by Mark Silva
John McCain's greatest liability in November may be George W. Bush, a new poll run by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal suggest: "43 percent of registered voters say they have major concerns that McCain is too closely aligned with the current administration.
Hillary Clinton's problem may be shifting positions on issues: 36 percent say that Clinton seems to change her position on issues such as driver licenses for undocumented immigrants and the North American Free Trade Agreement, which her husband signed but she now opposes.
Barack Obama is confonting his own own words: With 34 percent saying they are bothered by his remarks about the "bitterness'' of working class voters and 32 percent voicing concern over Obama's associations with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Chicago nd onetime 1960s radical and now-Illinois professor William Ayers.
"That Bush might be the biggest albatross heading into November's presidential election is yet another sign of the difficult environment facing the Republican Party,'' NBC News reports today.
The survey found that 73 percent of voters disapproved of the president's handling of the economy and 81 percent believe the United States is in a recession. "You look at the political atmospherics, they are so clearly tilted to the Democrats," Republican pollster Neil Newhouse, who conducted the survey with the Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, reports. Republicans "will need every break they can get."
Yet, while Democrats hold an 18-point advantage over Republicans in a generic presidential ballot test (51-33 percent) in the NBC/Journal survey, Obama holds only a 3 percentage point advantage over McCain (46-43 percent) and Clinton holds only a marginal advantage over McCain (45-44 percent).
The survey of 1,006 registered voters was conducted from April 25-28 and carries a possible margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
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Comments
And McSame is adamant about continuing every failed policy of Bush's, unless we're talking about his awesome new healthcare program. Employee sponsered programs will be eliminated and health care providers will only have to insure healthy people. Got to help out those struggling corporations, ya know.
Posted by: Vicki Iseman | May 1, 2008 10:05 AM
I've tried to keep an open mind but oh the mental gymnastics that are required to be a Republican. First I'm told I shouldn't vote for Obama because he's a secret Muslim bent on taking over the United States to establish an Islamic Caliphate here in America. Then last week I'm told not to vote for Obama because he's the wrong kind of Christian. It kind of got me thinking, maybe I should look at what HIS policy positions are instead. You know what, he says a lot of things that make sense. Bombing Iran doesn't make sense to me, John McCain. Thanks news media! I'm using my brain instead of you to get information that is useful for this election.
Posted by: charles seterline | May 1, 2008 10:15 AM
McCain shouldn't feel too bad. Bush is EVERYONE'S problem, unfortunately.
Posted by: Op109 | May 1, 2008 10:19 AM
McBush is trying to separate himself from Bush now by criticizing the federal response to hurricane Katrina and the Bush Admin leadership in Iraq, but he spent the last two years kissing up to Bush and his supporters to win the nomination. Bush is going to beat McCain again in 2008.
Posted by: Tom O | May 1, 2008 10:32 AM
Not to mention that Bush and McCain oppose the new GI bill from Sen. Jim Webb of VA. The Republicans think that offering a college education and other benefits is too much of an incentive to keep the soldiers in the military rather than compensate them for placing their heart, mind and body in harms way. 20,000+ injuries that have left soldiers waiting months for aid from the VA show just how much the administration cares about our soldiers. The Republican position is "die for us, but don't expect us to care about you once you are no longer useful to us!" Talk about an abusive relationship.
I believe McCain to be a hero for what he went through in Vietnam, but I don't trust him to have the proper judgement to deal with the war, soldiers care or foreign policy. That's quite a sad contradiction don't you think?
Posted by: Todd M | May 1, 2008 10:38 AM
You can talk about Obamas' association with Wright, but McBushs' association with Bush is much more frieghtning
to me. Whoever wins the Dem nomination I will support. We can't afford to let these policies of Bush continue under McBush. Finish the real war on terror in Afghanistan and bring our troops home.
Posted by: bill r. | May 1, 2008 10:55 AM
McCains problem: He's a kept man while calling Obama elite. Pity. McShame is Cindy Budweiser-Distributorship's houseboy. According to The WSJ, she has had the vanity plates "MSBUD". What, no Ms John?
