Since early in the Presidential cycle, Barack Obama has dominated his primary and Republican opponents in terms of visibility. In his dominance, he has maintained a level of visibility that John McCain could only dream of. Even though McCain has recently made news by challenging Obama’s constant lead in the daily tracking and he has gone up with some very catchy TV ads, McCain’s media coverage has not changed much. By a margin of 76% to 11% respondents in Pew’s weekly News Interest Index survey named Obama over McCain as the candidate they have heard the most about in recent days. With a margin like that, it would seem frustrating for the McCain shop.
But there is a small glimmer of hope for the McCain folks. Almost half (48%) of the respondents said they have heard too much about Obama. A further look by party lines shows almost 70% of Republicans (as you would assume) have heard too much about Obama, while only 34% of Democrats report the same complaint. More than half (51%) of Independents, however, say they have heard too much about Obama. The 41% of the same group of Independents say they have heard too little about McCain.
As with all things trendy, there is a shelf life. Are the Obamaniacs losing its steam? That is a real possibility. What once seemed impossible to contain, Obamania is losing its chic factor. A majority of young and new voters have said they support Obama because he brings hope and really stands for something (as of yet to be defined). Now that they see him flip flopping on major issues, are they becoming disenchanted with their catalyst of change? Again, another real possibility. I wonder if the reason why this percentage of Democrats and Independents say they are hearing too much about Obama is because they keep hearing the same scripted message over and over again. No solutions. No ideas. Much like Britney and Paris, Obama is overexposed and unable to offer much but a pretty face and well scripted lines. It is becoming apparent that more than one Obamaniac is saying “Enough already.”
