Sen. Obama's Politics of Polling
by eriposte
CBS (emphasis mine, throughout this post):
Obama depicted Clinton as ...calculating, poll-tested....
Remember the fundamental rule of this campaign. If Saint ObamaTM accuses his opponent of doing something, it is because he is doing the same thing - only a lot more of it. You saw that with his Politics of Calculation. So, you shouldn't be surprised with his Politics of Polling:
But a look at campaign finance filings reveals that it is Obama not Clinton who has spent more on polling and surveying.
According to year-end research tabulated by the Center for Responsive Politics, Obama has spent more than $2.55 million so far in the campaign on "Polling/Surveys/Research," six hundred thousand dollars more than Clinton's $1.92 million.
The expenditures provide a seeming contrast to the political stereotypes of the two presidential aspirants. Recently on the trail, Obama has positioned himself as the candidate of authenticity to Clinton's calculated nature.
"Poll-tested positions, calculated answers might be how Washington confronts challenges, but it's not how you overcome those challenges; it's not how you inspire our nation to come together behind a common purpose, and it's not what America needs right now," he told a crowd last week. "You need a candidate who will tell you the truth."
But as the Center's figures reveal, Obama's political infastructure - buoyed by his ability to raise and spend loads of money - resembles, in part, that which he has criticized. During campaigns, it should be noted, polling is used to understand and target different constituencies.
Saint ObamaTM must certainly rank high in the list of the most shamelessly hypocritical Democratic politicians to ever run for the Presidency.