Hurts Me More Than It Hurts You

Those calling for HRC to drop out and the latest superdels backing Obama are focused on the same point: the dragged-out process is hurting the party and helping McCain. But is that true?

According to the latest Hotline/Diageo poll, taken just before the 5/6 primaries, Obama and HRC remain well-liked among Dem voters. Despite Obama's rough few weeks, 56% of Dems said they'd vote for him "enthusiastically", the same percentage as did in 3/08.

Meanwhile, McCain's time on the sidelines hasn't been helping him. His approval ratings have dropped 10 pts since 3/08, while Obama's have dropped just 4. HRC's? They're up 3. Among GOP voters, more now say they're voting for McCain as a vote against the Dem, not as an enthusiastic vote for him.

This doesn't mean Obama's bruise-free. Among Dems who say they'd either stay home or back McCain in 11/08, 16% said it was due to Obama's lack of experience -- an issue, of course, that McCain already is trying to exploit. And among indie voters, Obama is not seen as positively as he was in 3/08. Today, his fav/unfav among those voters is tied in the mid-40s, not much better than HRC's 43/49%.