Reply #88: They're not the base.... [View All]

Let's do some math, shall we?

According to a Gallup Poll from last year, 21% of the voting public self-identify as liberal.

Voter Identification

Now accordinging to a poll from just this week, Obama has the support of 85% of self-identified liberals with 12% expressing disapproval.

Liberal Approval

And so the liberals who disapprove of Obama, the ones Gibbs was talking about, comes to about 2% of the voting public. And if you're a politician and your base is only 2% of the voting public, then you're the candidate of the Green Party.

The cold, hard political calculus is that Obama can abuse this group to his heart's content because a) they're not bloody likely to vote for Sarah Palin in 2012 and b) there are more votes to be gained in the Moderate Middle than there are to lose from the Far Left. So Obama actually gains net support in 2012 by B-Slapping the Jane Hamsher's of the world.