Bucks, not bombs, leading voters

As the Iraq war becomes less politically important in the 2008 election, one issue in particular seems to be filling the void: It’s the economy again, stupid.

Two major national polls released Wednesday show emerging fears about the economy, leading presidential contenders to focus their messages toward a middle class increasingly worried about their children’s economic well-being.

{mosads}The George Washington University Battleground Poll shows the economy, taxes included, as the top issue on voters’ minds. The number of voters ranking the economy as their top issue doubled in the poll, to 21 percent, from five months ago, when it rated a distant third.

Likewise, a Reuters/Zogby poll out Wednesday showed 43 percent of voters expect a recession in the next year. That is up from 30 percent just two months ago.

Democratic pollster Celinda Lake suggested economic concerns are making a comeback as a potent political issue, and could rival their influence on the 1992 presidential election, in which then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton (D) rode the issue to victory.

“I think the voters that will determine this election are what I would call the anxious middle class,” Lake said. “These people do have some resilience, some sense of optimism, but are very concerned about their situation right now, very concerned about their children’s situation.”

While many voters see the economy in a downward trend, most polled in the George Washington survey see themselves in a good situation. Lake said that could change for the worse by Election Day.

More than two-thirds said they were optimistic about where they will be five years from now, but they were more pessimistic about the next generation. About the same number indicated they do not think the next generation will have a better quality of life. A quarter of those polled said rising healthcare costs will be the most important economic issue affecting their vote, but fuel prices, higher taxes and the national debt also ranked high.

“The good news for people running for office is that they do have some optimism about getting out of it and that a president can be a positive agent for change,” said GOP pollster Brian Nienaber.

— Aaron Blake

Obama opens up his Iowa budget books (sort of) in hopes of growing them

Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) Iowa state director offered supporters a behind-the-scenes way to get involved and help propel Obama to a win on Jan. 3 while also raising campaign funds for their favored candidate.

In an e-mail to supporters, Obama’s Iowa director, Paul Tewes said, “We’ve opened up the budget for our entire Iowa operation and catalogued everything we need to get the word out and win — everything from yard signs to radio and TV ads.”

By donating specific dollar amounts online, supporters are encouraged to target their donations toward specific items needed by the campaign.

The smallest donation of $24.84 buys the campaign 50 “Ready to go” signs at a Black Hawk County “Meet the Candidate” rally; the largest, $500, buys the Obama team a 30-second ad to be shown in Cedar Rapids during an episode of “Oprah.”

Even Cedar Rapids television advertisements run higher than $500 per half-minute, and the campaign acknowledged that the money actually goes into a large pool. It said the items are just examples of tools the campaign will buy with its funds.

“This campaign is about making sure ever dollar, every voter and every voice counts,” a campaign aide said. “We want people who are generous enough to donate their hard-earned money to know that we are using every cent to reach out to voters, which is why we cited the specific examples of how we would spend the contributions.”

The campaign also said that “the items and prices are based on real budget expenditures, and the numbers of times they are available for match with donations is realistic based on our budget.”

— Sam Youngman

With Mayor Bloomberg, the hints just keep on coming

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg keeps saying he has no interest in running for president as an Independent candidate.

But hints and rumors keep finding their way into press accounts, like a New York Daily News story this week that said Bloomberg and his aides are approaching his former campaign advisers about their availability if he decides to run next year.

Bloomberg, asked about the story Wednesday, denied that he or his aides had approached any advisers. But he didn’t stop there.

“You know, do I have advisers on lots of things? Sure,” Bloomberg said. “Do I know people — if I was going to run, I know exactly who to go to. But we haven’t changed anything or done anything.”

— Sam Youngman