It Could Be Worse

As we all know by now, Barack Obama's endorsement of political candidates is the kiss of death for their political careers. Every time he endorses someone, they lose.

As David Broder pointed out yesterday, Specter’s failure “showed the Obama White house once again to be a toothless tiger -- with its endorsements now having failed in Virginia, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. No good news for the president there.”

Now, for some time, conservative political pundits have lamented the fact that Barack Obama constantly runs down the United States.

This is true.

But has anyone considered how much WORSE it would be if he endorsed America?

UPDATE:
Public Policy Polling took my advice and actually conducted a poll on this kind of question.

* 42 percent of the women surveyed said Obama's endorsement would make them less likely to vote for someone, with 36 percent of women viewing the president's support positively.

* 55 percent of men took a negative view of Obama's backing, while only 30 percent of men said the president's endorsement increased a candidate's chance of getting their votes.

* 54 percent of those identifying themselves as "independent" or "other," rather than Republican or Democrat, now view an Obama endorsement as a factor swaying them against voting for a candidate for office.

* Only 23 percent of such independent voters said his endorsement would make them more likely to support someone; the remaining 23 percent of independents said it didn't matter or they didn't know.

* A huge proportion of those independent voters -- 57 percent -- disapprove of the way the president is handling the ongoing BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, while only 27 percent approve.

* 44 percent of Hispanics said they would be less likely to vote for someone President Obama endorses, while only 33 percent were more likely. Among whites, the comparison was 55 percent to 27 percent. Blacks, however, were another story, with only 13 percent viewing an Obama endorsement dimly and 70 percent saying it would make them more likely to vote for someone. And 83 percent of blacks said they approved of Obama's handling of the Gulf oil disaster.

So, all the stereotypes are coming home to roost.