Speaking at one of the biggest Democratic rallies since 2008, he reminded the crowd of 35,000 at Ohio State University of all the enthusiasm there had been then, the doors being knocked on, the phone booths manned, election night itself and the inauguration concert, with Beyonce and Bono.
He told them to rekindle that mood and campaign just as hard again now, adding that it was never just about getting him elected. "It was about building a movement for change that lasted for a long time. We will build a movement for change that will last 10 years from now and 20 years from now," he said.
But, with election day just over a fortnight away, his appeal may be too late. An Associated Press poll published today showed a quarter of those surveyed who had backed Obama in the 2008 White House election were considering voting Republican.
The Democratic party campaign leaders, bowing to political reality, are cancelling millions in advertising planned for Congressional candidates they no longer believe are capable of winning, and transferring the cash to shore up seats previously regarded as safe.
The Republicans said yesterday they were expanding each day the number of contests they now see as winnable. They are on course to take control of the House and to reduce the Democratic majority in the Senate to a handful, according to polls. At stake on 2 November are 37 of the 100 US Senate seats, all 435 House seats, and 37 of the 50 governorships.
The chairman of the Republican Senatorial committee, John Cornyn, predicted they might have to wait until 2012. "We're going to fight for every seat we can possibly get," he told Fox News. "I'm not predicting we're going to get back to the majority. It may be a two-cycle process."
With Obama unwilling to trumpet his success in securing health reform and with unemployment hovering around 10%, he has gone negative, playing on fears of the impact of Republican control of Congress, warning of a return to Bush-era politics. One of his main campaign messages is that the Republicans are the beneficiaries of anonymous foreign donations, a claim he has so far failed to prove.
At the university he was joined for the first time on the campaign trail since 2008 by the First Lady, Michelle Obama, who introduced him.
He attacked the Republicans for exploiting the economic crisis, counting on voters "forgetting who caused the mess in the first place". He had been trying to solve the economic mess, but "it doesn't happen as quick as we want".
The AP-Knowledge Networks poll, of 1,254 potential voters published today found that among Democrats surveyed only half of those who voted for Obama in 2008 said they will definitely vote on 2 November, an ambivalence that contrasts with the enthusiasm of Republicans intent on punishing Obama and the Democratic incumbents.
The poll, conducted between 17 September and 7 October, went back to people surveyed in 2008.
No comments:
Post a Comment