UA-9726592-1

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Democrats still suffering from an enthusiasm gap

Post political reporter Sam Stein went on Morning Joe this morning to discuss a variety of topics. A big concern is the relative voter energy of Democrats and Republicans in the run-up to this fall's midterm elections.

Stein called a recent Gallup poll that shows Republicans substantially leading Democrats in voter enthusiasm "the more concerning number" than the generic congressional ballot showing a narrower Republican advantage.  Stein said:

Obviously this past year and a half has taken a toll I think on the enthusiasm gap.

Stein went on to point out Obama's dropping numbers among Hispanic voters in particular. Stein said:

I think what happened was is they saw that immigration reform was being pushed down the political calendar, they ended up growing disenchanted with this president, and they ended up walking away," . "Now whether they go to the Republican party is a whole other bag.

The only way this enthusiasm gap will be resolved is with some serous Democratic leadership efforts. This may be Obama's biggest challenge, perhaps bigger than winning the 2008 elections.

No comments: