Monday, September 22, 2008

Is it time to panic yet?

From my latest American Spectator column:
What a difference a week can make. Seven days ago, Democrats were in a state of political panic after Sarah Palin's selection as running mate had helped push John McCain ahead in the polls. Now it may be the Republicans' turn.
Relentless media criticism of Palin seems to have succeeded, at least temporarily, in turning Palin from an asset to a debit for the GOP ticket. Barack Obama's campaign has unleashed a heavy wave of attack ads. Most of all, daily headlines about the financial crisis have shaken voters' confidence in the economic status quo, increasing the appeal of Obama's theme of "Change."
As with the previous panic among Democrats, last week's Republican panic was driven by slumping poll numbers. . . .
Please read the whole thing.

3 comments:

  1. I think it is completely not time to panic.

    Convention bounces are over. McCain and Obama were pretty well even in the polls going in to the convention with a slight edge to Obama. That's where we are now. Convention bounces do go away, even if you've got a hot VP.

    Major row on Wall Street and the Republican isn't blamed. He hasn't handled it particularly well either, but neither has the other guy. So that's also a wash.

    We've also had the new meme picked up by the MSM and left blogs that "Only racism can explain an Obama loss." I'm no pollster, but I'll bet that's an attack that could do terrible damage to polling numbers without moving a single actual vote. Watch whether Republican identification numbers track with McCain's position in the polls. Or that's my obsessed layman's guess.

    So anyway, there are several reasons to do like the Hitchhiker's Guide says and Don't Panic.

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  2. I do NOT trust polls, not at this point in the election campaign. Panic only helps the opposition.

    For reassurance, check out the crowds Sarah Palin generates, not to mention the unbridled enthusiasm for her.

    ...

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  3. The "attack" on Palin by the media is called investigating journalism, it means looking up facts and publishing them. Bloggers on the other hand attacks people, but often wants to blur the line between themselves and newspapers.

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