Starting To Look Like Kerry: Obama Trails McCain In New Poll

Image via Wikipedia Reuters carries the new Zogby poll indicating McCain has taken a 5 point lead over Obama for the first time during the election season. With the selection of a VP dragging on, and the Democrat Party Convention only 1 week away, that’s rather shocking.

The poll indicates Obama’s flipping on FISA, abortion, gay marriage, and other liberal touch points is starting to hurt his base among liberals, a group he cannot win without. Despite his belief that he can influence a large group of voters that will never vote for him in the south and midwest, his true base remains among the progressively charged in this country, and their numbers are significant enough to counter the right wing. Losing them is worse than gaining a small few from evangelical groups who will oppose progressive change anyways.

It’s a pity he has received bad advice about this. Sadly, many who claim to be liberals and progressives are reducing themselves to issue voters by organizing for Obama only to save US Supreme Court appointments. Perhaps whats needed to truly energize the liberal and progressive base in this country is to sit this election out, demonstrate the power of the voting block, and let the rest of the country/world see how bad it’s going to get?

It will be interesting to see how this new poll will be interpreted by the Obama team, and whether his themes will change to re-embrace the liberals he had sought so early in his campaign. Amusing, actually. And for the record, very progressive here.