The Enthusiasm Gap
October 12, 2012 by Chip Wood
How many of these voters will stay home? Here’s a worrisome fact for Barack Obama supporters: There’s a tremendous decline in voters who express “high interest” in the election. The drops are the greatest in Hispanics and young voters (ages 18 to 34) — two groups that overwhelmingly supported Obama in 2008. Meanwhile, one group whose “high interest” numbers have risen is Christian evangelicals — a segment that is expected to vote heavily for the Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan ticket.
Wall Street switches sides. A new study from the Center for Responsive Politics shows an amazing shift in support by employees of major banks in this year’s Presidential election. Contributions to Barack Obama from people at Goldman Sachs are down 85 percent compared to 2008. Gifts from staff at Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are way down, too. Meanwhile, a lot of questions are being raised about donations from foreign sources, one area where Obama contributions have soared. Some critics charge the donations are very suspicious (and unverifiable).
Yet another Biden gaffe. I had to finish this column before last night’s Vice Presidential debate, so I don’t know if Joe Biden committed another of the gaffes for which he has become notorious. But he sure pulled a beauty last week, when he said “yes, we do,” in response to Republican charges that he and Obama want to raise taxes by $1 trillion (but only on the “super-rich,” of course). Biden insisted: “That’s not a tax raise. That’s called fairness where I come from.”
–Chip Wood
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