Can McCain Overcome the GOP Brand?

It’s remarkable that, with all of the bad news for Bush and the GOP, the huge crowds that Obama is generating at events, the undeniable Democratic surge in turnout in this year’s primaries and the horrendous state of the Republican brand just nine months before Election Day, McCain is even competitive with Obama in recent polling, let alone ahead in a couple of surveys. Indeed, last week I spoke with two smart, extremely levelheaded political consultants – one Republican and one Democrat – who told me separately that he/she (let’s not narrow the possibilities) believed McCain would defeat Obama for the White House in November. At this point, that seems a bit of a stretch to me, but that’s not the point. Given the national mood and images of the parties, Obama should be leading McCain regularly in national polling by10 to 15 points.