Apparently, Barack Obama’s problems in the polls are magnified in West Virginia:
West Virginia’s registered Democrats, like their cousins in western Pennsylvania and eastern and southern Ohio, are having a hard time fitting anywhere within Barack Obama’s vision of the Democratic party.
“Obama and his message just do not gel with me,” said Mark Lamp as he climbed into his utility truck. Lamp, 47, from neighboring Weirton, is a registered Democrat who voted for Clinton in the May primary.
“My first problem with him is taxes, the second is experience,” he explained.
Lamp has worked in construction all of his life, and the company he works for builds houses in the tri-state area. “We have been busy all year.” He sees very few signs of the economy or gas prices hurting him, and they are not what drives his vote.
“I vote leadership. That is why I voted for Hillary and why I will vote McCain.”
Al Gore failed to connect with West Virginia voters in 2000–the state had gone Democratic since Reagan’s 1984 reelection campaign. John Kerry carried that tradition forward by only getting 43 percent of the vote in 2004.
All signs are pointing to Obama facing similar numbers.
“I will admit we have an uphill battle,” said Tom Vogel, West Virginia’s Democratic state party executive director, “but I haven’t given up yet.”
In fact, given how poorly Obama did in West Virginia’s primary back in May, I would bet that he’ll do worse than Kerry there.
