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HALLI CASSER-JAYNE - bio
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WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR
Posted, November 3, 2008, 12:01 p.m

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Jiminy Cricket, when you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are everything your heart desires will come to you.

Americans are in a wishing mood; more than two thirds of Americans say they are more enthusiastically engaged in the 2008 cycle than any other in their lives.

They’re wishin’ and hopin’ and thinkin’ and prayin’ plannin’ and dreaming each night of his charms, that the magic of Barack Obama will bring joy back into their lives, money into their pocketbooks, and possibility back into their future. Americans are voting for their fairy godfather for president, because if your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme, when you wish upon a star as dreamers do.

When reality gets too tough it’s time for wishin’ and hopin’ and prayin’ and wishin’ upon that star.

Most Americans think the country is going to hell in a hand basket. They’re sick and tired of the Iraq War and at home their pocketbooks are hurting. Finding a decent job ain’t what it used to be. The cost of feeding a family today is ridiculous. Heating bills have skyrocketed, and fueling the car needed to transport our citizens back and forth costs an arm and a leg.

It’s upsetting to speak about health care these days; the system is broken. And let’s not talk about those pesky little adjustable rate mortgages that too many Americans are holding bought with the promise that they could refinance at lower rates but they can’t.

All this happened on the Republican watch, under the eight years of leadership of George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney. The Republican brand is branded. President Bush's approval rating, 25%, is the lowest of any modern president just before an election. Presidential candidate John McCain wears the Republican brand. No, McCain isn’t Bush or Cheney, but he is a Republican. McCain better start wishin’ if he hopes to win the presidency, and if he does, it will be on a wing and that prayer.

In a USA Today/Gallup Poll conducted Friday through Sunday, Americans were asked to predict the state of their personal finances four years from now. Fully 48% say they'd be better off under a President Obama; just 27% say that of a President McCain, not exactly good news for John McCain the day before the historic presidential 2008 election.

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"This looks to be an election characterized by a thorough and nearly unprecedented rejection of the incumbent” says Larry Jacobs of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota.

If Democrat Barack Obama holds his current lead and wins, Jacobs says it will be more of a "negative referendum" on the past rather than a "positive mandate" for a future agenda.

According to the poll, the public is more downbeat now than it has been in the weeks before any other election in modern times. A record low 13% say they're satisfied with the way things are going in the United States. But more than half say the economy is in bad shape, the highest in the five elections the question has been asked. A record 78% of those polled predict the economy is getting worse.

In the survey, Obama beats Republican John McCain by 53%-42% among likely voters, the biggest lead since they became their party’s a likely nominees in March. While presidential races historically tighten in the final days, the USA TODAY survey shows this one widening.

Here’s another reason for McCain to be wishing upon that star before he goes to bed tonight. McCain’s strongpoint going into the general election was national security. No more. The poll asked about the nation's security in four years, an equal 37% say the country would be safer under a President Obama or a President McCain. Twinkle, twinkle little star.

Asked about federal income taxes, 48% say their taxes would be higher in four years under Obama; 50% under McCain.

Asked about health care costs, 42% say they would rise under Obama; 61% say that of McCain.

And let’s not forget down ballot candidates. Democratic congressional candidates have a 15 percentage point lead among registered voters, the widest advantage for either party since 1964.  

The poll of 3,050 adults has a margin of error of +/—2 percentage points. Obama's lead among likely voters is identical using the traditional Gallup screen and an alternative screen that includes more new voters.

So, there you have it. That’s the way it is twenty-four hours before the official voting begins in the 2008 Presidential Election. It looks like America is wishing upon the star, Barack Obama, and that John McCain doesn’t have a prayer of becoming the 44th President of the United States of America.

While hope springs eternal for all of those supporting John McCain for the voters in Obama’s camp one can’t help being reminded of that old proverb, “Be careful what you wish for...”

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Reprints only by permission from Halli Casser-Jayne/The CJ Political Report