Candidates Can't Play Fall Classic In August

[babylonsister]

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/ol_20080820_2351.php

Candidates Can't Play Fall Classic In August
Obama Struggles To 'Close The Deal,' But Many Voters Are Still Weeks Away From Paying Attention

by Amy Walter

Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008

I follow baseball the way that most normal people follow politics. For most of the season, I'm only peripherally tuned in. Sometimes I'll have a game on TV in the background, but I'm not following it all that closely. I'm embarrassed to admit that I have sat through an entire Nationals game without being able to name more than one player in the lineup.

Come September, though, I suddenly become an expert. I'll know wild-card teams and division winners. And by the time the World Series begins -- especially if there's a team in it with a compelling storyline -- I will be able to rattle off the names of the starting infielders and pontificate about their batting averages.

So when I hear folks saying that Barack Obama is struggling to "close the deal," it's the same as someone telling me that a certain team can't win the World Series because they aren't further ahead in their division. Yes, Obama is "underperforming" the generic Democrat advantage. And yes, he has yet to convince many undecided Democrats that he's up to the job. But isn't this August? And the election is November, right? Regular people have lots of other things on their minds that need immediate attention. Who they are voting for almost three months from now isn't one of them.

snip//

Even so, it's not likely that we'll see a significant post-convention bounce. After all, not only does the Republican National Convention start just four days later, but McCain is expected to make his vice presidential announcement just a day after the lights go out at Invesco Field.

If Obama is successful in making his case in Denver, he'll still have to defend it in the debates. It's only after these debates that we should expect to see serious movement in polling. There's little reason for undecided voters to move one way or the other before then. Voters are smart enough to know that they have lots of time left before they cast their ballots. And they are more than happy to take that time. For months they've been hit over the head with talk of a "historic election" that could be the most important in a generation. If that's the case, shouldn't we expect that they would want to carefully weigh their vote?

[babylonsister]

1. Just relax. For the moment. Panic later. nt