Obama v the GOP, on Policy

That GOP pal weighs in to further the "we're not afraid of Obama" meme:

General elections aren't Democratic primaries. Voters [vote on] their physical and economic security. Republican arguments typically appeal to more voters on those two issues... On national security, obviously, where we will have a considerable advantage, and on the choice between smaller government, lower taxes and free market solutions versus bigger government, higher taxes and government mandates. However... voters' perception of character is [also] very influential. And on that score, I'll match my guy against Mr. Obama anyday.

As I said before, this is plausible but depends on Iraq being a non-factor in the general election -- and on the Rs making up some serious ground on economic issues. The war's unpopularity, remember, is what drove the D's to beat the R's in doing a "better job of protecting the country" by 47 to 42 percent last fall; I can't explain why people say that Democrats will do a better job of "keeping the country company* prosperous" by 54 to 34 -- or at least they did. The most recent numbers I could find are from last September. I'm sure we'll be seeing more polling on that soon.

* Clearly am high today.