Posted by: Vivian | May 1, 2008 11:29 AM
I believe McCain to be a hero for what he went through in Vietnam, but I don't trust him to have the proper judgement to deal with the war, soldiers care or foreign policy. That's quite a sad contradiction don't you think?
Posted by: Todd M | May 1, 2008 10:38 AM
I feel exactly the same way. How can somebody who went thru that experience subject another generation of our fellow soldiers with "stay the course"?
I would have happily voted for him in 2000. But unfortunately, this is not the same guy from 2000.
Posted by: jack hussein | May 1, 2008 11:29 AM
You can talk about Obamas' association with Wright, but McBushs' association with Bush is much more frieghtning
to me. Whoever wins the Dem nomination I will support. We can't afford to let these policies of Bush continue under McBush. Finish the real war on terror in Afghanistan and bring our troops home.
Posted by: bill r. | May 1, 2008 10:55 AM
Absolutely correct. Whoever wins the Dem nomination I will support. We can't afford to let these policies of Bush continue under McBush. Can't say it enough times.
Posted by: jack hussein | May 1, 2008 11:45 AM
I wonder if McCain gets to the White House, will he take down the sign in the oval office pointing to the capitol building that says "The Buck Stops There"?
Posted by: Kenneth Janowski | May 1, 2008 12:00 PM
McBush wants to continue and possibly expand (Iran) our commitment of forces in the Middle East. McBush, in the face of Jr. Bush's additional $3 trillion in National debt, wants to make permanent the Paris Hilton Relief Act. McBush wants to eliminate SS and Medicare and let market forces (Social Darwinism) dictate who survives in this country. Good thing Cons are big on guns. They're going to need them when the social revolution begins in this country.
Posted by: dt | May 1, 2008 12:15 PM
Face it, Obwright will not be the next president.
Posted by: Amaob | May 1, 2008 12:53 PM
Count me in as an Obama supporter who will vote for Clinton if I have to. I don't want her to be President, but she's less scary than McSame.
Posted by: Cheryl | May 1, 2008 1:40 PM
"BUSH SPEAKS"
IT'S NOT MY FAULT, I DON'T EVEN LIKE THE GUY!
IT'S WON'T BE MY FAULT, I DIDN'T FORCE HIS VOTE IN 1990, HE VOTED AGAINST CIVIL RIGHTS ALL ON HIS OWN MERITS AND CONVICTIONS. HE DIDN'T KNOW THERE WERE ACTUALLY "BLACK SOLDIERS" IN VIETNAM, HE WAS IN THE "DARK" THE WHOLE TIME. YOU CAN AGREE OR DISAGREE ABOUT THE "CONFEDERATE FLAG" I DIDN'T CALL IT A "SYMBOL OF HERITAGE" HE DID!
AS FAR A "TORTURE" WELL AMERICANS DON'T TORTURE, SO I DON'T CARE WHAT JOHN MCCAIN CALLED IT, BUT I KNOW NOW HE CONSIDERS IT "OKAY"
MCCAIN IS ON HIS OWN WHEN IT COMES TO MARTIN LUTHER KIND DAY IN HIS HOME STATE! MAYBE IT'S HIS BACKERS WHO FORCED HIS HAND TO "VOTE NO" THIS IS THE AGE OF THE "VISUAL" AND JOHN MCCAIN IS VERY VISUAL, HIS VOTING RECORD IS "VISUAL" JUST LOOK AT HIS HOME STATE, HE DIDN'T EVEN VOTE FOR HIS "MARSHALL LAW IMMIGRATION BILL" HE HAS HIS OWN "AGENTS OF INTOLLERANCE" TO DEAL WITH, I DIDN'T TAKE MONEY FROM THEM, I JUST GAVE IT TO THEM IN A "FAITH BASED WAY"
STOP HIDING BEHIND MY MISTAKES JOHN AND STEP UP AND RECOGNIZE YOUR OWN MISTAKES. MCCAIN DETAINEE AMENDMENT WAS HIS, NOT JOHN YOO. HE REAFFIRMED IT THOUGH!
NOT ME, I JUST SENT A "MEMO" ON IT.
Posted by: Roger Morris | May 1, 2008 7:45 PM