(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)

FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:

Americans are a gloomy bunch these days.

According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, 82% of us think this country is headed in the wrong direction. That’s the highest percentage of people who feel that way in more than 15 years.

President Bush’s job approval rating is at another all-time record low. It’s been below 50% for 38 consecutive months – more than 3 years. People overwhelmingly say they trust Democrats over Republicans – 53% to 32% – to do a better job with the many problems facing the U.S.

This is a pretty dire picture for John McCain – a Republican and President Bush’s buddy. But so far, McCain has found a way to escape some of the anger facing his party. In a hypothetical match-up with Barack Obama, McCain remains competitive, trailing him 51% to 44%.

But you can bet Obama and the Democrats will do everything they can to exploit the discontent felt by many Americans. In fact, Obama runs more than 20 points ahead of McCain among those 82% in the poll who think the country is headed in the wrong direction. And about 7 in 10 of those who disapprove of President Bush say whey would back Obama over McCain.

Obama also holds double-digit leads over McCain on issues like health care, gas prices and the economy, while McCain has a 21-point lead on handling terrorism. Surprisingly, the two run almost even on the Iraq war and on immigration.

Here’s my question to you: Considering 82% of Americans think the country is on the wrong track and 66% disapprove of President Bush, what are the chances John McCain wins in November?

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FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:

Barack Obama has generated an excitement and hope not seen in American politics in years, perhaps even decades. But behind the scenes, some of his field workers and volunteers are coming face-to-face with something very different: racism.

The Washington Post reports about what it calls “raw racism and hostility that have gone largely unnoticed – and unreported” in this election. Obama volunteers have had doors slammed in their faces, and have been called racially derogatory names. Some Americans apparently can’t deal with the idea that Obama might become our first African-American president.

One volunteer reports being chased by dogs while canvassing in Indiana. Another woman in Pennsylvania gave up on phone-bank duty after one night… because of the negative responses from voters in her county, which is 98% white. Drivers yelled out racial slurs as they passed a group of black high school students holding up Obama signs in Indiana.

The campaign says these are isolated incidents and that most volunteers and staffers have had positive experiences. It says the election has reinforced Obama’s view that “this country is not as divided as our politics.” As for the candidate himself, he doesn’t talk much about race.

He doesn’t have to. Obama has won 30 of the 50 contests so far, including 5 of 12 primaries where blacks made up less than 10% of the voters. He also won in caucus states that are overwhelmingly white – places like Iowa, Idaho and Wyoming.

Here’s my question to you: Now that it looks like it will be Barack Obama against John McCain, how big an issue will race become?

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FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:

Money talks in presidential elections… and it may be causing John McCain some heartburn or sleepless nights at this early stage of the game.

That’s because the presumptive Republican nominee is struggling to get money from many of the same industries that helped fund President Bush’s campaigns.

Bloomberg News reports that many people who work for securities and investment firms, construction companies, the pharmaceutical and energy industries have been turned off by McCain’s record, and are giving more money to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The two Democrats each raised about $11 million from these four industries through the end of March, compared with only $6 million for John McCain. Back in 2004, President Bush raised three times more money from these places than John Kerry did.

Meanwhile, here’s another sign of potential money trouble: the Houston Chronicle reports Texas has been slow to warm to McCain. Almost three months after sewing up the nomination, McCain has yet to get money from most of President Bush’s top Texas donors. In fact, McCain has raised less in Texas than either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

One political analyst puts it: “If a Republican isn’t outraising a Democrat in Texas, where are they going to outraise a Democrat? Vermont?” One Texas fundraiser says it’s been easier to raise money for a Democrat in the Lone Star State this year. The reason? “Bush fatigue.”

Here’s my question to you: Why is John McCain having problems raising money?

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The demand for fuel globally is outpacing the supply, which is one of the reasons oil prices have nearly doubled in just the last year. (PHOTO CREDIT: AP PHOTO)

FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:

If the cost of gasoline is hurting Americans now at about $3.61 a gallon, imagine what would happen if it reaches $7 or $8 a gallon in the next couple of years.

While Hillary Clinton and John McCain pander to voters with a proposed gas tax holiday that will never see the light of day, Goldman Sachs is out with a report that oil prices could reach $200 a barrel within two years.

The demand for fuel globally is outpacing the supply, which is one of the reasons oil prices have nearly doubled in just the last year. This prediction from Goldman Sachs, along with a weaker dollar and concerns about declining production, helped push oil to a record of more than $123 a barrel today.

Meanwhile, the Energy Department says strong demand from places like China, India, Russia, Brazil and the Middle East will support high prices and keep global oil demand growing by about 1.2 million barrels a day this year.

The government says it expects gasoline prices to peak at about $3.73 a gallon in June, but some private analysts think gas will go even higher – topping $4 a gallon this summer.

So what’s our next president going to do about all this? Clinton and McCain want to cut 18 cents off the price of a gallon of gas for a period of three months, which would save you a total of between $30 and $70. It’s the same old story from the Washington politicians… slap a bandage on an open wound and hope the public doesn’t notice it’s still bleeding.

Here’s my question to you: Which candidate has a plan for dealing with gas at $7 or $8 a gallon within two years?

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(PHOTO CREDIT: AP PHOTO)

FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:

Nearly all of the focus in yesterday’s primaries was on the Democrats, and rightly so. But, here’s an interesting little nugget about how the Republicans voted:

Despite the fact that John McCain has been his party’s presumptive nominee for almost three months now, about a quarter of Republicans in North Carolina and Indiana voted against the Arizona senator.

That’s right. In North Carolina, McCain received just 74% of the vote, while Mike Huckabee got 12% and Ron Paul received 7%. 4% said they had no preference. And in Indiana, 77% of Republicans voted for McCain, while Huckabee got 10%, Paul received 8%, and Mitt Romney 5%.

