WP, pg1: For Delegates From Swing States, The Watchword Is . . . Worry

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: For Those From Swing States, The Watchword Is . . . Worry
By Alec MacGillis and Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, August 26, 2008; A01

....As the Democrats kicked off a convention designed to unite support behind Obama, interviews with several dozen delegates pointed to an undercurrent of anxiety among many from key swing states who will be charged with leading the push in their communities. They expressed doubts bordering on bewilderment: Why, in a year that had been shaping up as a watershed for Democrats, amid an economic downturn and an unpopular Republican presidency, is the race so tight?

The sentiment is strongest among former supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, though it is not limited to them. While many say they now back Obama -- a New York Times-CBS poll of delegates showed widespread support -- they are candid about the challenges they say he faces in their states....

To be sure, many delegates here confidently shared the campaign's assurance that all is going according to plan. They argued that polls understate Obama's strength because they miss many of his younger supporters who use cellphones, and that many voters are only now tuning in to the election....(A) delegate from Niceville, Fla., said she is impressed by the excitement about Obama in her mostly Republican area. "He can carry the state," she said.

Delegates were interviewed at state get-togethers, at targeted events such as rural and African American caucuses, and on the street. They largely represented the swing states where the last few elections were decided -- Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, as well as New Hampshire and others.

The delegates offered plenty of advice, such as urging Obama to deliver a more visceral message on the economy to win over stressed working-class voters....

But for some delegates, the concern is a more fundamental one: They do not share Obama's confidence that he can overcome the resistance many voters may have to electing a black president with an unusual background and name....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/25/AR2008082503034_pf.html

[lapfog_1]

1. Perhaps they need only look at a mirror. - n/t

[GoesTo11]

2. Same day WaPo editorial: Democratic worrywarts: Snap out of it.

If they want to win in November, Democrats have one task to accomplish this week: Snap out of it.
...
Even with the fundamentals teed up and the stars smiling, winning the White House was never going to be a walk in the park for any Democrat. The party will have had a successful convention if, at the end of the week, Democrats stop all the worrying and declare a moratorium on second-guessing. Go shake some hands and kiss some babies.

(The incomparable Eugene Robinson)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/25/AR2008082502336.html

[sandnsea]

3. SD Dems Enthralled With Michelle

If you focus on the negative, you get negative. If we don't repeat the positive, who will?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6752405&mesg_id=6752405

[Skink]

4. Atleast the NYT still reports the news. The WP could try for that.

Whatever. Rupert Murdoch doesn't really care.

[ChiciB1]

5. Don't Know What Has Happened To WP... In My Time... The Woodward/Bernstein Era

they had great investigative reporters, now they seem to nit-pick with negativity! No longer do I see much support for Liberal ideas. However, reporting is really reporting anymore, it's just "opinion" or the flavor of the day!

Gone the way of MSM IMHO! Same with NYT!