Thursday, September 18, 2008

Despite the best efforts of the Rove right, Obama still quite popular

Over the past 20 years, Republicans have generally run nasty campaigns for the presidency, rife with baseless and unfair smears on Democratic candidates. This election has been no exception. But, amazingly enough, it's not working:

  • Obama's favorable rating of 45% is a shade higher than McCain's of 44%. And in this poll Obama's fave numbers are up six points since August.
  • Sixty percent think Obama "understands the needs and problems of people like yourself" -- compared to only 48% who say the same about McCain.
  • Sixty-six percent think Obama "shares the values most Americans live by" -- more than the 61% who say the same about McCain.
  • Fifty-seven percent think Obama is "someone you can relate to."

Wow, what a difference actually fighting back and throwing an elbow or two makes!

Now, there are some (many!) who think that the Bradley effect will kick in and that lots of racist Whites won't vote for a Black man. I don't think that's true, and I especially don't in the wake of numbers like these. Obama isn't a typical Black politician, and the Bradley effect has run its course, which is why (if you read the Wikipedia article) it hasn't been an effect on statewide elections in years.
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The Man, The Myth, The Bio

East Bay, California, United States
Problem: I have lots of opinions on politics and culture that I need to vent. If I do not do this I will wind up muttering to myself, and that's only like one or two steps away from being a hobo. Solution: I write two blogs. A political blog that has some evident sympathies (pro-Obama, mostly liberal though I dissent on some issues, like guns and trade) and a culture blog that does, well, cultural essays in a more long-form manner. My particular thing is taking overrated things (movies, mostly, but other things too) down a peg and putting underrated things up a peg. I'm sort of the court of last resort, and I tend to focus on more obscure cultural phenomena.