All Three Have Good Ratings

by Steve Soto

The conventional wisdom with both the media and even among the center-left blogs is that the battle between Obama and Clinton is hurting the party's chances this November. I think only part of this is true, namely as it relates to allowing John McCain to use his media friends to set a positive narrative for the fall. But as it relates to damaging voters' images of Obama and Hillary, Gallup finds little support for this worry.

Their latest poll out today shows that Obama's favorability rating registers at his highest mark of 62%, and Hillary's 53% favorability rating is her highest since last October, when she was the unchallenged front-runner for the nomination. So it doesn't appear that the weeks of brick-throwing between the two of them has harmed either one among the general public.

McCain's 67% favorability rating is his highest since 2000, before Bush destroyed him. Given McCain's manipulation of, and adulation by the media, and the unwillingness of both Obama and Clinton to simultaneously set the negatives on McCain, this high rating should not be surprising. McCain has had no Republican shooting at him for weeks; there is no objective coverage in the media about his $3 trillion war to counter McCain's cheerleading; and the media isn't yet interested in McCain's lack of engagement or solutions on the economy or health care.

In truth, why should the media risk being disinvited from the next McCain BBQ when the Democrats aren't making a concerted and unified case against him themselves?