Obama Backlash

August 7. 2008

According to an article in the Economist, the nation is suffering from "Obama fatigue" in the form of too much publicity  regarding the Democratic nominee, which is being dubbed overexposure.

Personally, I blame Hollywood and the media they control in part for this. In trying to promote Obama, they simply overdid it, went into overdrive and unevenly behaved like it's a one man race.

By all means declare who you are going to vote for, but when you're pulling strings to blanket media coverage, knock it off with the fluffy stories and controversial ones, under the Hollywood banner of "all publicity is good publicity."

Really, you're not his campaign managers nor are you his PR people and some of the things Hollywood is associating him with isn't the best idea. He is not a pop star releasing a new CD, nor is he an actor with a new film to promote. This brand of publicity is proving to be a double edged sword for the politician.

Hollywood's overzealousness is being used against Obama via his rival proclaiming him a pop culture icon and "celebrity." That chips away at public confidence, which is what these polls are suggesting.

The rest of the nation does not have Hollywood's values. Therefore, too much of that association could prove a liability.

Hollywood is a town that would solely elect someone if they are a chick with big breasts or gay. In the real world, where people have to worry about the economy, healthcare, college tuitions and what their kids are watching on TV, Hollywood's values just aren't gonna cut it.

At the end of the day, neither candidate is what I would describe as Hollywood. I don't get the impression Obama or McCain are superficial, vapid or unintelligent, but people will make assumptions based on association and public persona.      

Obama fatigue

Aug 7th 2008 - THE most politically potent emotion of the past 18 months has been Obamamania. This condition allowed a neophyte senator from Illinois to seize his party’s nomination from the jaws of the formidable Clinton machine. The big question now hanging over American politics is whether Obamamania is giving way to Obama fatigue.

Mr Obama has everything going for him in the race for the White House. Almost 80% of Americans think that the country is heading in the wrong direction. People are disgruntled with George Bush’s Republicans and worried sick about the economy. Mr Obama is also running a far better campaign than his rival—smooth and professional where the McCain campaign is slapdash and amateurish.

Yet the polls tell a different story. A Gallup/USA Today poll showed John McCain beating Mr Obama by 49% to 45% among likely voters. The cash-rich Obama campaign has been pouring money into the battleground states. But, if anything, the polls in those states are tightening. Generic Democrats enjoy a 10-15 point advantage over Republicans. But add the names Obama and McCain to the mix and you get a statistical tie.

http://www.economist.com