April 10, 2008
"It's A Target-Rich Opportunity"
WASHINGTON -- Howard Dean said that Democratic National Committee polling out today of voters in 17 unidentified swing states indicates that John McCain has damaged his maverick brand since 2000 by aligning with President Bush on the war and courting the right wing of the party. He also said that voters doubt McCain's ability to handle their top issue, the economy.
Meanwhile, when voters were told that McCain doesn't want to pull out of Iraq, Dean said, "Independents leave him in droves."
"John McCain is a weak candidate," Dean said during a press conference with pollsters Cornell Belcher and Allan Rivlin, who conducted the survey. "He is very far out of step with the American people on the economy, on the war in Iraq and on health care. ... He has damaged his own brand."
The DNC and Republican National Committee released new polling within a day of each other. The RNC's results (see On Call post called 'RNC Internals') showed a vigorous GOP nom-to-be who would best each of his Dem rivals in a general election match-up. As the Democrats haven't yet sorted out their nomination fight, they omitted head-to-head contests from their survey, instead focusing on McCain's potential weakness on a range of issues. The DNC's polling, Dean said, showed a public unfamiliar with McCain's policy views but generally admiring of his service.
The Democratis polled 1,219 voters between March 24-27. They also conducted focus groups in Minneapolis and Charleston, WV.
"Swing voters in swing states are very sure that the nation is headed in the wrong direction," Rivlin said."This is a change election. ... And if they're looking for change, they're also pretty sure that John McCain is not the person who can bring them the change that they're looking for."
Voters ranked jobs and the economy at the top of their priority list, followed by Iraq, health care, and terrorism and national security. Popular GOP wedge issues -- immigration, abortion, gay marriage and taxes -- fell at the bottom of the pack.
Voters surveyed by the DNC said they don't know a lot about McCain, despite his decades in public life: 37% said they know a lot or a fair amount about him, 62% said they know some, very little or not much at all about the AZ senator.
"They're actually interested in learning more," Rivlin said.
The poll indicates that McCain's strengths are that he's honest and a man of integrity (62%) and a strong leader (43%). He didn't fair as well when voters were asked if he cares about people like you, is in step with voter priorities and is independent from wealthy special interests.
The poll showed doubts about McCain's handling of a range of issues. For example, 52% said they had doubts about his ability to manage the economy compared to 26% who expressed confidence in him. On health care, the divide was similar, 52%/25%. Iraq, too, 49%/38%.
"We found that all of these play into concerns of voters," Rivlin said. "This is not a hard sell. It's a target-rich opportunity."
Swing voters, Belcher said, "really, really are up for grabs."
Amber Wilkerson, RNC spokeswoman, countered in a statement that voters know McCain as a man of integrity.
“Howard Dean’s delusions aside, John McCain is widely respected for being straightforward and honest with the American people, and he has a lifelong and distinguished record of service that has warranted the admiration of voters from all walks of life," she said. "At the end of the day, Americans are going to elect Senator McCain as President because he has the judgment, character, and positive vision to strengthen our nation’s economy and win the War on Terror.”
Dean was asked by a reporter if the Dems polled on age. He said that unlike the party of Lee Atwater and Karl Rove, the Dems don't plan to make an issue of McCain's 71 years. He said there's a "higher ethical bar on our side of the aisle."
"I'm just not going to do that," Dean said. But Dean did note that McCain's views are "very old fashioned" and that "he's just out of step with what modern views are."
"He's really out of step with 21st Century America," Dean said. One example of being out of the mainstream, Dean said, is McCain's support for abstinence-only education, an issue that was raised by women during the Charleston, W.V., focus group.
Dean said more generally that just because the party polled in 17 states doesn't mean that they'll only target McCain there. He also noted that much as the GOP successfully painted Sen. John F. Kerry as a flip-flopper in 2004 and the Dems adeptly cast Mitt Romney in the same light during the GOP primary, the Dems will also target McCain for tweaking his views on a number of issues. Guns, for example.
"I think it's an enormous problem for him because it goes at his fitness," Dean said.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Posted at 02:08 PM
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