill RNC ads for years to come.

Btw, did anyone see Glenn Beck last night where he played the longer versions of the soundbites we have been seeing of Wright's sermons? Wright insisted over and over that the soundbites were taken out of context. This was simply a lie. When you hear more of the sermon you are rightfully horrified. I mean horrified. The more the American people can be made aware that Obama attended this Church for 20 yrs, the more his support will deteriorate. Fair or not, it's the way it will be.

To be honest, I think Obama attended this church for political expediency and doesn't believe any of the crazy things that Wright believes. But most Americans choose their church because of deeply held beliefs and they will never understand why Obama would choose to go there for so long and let his children listen to this hate.

This "Operation Chaos" that Rush is promoting that has Republicans crossover voting for Hillary to continue the split in the Democratic party is not only wrong to begin with, but as Hillary said to Rush on Fox, "Rush, be careful what you wish for." Exactly! Hillary is a much stronger, tougher, and more experienced candidate. She has the all important woman vote on her side. This is big.

And this isn't just my opinion. As Gabriel points out:

"Quinnipiac has a new poll that confirms this: McCain does better against Obama in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania than against Clinton. These are crucial states.."

The fact of the matter is that Obama did well in the Democratic primary, but he won't do as well in the general. He excites the youth, who generally don't vote as much as they support. But he can't get ahead with the working class. A vital group. Hillary can get their support. In other words, moderates or the "squishy middle" can easily see themselves voting for Hillary for a variety of reasons. But Obama won't be able to capture them with the baggage he now carries.

Gabriel makes the final point here:

At least as far as last month goes, 28% of Clinton supporters say they'd jump to McCain if Obama was the nominee, compared to only 19% if the situation were reversed.

28% of DEMOCRAT supporters of Hillary say they will jump to McCain if Obama gets the nomination! That is so big! And what if that number increases with the anger over Hillary having the nomination taken from her? We all know how angry the black community will be if that happens with Obama, but simply put, their numbers just don't compare to those of white working women.

Bottom line is this. We want Obama to win the nomination and we need to stop playing with the outcome in the primary states to come.