Philip might chastise me for citing Joe Klein as a source of vindication:
Lots of speculation on the web, and in whispering circles, about why Obama’s foreign trip . . . hasn’t resulted in a polling bump. The emerging conventional wisdom seems to be that the trip is a bit too grand, too…presumptuous and voters are wary of that. . .
People may be thinking, what on earth is Obama doing over there when we have so many problems back home? Why isn’t he talking about the economy? . . . I wouldn’t be surprised if Obama is paying a price for vamping about overseas while banks are cratering, gas prices soar and people are getting really, really nervous about their futures.
From the get-go, I’ve seen this foreign trip as a mistake for Obama, and if Joe Klein’s friends are now starting to fear the shark-jump potential, I will resist the temptation to engage in an end-zone victory dance. We’re still too far from Nov. 5, and the race is still too close, for anyone to claim their prophetic insight has been proven.
UPDATE: Struggling to stay in the no-gloat zone, I observe that the latest Gallup daily tracking poll shows Obama 45%, McCain 43% — a two-point lead that is four points less what it was three days ago.
