Thursday, June 19, 2008

Despite the Polls...

The news this week is that Obama is beating John McCain in a number of important swing states in recent polls, but what I've been hearing is a lot less positive for Obama.

I've been in New York City since Monday night and the enthusiasm for Barack Obama among New Yorkers that I expected is, if not gone, greatly reduced. In the past two days I have heard Obama's economic recovery plan mocked by countless businessmen as uninformed and naive. Not every voter is an economic policy expert, but a lot of people read the Wall Street Journal and know enough to detect an economic strategy that won't work. A line I overheard on 58th and Park yesterday:
"McCain doesn't know a thing about the economy, but he admits it and hires good advisors to tell him what to say. Obama knows what's really going on with the economy right now, but he doesn't have the guts to throw some hard reality into his platform."

Is this a signal of a significant problem for the Obama campaign? No, but I spoke with a high-ranking supporter of Bill Clinton and advisor to Jimmy Carter this week who admitted to me that they were not planning on voting for Barack Obama. Why? Because as a New Yorker, John McCain is better prepared to protect America.

Now there's a problem for Obama...

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