McCain's uphill climb
The new ABC / Washington Post poll makes for sobering reading for Republicans. Even after months of brutal Democratic infighting Obama leads McCain 51 to 44—a lead that is largely a product of the fact that the Democrats are trusted with the biggest issues facing the country by a 53 to 32 margin over the Republicans.
McCain can take comfort from the fact that he still leads Obama on the Commander in Chief questions. He has a 46-42 advantage on the strong leader question, though that gap has narrowed, a 55-34 lead on terrorism, a 71-18 one on experience and 65 to 24 one on knowing world affairs. (On Iraq, the two are in a statistical tie). However, on every other issue Obama leads.
If McCain is to win in November he is going to have to both eat into Obama’s advantage on domestic issues and frame the election as a choice on national security. McCain’s politically smart speech yesterday on global warming offered an example of how McCain can show that he is not a typical Republican, a tag that would be fatal in this political climate, but a reformer. Yet, this poll shows just how much work McCain hasto do.