No one cared about the deficit when Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles—aka the 'catfood commission'—dominated the news with it. Even fewer do now. (Larry Downing/Reuters)
From the latest CBS/New York Times
poll (6/3-7/11 results):
Which one issue would you most like to hear the candidates for president discuss during the 2008 presidential campaign?
Economy 22 (35)
Jobs 22 (12)
Health care/Medicare/Medicaid 9 (9)
Government/Politicians 7 (3)
BUDGET DEFICIT 4 (11)
Education 3 (3)
Taxes 3 (1)
Immigration 2 (2)
Environment 1 (1)
Social Security 1 (1)
Moral/Religious values 1 (0)
Foreign Policy 1 (2)
Fuel Costs 1 (1)
Housing costs 1 (1)
Abortion 1 (0)
Terrorism 0 (0)
Defense 0 (2)
Energy 0 (2)
So mid-last year, at the height of deficit hysteria, just 11 percent of voters gave a damn about the deficit. But that was way too high, as just four percent give a damn now.
Add up those guys, with the one percent that wants to obsess about abortion and moral values, and Rick Santorum can claw his way to 12 6 percent of the vote! Then Republicans can demagogue on terrorism, which will add them another zero percent to their total, and they'll be well on their way to an electoral rout!
Yeah, obviously a bunch of people who care about the economy think Obama's socialist communist ways created a recession that began under George W. Bush's administration, and yes, they'll ignore the 11-year high of the NASDAQ and 4-year high of the Dow. But still, it's dramatic how little GOP actions in the last few weeks gel with what people really want to talk about.
Let's hope Republicans keep trying to impose employer morality on all Americans. Let's hope they keep harping on about the evils of birth control. Let's hope they keep trying to wield the terrorist boogeyman. Because people have bigger and more relevant issues to worry about.
It's no accident that Obama's numbers are rising as the GOP's crater.
