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Monday, September 8, 2008
Obama, McCain, Fannie and Freddie
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The campaign of Barack Obama has reason to be concerned in the first week of the post-convention campaign season.
For one, his rival’s bump from the convention and from the selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate was solid. John McCain now leads 50 to 46 percent among registered voters, according to a Gallup poll taken Friday through Sunday.
Of greater concern to the Obama campaign, though, is his lead among those who are most likely to vote. That’s 10 points, 54-44. Obama’s strong lead on dealing with the economy has essentially vanished, too. It was 19 points before the convention and is down to 3 now, which is within the poll’s margin of error.
During a post-convention trip to South Georgia, I had a chance to get some reaction to the GOP convention and to Palin. Far and away, she was the hit of the convention.
Obama continues to be bedeviled by questions about his religion, something I picked up repeatedly from people who aren’t political junkies. It’s not surprising that Obama lashed out on that issue Sunday. He can’t shake the believe that he is a Muslim, the religion of his father and religion of at least part of his childhood.
Obama badly needs to do something to shake that perception. A major speech, addressing it head-on, is warranted.
On another front, the feds moved decisively over the weekend to deal with the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac problem. Partisan commentators and others are quick to react, calling such efforts a bail-out. When you lose your investment, your job and the franchise, as will now happen, it’s hardly a bail-out for managers and investors. The two entities should be stabilized, broken up, and sold back into the private sector completely free of government guarantees on debt.
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