Poor Folks Just Fine With "Uppity" Obama

By Cernig

Poor people know uppity - and appear to be just fine with the man the McCain campaign is desperately using code to depict as an uppity n...I mean, "newcomer with pretensions over his ability". But the Washington Post is loathe to admit it in their lede.

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama holds a 2 to 1 edge over Republican Sen. John McCain among the nation's low-wage workers, but many are unconvinced that either presidential candidate would be better than the other at fixing the ailing economy or improving the health-care system, according to a new national poll.

What, so two thirds support Obama because he won't look after their interests better than McCain? There's got to be more than that, surely...

The WaPo continues to say that Obama is waaaay ahead among poor blacks and hispanics - but is even 10 points ahead among poor whites polled, a demographic far more likely to self-identify as conservatives. Doesn't McCain have a problem here? Where's the inertia in voting for the elitist?

Their politics are shaped partly by their lot in the current economy: These voters are among the most severely hurt by rising prices, and many are insecure about their finances and lack jobs with basic benefits. Nevertheless, many are optimistic about the future even as they express deep suspicion about government.

Hang on - "Their politics are shaped partly by their lot in the current economy" - doesn't that rather contradict the lede?

The new poll included interviews with 1,350 randomly selected workers 18 to 64 years old who put in at least 30 hours a week but earned $27,000 or less last year. As a group, they are somewhat less likely to be Republicans than all adults under age 65 and are also less likely to be registered to vote. As many call themselves conservatives as liberal, and nearly four in 10 said their views on most political matters are "moderate."

The group, which accounts for nearly a quarter of U.S. adults, gives the Democrat the nod both as the more empathetic candidate and as the one who more closely shares their values. And while many express no opinion about who would do more to improve the economy or health care -- or the voters' finances -- Obama has the clear edge among those who picked a favorite on these core issues.

How much of a clear edge?

seven in 10 [of the working-class white voters polled] say government should focus on helping people like them find more affordable health insurance, a core component of Obama's campaign. Just over four in 10 favor placing a top priority on tax cuts or on creating jobs through an expansion of public works projects.

Overall, the survey suggests that Obama's economic appeals have the most resonance with white workers who are under the greatest financial stress. He leads by 19 percentage points among those white workers who feel "very insecure" financially; that is more than double his advantage among those in the group who feel better off.

A nineteen point lead among the vast majority of the "white, working and poor" demographic who have figured out that Republican economics mean they get poorer. Yeah, I'd say that was a "clear edge".

Among the African Americans polled, 92 percent chose Obama as the candidate more concerned with their problems; not a single black respondent said so about McCain, although 1 percent said "both do." Hispanics also sided with Obama on that question, favoring him by more than 40 percentage points as the more empathetic candidate.

Poor people know "elitism", Senator McCain. They experience it from the sharp end every day. It appears they've already figured out who the uncaring elitist is - the one who comes from the "rich get richer" party.