The following article could have been written in any election cycle ...
Pocketbook worries outweigh voters' concerns over war in Iraq
By JIM KUHNHENN and TREVOR TOMPSON, Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters began to worry more about their pocketbooks over the last month — even more than about the war in Iraq....
"...This latest AP-Yahoo! News survey of more than 1,800 people by Knowledge Networks offers a unique opportunity to track changes in public attitudes as the presidential campaign unfolds. The first poll was last month and set a base line to measure national sentiment.
In the new results, men and women approaching retirement were especially attentive to the economy and health care, with six out of 10 ranking both issues extremely important. Politically, the attention to such domestic issues hangs darkly over Republicans. Voters say they are far more likely to trust Democrats to handle the economy and health care."
Consider Linda Zimmerman, a 50-year-old sheep farmer from Thurmont, Md. Her daughter and son-in-law are having trouble keeping up with two mortgages on a town house, she said. One street in her neighborhood has five homes for sale, and one has been on the market for two years.
Registered as a Republican, she's ready to reconsider.
"We're Republicans and I'm very unhappy with them, and I've been watching the Democrats," she said. "We did better when (Bill) Clinton was in than we did with Bush. It's just terrible."
Terrible? Aren't things going better in Iraq? Wasn't that the real downer in America according to the media just a couple of months ago? And how did they ever find a sheep farmer in Thurmont, Md?
As 2008 and the election year approaches, there is really nothing new in the political playbook. For the Dems and the media worse is always better and the good news is always in the past.
http://news.yahoo.com/page/election-2008-political-pulse-voter-worries
Pocketbook worries outweigh voters' concerns over war in Iraq
By JIM KUHNHENN and TREVOR TOMPSON, Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters began to worry more about their pocketbooks over the last month — even more than about the war in Iraq....
"...This latest AP-Yahoo! News survey of more than 1,800 people by Knowledge Networks offers a unique opportunity to track changes in public attitudes as the presidential campaign unfolds. The first poll was last month and set a base line to measure national sentiment.
In the new results, men and women approaching retirement were especially attentive to the economy and health care, with six out of 10 ranking both issues extremely important. Politically, the attention to such domestic issues hangs darkly over Republicans. Voters say they are far more likely to trust Democrats to handle the economy and health care."
Consider Linda Zimmerman, a 50-year-old sheep farmer from Thurmont, Md. Her daughter and son-in-law are having trouble keeping up with two mortgages on a town house, she said. One street in her neighborhood has five homes for sale, and one has been on the market for two years.
Registered as a Republican, she's ready to reconsider.
"We're Republicans and I'm very unhappy with them, and I've been watching the Democrats," she said. "We did better when (Bill) Clinton was in than we did with Bush. It's just terrible."
Terrible? Aren't things going better in Iraq? Wasn't that the real downer in America according to the media just a couple of months ago? And how did they ever find a sheep farmer in Thurmont, Md?
As 2008 and the election year approaches, there is really nothing new in the political playbook. For the Dems and the media worse is always better and the good news is always in the past.
http://news.yahoo.com/page/election-2008-political-pulse-voter-worries
