How Scared Are American Voters?
Posted Oct 06, 2008 at 5:14 PM by Maurice Berger
How scared are Americans about the current economic crisis? So afraid, according to analysts that their "confidence may have been too shaken for them to resume their free-spending ways any time soon." This crisis of confidence is, no doubt, an important reason for McCain's dip in the polls. The tendency of most voters to blame the economic meltdown on the present administration--and on Republicans in general--may be transforming McCain into the riskier alternative for many. (According a just released CNN/Opinion Research national survey, "56% say McCain's policies would be the same as Bush's, up from 50% a month ago.") Questions about a candidate's personality, character, patriotism. or identity--directly or indirectly raised by the McCain campaign, for example, with regard to Obama's perceived liberalism, elitism, otherness, or aloofness--can drive an election in a time of relative stability (the ease with which George H. W. Bush was able to paint Michael Dukakis as an elitist, tax-and-spend liberal with un-American values is a case in point). But in a time of war or crisis, voters may be far more inclined to cast their vote for the candidate they believe can best bring about stability or assure their safety (indeed, American voters have not turned out an incumbent president in a time of war, to wit: 2004). The big question: have voters made up their minds? Have they decided that Obama is the more reassuring choice in a frightening time (regardless of their doubts about his experience, race, or politics)? Or can the Republicans reignite voter doubts this week by recirculating stories about the Democrat's controversial associates (such as his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. or Williams Ayers, one of the founders of the radical Weathermen group)?
