What Independents and Republicans see in Obama

[illinoisprogressive]

In an interview with the Washington Post this week, Barack Obama laid out as explicitly as he has to date what many believe is his strongest argument for his candidacy against that of Hillary Clinton: that he is a less polarizing figure on the national scene. "I believe I can bring the country together in a way she cannot do," Obama said. "If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be running."

In making this case, Obama can find both affirmation and reason for concern in an intriguing and overlooked nugget in the Post-ABC poll on the Democratic presidential race released late last month. Simply put: independents and Republicans seem to recognize that Obama has the potential to appeal to voters outside the Democratic base -- but Democratic voters themselves don't yet seem to be taking that fully into account in their thinking about whom to nominate.

Asked which Democratic candidate would have the "best chance to defeat the Republican nominee in the general election," 54 percent of Democrats polled said Clinton would, compared to 22 percent who said Obama would.

But when the same question was put to independents and Republicans -- which Democrat would have the best chance in 2008 -- those voters had a notably different view: 35 percent of independents said Clinton would have the best chance, and 29 percent said Obama would; 37 percent of Republicans said Clinton would have the best chance, compared with 33 percent who said Obama would. (John Edwards was deemed most electable by 9-10 percent of voters in all three groups of voters.)What to make of this 17-19 point gap in the estimation of Clinton's general election prospects between Democrats and other voters? One might surmise that independents and Republicans -- the very voters whose views matter most, come November 2008, in determining how electable a Democrat would be -- are basing their estimation of Clinton's chances on their own misgivings about her, and the misgivings of other independents and Republicans.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/08/15/post_14.html

[Colobo]

1. Viva Obama!

[muntrv]

2. I think I saw a streamer on MSNBC saying that Warren Buffet is going to

host an Obama fundraiser. Buffet said on "Charlie Rose" that Obama would make a good president.

[Grandrose]

3. K&R

Patience, perseverance and time is on the Obama side...I sincerely hope!:patriot:

[Perky]

4. Echoes of Cedar Falls today

Obama Says Bush Not Solely to Blame

By AMY LORENTZEN
Associated Press Writer

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBAMA_OPEN_GOVERNMENT?SITE=CATOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-08-15-19-04-18

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) -- Not all the nation's ills can be blamed on President Bush, Democratic candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday as he called on Americans to change the nature of politics and institute more openness in government.

"Part of the problem here is not just George Bush and the White House," Obama told a crowd of hundreds gathered at a park in Cedar Falls. "We can't just change political parties and continue to do the same kind of things we've been doing. We can't just go about business as usual and think it's going to turn out differently."

Obama, a senator from Illinois, said average Americans must be brought back to the table when dealing with every issue, from health care to education to trade.

"We've got to make sure workers are represented, not just CEOs. We've got to make sure patients are represented and the nurses are represented, not just drug companies," he said.

To make the government more accountable, Obama said he would post all non-emergency bills online for five days before he signed them into law, allowing Americans a chance to weigh in on the legislation. In addition, he said he would post all meetings between lobbyists and government agencies online.

Obama said he would require Cabinet officials to speak to Americans via national broadband town-hall style meetings to discuss issues at their agencies. He also pledged to issue an executive order that information about the government's operations must be released to those seeking it unless it could harm a protected interest.

[illinoisprogressive]

5. Yep. That is going to be shown again at 7 cst on cspan

[madrchsod]

6. more people in several rabid republican counties

in northern illinois voted for obama than they did for kerry..seems like the moderate republicans voted for obama over keyes