McCain faced similar results in the Pennsylvania primary two weeks ago. Also, quite a few Republicans crossed over to vote in the Democratic primary… with one in 10 Indiana voters in the Democratic primary identifying themselves as Republicans.

McCain’s campaign says it’s pleased with the way the Republican Party has united around his candidacy. They also point to polls that show them doing as well – if not better – with Republicans as President Bush did at similar points in his first campaign in 2000. The difference is President Bush wasn’t running against the record of President Bush in 2000.

Here’s my question to you: What does it say when about a quarter of Republicans voted against John McCain yesterday?

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FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:

Over the course of the campaign, Americans’ views of the top three candidates have changed some. According to a Gallup poll done in late April, here are some of the qualities associated with each:

John McCain: he’s “too old, he’s a “good man, likable,” he would give the country more of the same — be another George Bush, and he has a “good military background.” And the number of people who view him favorably are about equal to the number who don’t like him.

When it comes to Hillary Clinton, the most common perceptions are that she is dishonest or not trustworthy, past scandals or baggage associated with her husband, the former president, that she is qualified, capable, and strong.

But the number of people who have a negative view of her, 55%, is almost twice the number that view her favorably, 30%. Barack Obama is viewed slightly more positively than negatively, 42% to 39%.

People see him as young and inexperienced but with new ideas. He is also seen as lacking substance-all talk and no action. People disagree with his religious views (Thank you Rev. Wright) and he is seen by some as an “elitist” or “snob,” although those views are not widely held.

He is also, of course, much better known now than when the campaign began.

Here’s my question to you: How has your perception of the three major presidential candidates changed during the course of the campaign?

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FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:

Republicans are going to have a very tough time getting elected this fall, except maybe for John McCain.

The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows only 27% of voters have positive views of the Republican Party.

It’s the lowest level for either party in the almost 20-year history of this particular poll. The last time the numbers were this low, voters threw George Bush’s father out of office and elected Bill Clinton in 1992.

And yet John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, continues to run about even in hypothetical match-ups with both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Interesting in light of the fact that an overwhelming number of us, 73%, think the country is headed in the wrong direction under President Bush. John McCain embraces many of the policies of President Bush, including the war in Iraq, which Americans have really had enough of. And President Bush has now achieved the highest disapproval rating of any president in modern American history.

And it’s not just the war that has American voters in a foul mood. Our economy is struggling under the weight of high gas prices, the housing collapse and a loss of jobs. All things that have happened on the Republicans’ watch.

A majority of voters say they want a Democrat in the White House next time. Which makes John McCain’s position even more remarkable.

Here’s my question to you: Why does John McCain remain popular in light of sharply falling support for the Republican party?

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FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:

If you want to know which way the political winds are blowing, look at the young. Trends in the opinions of the youngest voters are often a barometer of shifting political tides. For the Democrats as we approach the 2008 election, this is great news. For Republicans, not so good. In fact, terrible.

The Pew Research Center did a survey of young people between October of last year and March of this year. What they found was that the current generation of young voters who came of age during the George W. Bush years is giving the Democrats a wide advantage in party identification.

58% of voters under the age of 30 surveyed during that time identified or leaned toward the democratic party, compared with just 33% who identified or leaned toward the Republican party. In fact, the Democratic Party’s current lead in party identification among young voters has more than doubled since the 2004 campaign — from 11 points then to 25 points now.

In fact, the Democrats’ advantage among young voters is now so broad-based that younger men are now the only age category in the entire electorate where men are significantly more inclined to identify themselves as Democrats rather than Republicans.

And if you’re John McCain, that’s a big problem.

Here’s my question to you: Why can’t the Republican Party attract more voters under the age of 30?

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FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:

When it comes to John McCain, his age is an issue with some people. The senator from Arizona is 71 years old. If he is elected President of the United States he would be 72 on inauguration day…making him the oldest person ever sworn in for a first term. If McCain served his full two terms, he would be 80 when he left office.

McCain spent MORE THAN five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, and has suffered several bouts of melanoma…a potentially fatal form of skin cancer. His doctors assure us McCain is healthy and cancer-free…but so far his campaign has refused to release all of his medical records. We are told they will be made public some time next month.

In the meantime, reporters who are half McCain’s age say they can barely keep up with the septuagenarian as he campaigns for the nation’s highest office. Fourteen-hour days climbing on and off airplanes and buses and giving one speech after another are not uncommon.

And yet doubts persist. Being president ages a person in ways no other job does. The responsibilities are so big…the problems so important, that trying to handle them can take years off your life. Look at pictures of any president on inauguration day and compare them with pictures of the same man when he leaves office, and the effects are immediately apparent.

Here’s my question to you: John McCain have a better chance of being elected if he promised to only serve one term in office?

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(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)

FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:

When Colin Saltry and Joey Daniel heard Barack Obama was at Glider’s Diner in Scranton, Pennsylvania, eating waffles earlier this week, they couldn’t resist. Saltry is class president and Daniel vice president at Scranton High School. They left school and headed for the diner—managing to talk their way in through the media entrance. Soon they were in conversation with the famous senator from Illinois.

When one of them mentioned they would probably be suspended for leaving school without permission, Obama wrote them each a note. “Excuse Joey. Excuse Colin.”

It didn’t work…both boys were suspended for one day and wound up spending it campaigning for their guy. Both admitted it wasn’t the right thing to do to skip school…and both said they would do it again in a heartbeat. Of all the days they will spend at Scranton High School, 20 years from now they will remember every detail of this one.

Here’s my question to you: Which politician — living or dead — would you skip work or school to meet and why?

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