Back to Square One

by Steve Soto

Perhaps we should disregard any polls from Newsweek from this point on. After reporting a 15-point edge for Obama over McCain just weeks ago, the latest Newsweek poll now shows a statistical dead heat between the two. Reasons are offered: sampling error, disappointment over Obama’s repositioning, disappointment amongst his base over the Clinton partnership and fundraising help. Yet it’s also possible that the general electorate isn’t swooning over the candidate the way his primary supporters did when they were fueled by Clinton loathing and swallowed whole the campaign of personality over issues.

It could also be that thanks to media bias and the success of right wing narrative-seeding, the electorate remains ignorant of McCain’s recent abandonment of core principles and flip-flopping, and yet believes falsehoods about Obama. And since Obama has eviscerated any attempt at a Tier Two definition campaign of McCain’s actual positions and record, it all falls upon the Obama campaign itself to have the edge and focus necessary to pound their own narrative through a McCain-fluffing media about their opponent’s record. And after showing no hesitancy in taking down Hillary with ruthless abandon, I’ve yet to see a similar effort from them towards McCain.

Despite his foibles and missteps, McCain is a known commodity to the electorate, and can use a friendly media to pass himself off as a real improvement after eight years of Bush/Cheney criminality and negligence.