I sure do love to read my Economist every Tuesday morning. Well written, little bias and a brill editorial staff. Always a laugh in every story. Their coverage of the US campaign has been pretty poignant and well balanced, IMO. First is an oped.
Lexington
Obama fatigue
Aug 7th 2008
From
The Economist print edition
Is America beginning to weary of “Yes we can”?
Illustration by KAL
THE most politically potent emotion of the past 18 months has been Obamamania. This condition allowed a neophyte senator from Illinois to seize his party’s nomination from the jaws of the formidable Clinton machine. The big question now hanging over American politics is whether Obamamania is giving way to Obama fatigue.
...
The junior senator from Illinois is strikingly self-obsessed even by the standards of politicians. He has already written two autobiographies. He seems to be happiest as a politician addressing huge crowds of adoring fans. His convention speech at Denver was always going to be an extraordinary moment, given that he will be delivering it on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. But Mr Obama decided to move it to a local sports stadium that has room for 75,000.
...
Mr Obama is undoubtedly an enormously talented public speaker. But his rhetorical tropes can begin to pall, particularly in a campaign that has already gone on for 18 months. How many more times can Americans hear the phrase “Yes we can” without wondering whether they really want to? George Will, a conservative columnist, notes that Disraeli’s gibe about Gladstone might well apply to Mr Obama—he is “inebriated with the exuberance of his own verbosity”.
...
And, of course, The Econo is always fair:
Mr McCain needs to win over undecided and independent voters if he is to have any chance of winning the White House. He also needs to come up with his own version of a “change” agenda for an electorate that is desperate for something new. But the more he employs Mr Bush’s footsoldiers and borrows from Mr Rove’s playbook, the more he opens himself up to the criticism that he is offering another four years of Mr Bush. The same polls that show the race narrowing also show that Mr McCain has not managed to break 46% in the Gallup tracking poll since Mr Obama won the nomination.
The Obama machine also remains formidable: it is impossible to wander around American cities these days without coming across enthusiastic young canvassers. But Mr Obama needs to reframe the election so that it is less about him and more about the issues. And he needs to abandon the rhetorical high ground for the nitty-gritty of policy. Otherwise the general election could prove to be the second coronation in a row, after Hillary’s implosion, that has ended with a surprise.
Lexington | Obama fatigue | Economist.com This article about Colorado voter makeup is also interesting, seeing as how the Demo Con will be held there this month. I like the bit about the vote on affirmative action. Fek, CO used to be Rep, and then all those damn leftie Californians moved in. Bladdy Sundance movie festival tag-alongs. *sniff* The swing states: Colorado
Suburban cowboys
Aug 7th 2008 | DENVER
From The Economist print edition
How a reliably red state ended up in the purple camp
...This month the Democrats will hold a convention in Denver—the first time in 100 years that they have dared to meet anywhere near the Rocky mountains (see
article). But John McCain is pushing back, assuring voters that he must carry Colorado if he is to win the White House. The polls are balanced, with most showing paper-thin leads for Mr Obama. A Senate race is similarly tight. Colorado may be worth just nine electoral college votes, but it is likely to be the hardest-fought state in the western half of America.
...
Floyd Ciruli, a Denver pollster, points to another hazard. Thanks to Ward Connerly, a black political activist and yet another Californian, Colorado’s voters will vote this November on an amendment that would ban preferential treatment on racial grounds—in other words, affirmative action. They are likely to approve it. Mr Obama, who supports affirmative action with reservations, may well end up on the wrong side of the argument. If so, his post-racial image will be tarnished.
The swing states: Colorado | Suburban cowboys | Economist.com