Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Obama v the GOP, on Policy
That GOP pal weighs in to further the "we're not afraid of Obama" meme:
General elections aren't Democratic primaries. Voters [vote on] their physical and economic security. Republican arguments typically appeal to more voters on those two issues... On national security, obviously, where we will have a considerable advantage, and on the choice between smaller government, lower taxes and free market solutions versus bigger government, higher taxes and government mandates. However... voters' perception of character is [also] very influential. And on that score, I'll match my guy against Mr. Obama anyday.
As I said before, this is plausible but depends on Iraq being a non-factor in the general election -- and on the Rs making up some serious ground on economic issues. The war's unpopularity, remember, is what drove the D's to beat the R's in doing a "better job of protecting the country" by 47 to 42 percent last fall; I can't explain why people say that Democrats will do a better job of "keeping the country company* prosperous" by 54 to 34 -- or at least they did. The most recent numbers I could find are from last September. I'm sure we'll be seeing more polling on that soon.
* Clearly am high today.
About Swampland
Recent Posts
Swampland - TIME.com Archives
RSS Feed
Daily Email
More TIME Blogs
Top Stories
- Paging Dr. Gupta: Is a TV Star Fit to Be Surgeon General?
- European Peace Efforts on Gaza Hit Roadblocks
- Why Democracy Is Struggling in Asia
- Financial Casualty: Why Adolf Merckle Killed Himself
- Burris Denied His Seat as the Senate Drama Continues
- President Bush's Last Act of Greenness
- What's Ailing Steve Jobs? Medical Opinion Varies
- America's Untapped Energy Resource: Boosting Efficiency
- Another Gitmo Grows in Afghanistan
- Leon Panetta: An Intel Outsider the CIA Needs
Top Photoessays and Slideshows
- Heartbreak in the Middle East
- A Photo Album of Presidents and Their Children
- Israeli Soldiers Sweep Into Gaza
- The Science of Snowflakes
- Pictures of the Week
- Five Years Roving the Red Planet
- New Ways to Boost Energy Efficiency
- Presidential Days at the Beach
- Fidel Castro in the Jungle
- Israel's Deadly Assault on Gaza
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.