June 19, 2008 - 7:26am
Is Barack Obama the next Ronald Reagan?
By Wally Edge
Category: PresidentTags: John McCain, Barack Obama, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Joe Lieberman, Scott Rasmussen
I love a good poll as much as any political junkie would be expected to, but the Rasmussen poll numbers for Maine are a bit over the top.
This week Mr. Rasmussen let us know that Obama is ahead by 22% over his opponent John McCain here in Maine. The poll states, "According to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Maine voters, Obama now leads his Republican opponent 55% to 33%. In May, Obama enjoyed a 51% to 38% lead, but a month earlier was only ahead by eight points."
Huh?
In 2004, in the match-up Kerry versus Bush, Kerry won by 9 points and in 2000, Gore defeated Bush by 5 points.
I'm guessing that Obama over McCain by 22 points is a little off. I could be wrong - the Obama wave could actually have him running that strong here in Maine. However, these numbers would go against conventional wisdom, where Maine has tended to support or at least be supportive of moderates over the ideological ends of either party.
The impression I have been left with is that McCain is a "maverick" and a centrist. The early support of Senators Snowe and Collins, as well as Senator Lieberman has supported that notion. His consistent tough talk on the Iraq war could certainly hurt that image.
Obama, on the other hand, is a fairly reliable liberal. His peeches, however, clearly connect well with the voters -- and not just liberals. If the Rasmussen numbers are to be believed, then it means that Obama's rhetoric of "Hope, change and turn the page" is working with Maine's middle of the road voters.
It is worth noting, that twenty-two points is not an impossible number to reach, Ronald Reagan won Maine in 1984 with 61 to 39 trouncing of Walter Mondale.
Is Barack Obama the next Ronald Reagan? Is John McCain the next Walter Mondale?
One thing is certain - June polls in an election year are nothing like October polls.
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Is Barack Obama the next Ronald Reagan?
You ask, "Is Barack Obama the next Ronald Reagan?"
How can that be? Isn't Barack Obama a Socialist?
Obama is definitely a
Obama is definitely a socialist. There is no comparison to Ronald Reagan. End of story.
Sen. McCain is a centrist...
...and I'm the Easter Bunny. He's spent years cultivating the centrist, maverick image, but the facade has fallen off in his quest for the White House.
Speeches to Bob Jones, reversing his positions on Roe v. Wade (opposed overturing in 2000, now supports) and the Bush tax cuts (opposed them until 2006) -- and now he flip flops and wants drill off the coast of Florida? Is there any position he won't take in the name of political expediency?
(As an aside, in this sense it's no wonder Sen. Collins endorsed McCain, as her support for the war vanished the same day Tom Allen entered the race. And what about that 1996 two-term pledge? Political expediency is a funny thing.)
Maine isn't embracing rhetoric in Obama -- it's embracing the candidate who is guided by principle. More importantly, it's embracing the candidate who is not guided by President Bush's principles.
McCain is a "maverick"? That notion is fading fast. If Wally doesn't recognize this (but is instead content with "the impression I've been left," no matter how much it differs from the facts), then it may be time to turn elsewhere for political analysis.
False.
Obama is a strong supporter of the free market. In this he differs from John McCain, who believes that markets should be rigged in favor of large corporations.
“I believe that America's free market has been the engine of America's great progress. It's created a prosperity that is the envy of the world. It's led to a standard of living unmatched in history. And it has provided great rewards to the innovators and risk-takers who have made America a beacon for science, and technology, and discovery…We are all in this together. From CEOs to shareholders, from financiers to factory workers, we all have a stake in each other's success because the more Americans prosper, the more America prospers.”
— Barack Obama, New York, NY, September 17, 2007
Come on, Wally...
What a misleading title! Your only comparison between the two is electoral percentage? Why didn't you compare Obama to Nixon in '72, when Nixon won Maine with 61%? How about Johnson in '64, with over 68%?
Any other comparison to Reagan is foolish at best.
what a total joke
Not in a billion years could Obama mama come close to the man Ronald Reagan was.
Polls are a sham
Everything, I mean everything, now comes with a political agenda (usually left-wing). Everything from TV shows, film, print, the local and newtwork news is designed to further the election of leftwing Democrats. Nothing is given to us strait anymore, not even polls. The people who give these polls are left wing and they use interns from left wing universities to do the grunt work. What result do you expect? Remember how Kerry was winning all the exit polls in 04? Was 15% ahead in summer 04?
McCain has a decent shot to win Maine and I'd bet a real good chance to win the 2nd District's one electoral vote.
Comparing an empty suit like Obama with one of the towering figures of the 20th century is a bit ridiculous. Reagan was at his best talking off the cuff and was truly genuine. Obama fails once he is three feet from a teleprompter (an affliction he shares with the current President)
Obama is not believe of free market
Oblama's own proclamation that he is a believer of free market is hogwash.
Free Market, by Economics, is devoid of government intervention.
Comparing McCain and Obama, Obama's platform is really going down the level of just ordinary "mixed economy". It's becoming socialistic in approach.
Government Healthcare Program dismantling the current market system for healthcare and greater advocacy of labor union are strong indication of his socialist viewpoints.
Speaking, teaching American Black People to be good Father, although under good intention, is something remindful of Hitler teaching Young Germans to be good father to anticipate the rise of German Empire. While the control is good... it infringes your inherent right to be a good father.
Your reader VISVIDA is wrong in that respect. Would VISVIDA why the following entities are supporting Obama:
Communist Party of USA
Democratic Socialists of America
Working Families Party
ACORN
Young Communists League
Young Democratic Socialists
Party of European Socialists
AFL-CIO
Black Radicals
Simple! THEY SUPPORT OBAMA BECAUSE THEY FIND OBAMA'S PLATFORM MORE APPEALING TO THEIR PLATFORMS.
Don't tell me that these groups just love the half-blackness of Obama. Surely they find their principles of Obama appealing to their ears.
SORRY, VISVIDA! YOU ARE A FOOL!
I will MAKE A PERSONAL APOLOGY, if OBAMA HIMSELF denounces SOCIALISM and socialist parties above.
But it's a political massacre. Why? he will lose his base. He moving to Chicago Illinois is just very right. Chicago Illinois is the birth place of communism in America. Hyde Park people is the CAVE OF SOCIALISTS.
OBAMA WORSE THAN A SOCIALIST
Obama is not only a Socialist, who wants Americans to hand over their hard earned cash, in a grandiose scheme to redistribute America's wealth ... he spent 20 years listening to the anti-American, racist sermons of black liberation pastor Jeremiah Wright, which were based upon Marxist ideology ... along with his wife and two children ... and they still attend the same church, listening to the same anti-American trash!h
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