<< Previous Post | Main | Next Post >>

Number of the Day: 2.5 Million

That's the number of views this single instance of Obama's speech on race in America has gotten over the last three days.

Some people say our attention spans are shrinking, but they are wrong. Some people say the American public is happy to live in a soundbite world, but they are wrong.

The political world is changing, and it is changing fast. A decade from now, I suspect we'll look back and barely recognize the way things were once done. Do you remember what life was like before Google, Email, and the web? Me neither. The Internet has already remade most of the world, but politics is always one of the last areas to change. But the change is coming.... fast.

UPDATE: Do not underestimate the American public:

The first extensive poll of reactions to Obama's big race relations speech shows that while a lot of voters liked it, concerns remain about the underlying issue of his association with Jeremiah Wright.


The Rasmussen poll showed that 84% of likely voters saw at least some of the speech, with 51% of that group saying it was good or excellent, 26% saying it was fair, and 21% rating it poor. On the other hand, 56% say they remain somewhat or very "concerned" about his relationship with Wright.

Comparing this to the other major poll by Fox News, which looked a lot better for Obama, it seems like the way the question is phrased has a great effect on the answers. Fox didn't ask if people were concerned, but whether Obama's relationship with Wright caused them to have "doubts" about him, and they came up at only 35% Yes to 54% No.

Expect a lot of political consultants to study those distinctions.

Look, I support Obama but I'd say I was "concerned" too. I'm "concerned" it might damage his candidacy. I'm "concerned" that the media might ignore Obama's speech and continue to caricature him, his pastor, and the issue of race in general. I'm all kinds of "concerned," and I would say so if a pollster asked me about it. In the end, I'm "concerned" because I want him to win. The question is a complex one, but people answering the poll are forced to give a simple answer.

Speak Your Mind!
(Registration Is Required)

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.alexwhalen.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/4696