"Issues Flow From Image"
So claims Newsweek's Andrew Romano. He writes:"Today, Obama's 32-point "change" lead has plummeted to 12 percent. What's worse, Obama is actually trailing McCain 36-38 on this question among independents--an amazing statistic given that McCain's party has been in power for the last eight years. As a result, Obama's specific advantages--on the economy, the federal deficit, social issues and energy--have been cut by half or more, while McCain's have grown by nearly as much. Again, issues flow from image. So if voters believe that McCain isn't Bush, they're much more likely to believe that a McCain economy represents a change from a Bush economy--despite the obvious similarities between their policies."
Rest of the article: http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/09/11/it-s-not-the-economy-stupid.aspx
If that's true (that issues flow from image) no wonder we are in so much trouble. No wonder Obama's lead is not 25 to 30 points, as it seems like it ought to be. If the stageshow that was the GOP convention is all it takes to persuade huge chunks of the electorate to ignore McCain's actual voting record of 90% agreement with GWBush, then this 232 year old experiment in democracy may be closer to collapse than I want to believe. The closeness of the polls makes me sick to my stomach.
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posted by TheOldMan @ 10:33 AM
