You Can Never Be Too Rich, Too Thin, or Too Popular

When I went to candidate/operative training a few years ago, someone in the audience asked if they should be worried about frustrating voters by making too many phone calls and door-to-door appearances. Our speaker said no, that the gains you make by speaking to voters directly, most of whom are thirsty for some information about down-ballot candidates, will more than offset the losses due to turned off voters. After all, most of them will get over it and vote for the candidate they think is best; voting is not something that people usually do in a fit of pique. The lesson hear is that first order effects (talking to voters) always vastly outweigh second order effects (pissing off a few of them).

This is a way of introducing the Wall Street Journal's latest addition to the concern troll file for Obama's overseas trip. Three of the five "lasting moments" are negatives, including his cancelled visit to troops in Germany (due to Pentagon regulations), speculation that his trip will be seen as a snub of "Main Street USA", and further speculation that he won't be able to "close the sale in Poughkeepsie rather than Paris". No evidence is given that these moments will last or that the public is so isolationist as to not care about this stuff. Obama's trip,has been the most covered political event since Obama won the nomination. The idea that the trip was a net minus is silly; the coverage would have to be unfailingly negative for that to be the case. I'm not one to take tracking polls as gospel, but the evidence we have shows that Obama received a boost from the trip. Facts, it would seem, have a liberal bias.

And by the way, rarely was the question asked, was Reagan ever too popular for his own good?

Comments

[litbrit]

I'm not one to take tracking polls as gospel, but the evidence we have shows that Obama received a boost from the trip. Facts, it would seem, have a liberal bias.

And by the way, rarely was the question asked, was Reagan ever too popular for his own good?

Hear, hear.

*applauds*

[Sir Charles]

I fear Obama could get too thin -- and then McCain could try to assemble some sort of fat guy coalition against him. He might lure them with donuts. With sprinkles.

I'm wavering already.

[Philly]

I know that "Poughkeepsie" is just alliterative shorthand for podunky-sounding Amurkin place to juxtapose with Paris, but would it kill them to pick a city that's actually in a swing state?

(Also, having lived in Poughkeepsie for four years as student at a certain former women's college there, I can tell you that Obama's certainly going to carry the majority black City of Poughkeepsie, although he'll have a harder go of it in the surrounding suburban Town of Poughkeepsie. Dutchess County outside of Poughkeepsie is a Republican stronghold. Still I imagine that it's trended more blue in the last few years.)