Below is a synopsis of Chris Wilson’s comments today on Fox News Studio B:
A BLOCK
The latest Gallup polls show amazing jump in who voters trust to handle the economy, as Obama once led this category with 19 points and now his lead is down to three, inside the margin of error. With the economy as the number one issue, Obama simply cannot afford to lose this advantage, as virtually every poll shows that voters trust McCain more on national security, foreign affairs, and the War in Iraq. If McCain can nullify the economy as an advantage for Obama, this election may turn right around.
The economy represents another issue where Obama is having trouble sealing the deal
The polls confirm that voters like Obama, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they trust him to lead. And they don’t dislike John McCain, while they do trust him to lead. The Democrats’ edge on the economy—which they’ve held going into virtually every election in the last forty years—gave Obama the lead before the conventions. This latest polls is just another example of how Obama gets the voters where we wants them, but can’t seal the deal and get them to vote for him.
The economy will help McCain in the polls that matter most—battleground states.
With Obama likely to win Iowa and New Mexico and edging McCain in Colorado, John McCain has to pick up Michigan or Pennsylvania and has to hold Ohio to win this election. In those three states in particular, unemployment is high and concerns about the economy are greatest. These are the white blue-collar workers that Hillary was so successful at pulling in during the primaries, and that Obama has belittled as “bitter”. If McCain can continue to nullify Obama on the economy, we’ll start to see these states slowly turn in McCain’s favor.
Sending Hillary Clinton to Florida is smart, but it won’t help Obama
Clinton has a lot of support in Florida, and it is still a swing state despite McCain’s advantage there, but ultimately she won’t attract people who are truly undecided. These people will need to hear from someone on the ticket, not a surrogate attacking McCain or promoting Obama. Moreover, Hillary Clinton campaigning is almost standard at this point. Voters have their minds made up about her, which limits her ability to reach out to soft McCain supporters or undecideds. And with the introduction of Sarah Palin to the national stage, there’s more curiosity about her and less about where Clinton stands. I don’t think it’ll have an impact one way or another.
B BLOCK
Democrat in the Cabinet a common tactic that nonetheless plays into McCain’s strengths
This is a standard pledge that has become commonplace in the last few administrations. George Bush put Norman Mineta in charge of the Department of Transportation when he was elected. Barack Obama has considered keeping on Robert Gates as Defense Secretary. McCain will be able to milk it for a few cycles because he has such a maverick reputation and a clear history of working across the aisle, but it really won’t turn any heads unless he picks a big-name Democrat and/or a high-profile department, like state or treasury. Most importantly, why hasn’t Obama made the same pledge?
Asking his aides to make $1 a year is a gimmick, but one that voters like
I doubt anybody will make up their mind based on the pledge for McCain’s aides to make only $1 a year, but it reinforces McCain’s pet issue: government spending. It also takes away some of the ammunition from those in the Senate who are ardent earmark defenders, like Ted Stevens or Patty Murray, who view earmarks as a constituent service, by putting some of the sacrifice of reducing the price tag of government on members of the Administration itself. This is clearly a gimmick, but it plays into the new theme that McCain has been hitting at since the GOP Convention: reform.
As you’ve probably heard by now, the latest USA Today/Gallup survey shows John McCain with a ten-point lead (54% – 44%). Many pundits and media types say this is a post-convention surge (something we discussed previously). Something not considered by many is the addition of Governor Pa
Below is a synopsis of Chris Wilson’s comments today on Fox News Studio B: A BLOCK The latest Gallup polls show amazing jump in who voters trust to handle the economy, as Obama once led this category with 19 points and now his lead is down to three, inside the margin of error. With the [...]
Recent survey research shows that Americans believe that while women have the better traits to be leaders, men are better political leaders. Why is this? What the national poll shows is that women are viewed as being more compassionate, work out compromises better and keeping government honest.
WPA VP Tyler Harber appeared on FoxNews’ Studio B to discuss McCain’s nomination speech and Obama’s interview with Bill O’Reilly. Here are a few of Tyler’s comments: McCain is definitely on message and has been for weeks. His speech demonstrated that he has the experien
WRS CEO on Studio B
Posted by WPA Research on Monday, September 8th, 2008 at 4:41 PM
Below is a synopsis of Chris Wilson’s comments today on Fox News Studio B:
A BLOCK
The latest Gallup polls show amazing jump in who voters trust to handle the economy, as Obama once led this category with 19 points and now his lead is down to three, inside the margin of error. With the economy as the number one issue, Obama simply cannot afford to lose this advantage, as virtually every poll shows that voters trust McCain more on national security, foreign affairs, and the War in Iraq. If McCain can nullify the economy as an advantage for Obama, this election may turn right around.
The economy represents another issue where Obama is having trouble sealing the deal
The polls confirm that voters like Obama, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they trust him to lead. And they don’t dislike John McCain, while they do trust him to lead. The Democrats’ edge on the economy—which they’ve held going into virtually every election in the last forty years—gave Obama the lead before the conventions. This latest polls is just another example of how Obama gets the voters where we wants them, but can’t seal the deal and get them to vote for him.
The economy will help McCain in the polls that matter most—battleground states.
With Obama likely to win Iowa and New Mexico and edging McCain in Colorado, John McCain has to pick up Michigan or Pennsylvania and has to hold Ohio to win this election. In those three states in particular, unemployment is high and concerns about the economy are greatest. These are the white blue-collar workers that Hillary was so successful at pulling in during the primaries, and that Obama has belittled as “bitter”. If McCain can continue to nullify Obama on the economy, we’ll start to see these states slowly turn in McCain’s favor.
Sending Hillary Clinton to Florida is smart, but it won’t help Obama
Clinton has a lot of support in Florida, and it is still a swing state despite McCain’s advantage there, but ultimately she won’t attract people who are truly undecided. These people will need to hear from someone on the ticket, not a surrogate attacking McCain or promoting Obama. Moreover, Hillary Clinton campaigning is almost standard at this point. Voters have their minds made up about her, which limits her ability to reach out to soft McCain supporters or undecideds. And with the introduction of Sarah Palin to the national stage, there’s more curiosity about her and less about where Clinton stands. I don’t think it’ll have an impact one way or another.
B BLOCK
Democrat in the Cabinet a common tactic that nonetheless plays into McCain’s strengths
This is a standard pledge that has become commonplace in the last few administrations. George Bush put Norman Mineta in charge of the Department of Transportation when he was elected. Barack Obama has considered keeping on Robert Gates as Defense Secretary. McCain will be able to milk it for a few cycles because he has such a maverick reputation and a clear history of working across the aisle, but it really won’t turn any heads unless he picks a big-name Democrat and/or a high-profile department, like state or treasury. Most importantly, why hasn’t Obama made the same pledge?
Asking his aides to make $1 a year is a gimmick, but one that voters like
I doubt anybody will make up their mind based on the pledge for McCain’s aides to make only $1 a year, but it reinforces McCain’s pet issue: government spending. It also takes away some of the ammunition from those in the Senate who are ardent earmark defenders, like Ted Stevens or Patty Murray, who view earmarks as a constituent service, by putting some of the sacrifice of reducing the price tag of government on members of the Administration itself. This is clearly a gimmick, but it plays into the new theme that McCain has been hitting at since the GOP Convention: reform.