Obama Bounce?

Fox News released a poll yesterday suggesting that Barack Obama got no bounce from his overseas road trip.

It seems a little early to me to be taking such a survey in the first place. Usually takes a few days to several days for events like this to register in poll results.

However, I think the big thing about the global tour is how it registers with the Democratic base. This is something not lost to Republicans who over the last few decades have always played to their base -- known to many Democrats as "right-wing nut-jobs."

On the Democratic side though, it has been the practice for many years now for candidates to distance themselves from the base, known to Republican stalwarts as "bleeding heart liberals." However, lately the latter, who are also known as "Yellow Dog Democrats" have been getting more love especially since Howard Dean ran for office. The opposite of a Yellow Dog is a Blue Dog. Among Blue Dogs, Bill Clinton is known as "Big Dog."

Barack Obama is in many ways a Howard Dean kind of guy. He's following Dean's 50 state strategy, for example. And Obama knows how to fire up some libs when he's in that mood.

Of course, there was much distress recently among the Yellow Dogs when Obama seemingly began to 'drift' toward the center after clinching the Democratic nomination. But this world trip, is just what the doctor ordered for the progressive bunch. Liberals like a president who is popular overseas with our allies. Conservatives tend to think of Europe as "socialist."

While conservative may have looked at the huge crowd of 200,000 Germans who came to see Obama in Berlin with a suspicious eye, the bleeding hearts of lefties were more likely filled with joy.

And Obama will need the base of the party for his 50 state strategy to work. It is from this base that he will pull the volunteers needed to register voters and then assure they go to vote in November.

I'm betting that this trip has pacified many of Barack's supporters on the left who were fearing that Barack was going Blue Dog on them.



Obama on the road.

Sen. Obama meets with Gen. Powell

News reports indicate that Barack Obama is scheduled to have two meetings with former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

General Powell is a former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first African American to serve as Secretary of State. The two had met privately already on June 18.

Previously, Powell has made positive statements about Obama despite the fact that he is a Republican fueling speculation that he might endorse the Illinois senator. It is widely believed that Powell became disenchanted while serving in George W. Bush's administration over the intelligence information he received and used to justify the Iraq War.

Some have even wondered whether Powell might be offered the VP slot although most consider it unlikely that two African Americans on the same ticket would be a good idea.

It should also be noted that Powell has made recent positive statements concerning Sen. John McCain.

The Powell meeting might also fuel some backlash that has been flaming up among Obama's more progressive-leading supporters. There has been increasing talk that Barack is moving more toward the "center" in an attempt to attract more conservative voters.

Of course, this is a fairly common electoral strategy, but some may see it as contrary to the message of change espoused by the Obama campaign.