US Presidential Election : The Economy Factor

It’s been a campaign of ups and downs for Barack Obama in what was originally expected to be an easy stroll to the White house for the first black presidential nominee from either of the two main political parties. For a start, online political betting enthusiasts have been baffled by the apparent ease with which women voters can switch their allegiance from Hilary Clinton to John McCain seemingly just to express their irritation for the rejection, in the primaries, of their female delegate. Can you imagine a female Labour Party supporter voting for Cameron because she didn’t get her first choice of parliamentary candidate?

Film Star Presidents and Gun Loving Mums

American Politics is very personality based. I remember in the eighties when I spent a lot of time touring round America and being amazed at the widespread support Ronald Regan had from all but a handful of young people. Then, one day, I saw him delivering a speech and it became clear to me why his following was so wide. The guy was brilliant with both word and gesture. He had the audience eating out of his hand. Never mind his extreme right wing monetarist policies. He’s a nice guy!

A similar thing happened a couple of weeks ago when McCain chose the appalling Sarah Palin as his running mate. For a brief while, the electorate were beguiled by her feisty, tough mum thing. Someone who could cuddle her daughter one minute and take on uppity Russian presidents the next. Thankfully, voters quickly saw through this. A jump in the polls for McCain has been reversed and Obama is now back in front on all four main tracking polls.

Obama Clears The Path to The Whitehouse

This is also, in no small part, due to the banking crisis now strangling America. McCain, not noted for his prowess regarding financial matters, has pulled out of Friday’s first presidential TV debate with Obama to dash off to Washington and save the US economy. This is a risky strategy because the rescue plan has little voter sympathy plus only ten per cent of voters approve of cancelling the debate. Barack Obama has pledged to turn up for it anyway. It remains to be seen whether or not McCain makes the trip. Either way, it now looks very much like Obama is going to get his smooth ride into office after all.