Bush's approval rating & country's mood working against McCain?
(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?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
How big an issue will race be in November?
Click the play button to see what Jack and our viewers had to say.
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?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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