The bailout sinks in Minnesota, according to STRIB poll

STAR TRIBUNE POLL as of 5:30 P.M. THURSDAY
Instant poll: Do you support a bailout for Wall Street?

# of votes % of votes
Yes 1043 26.0 %
No 2963 73.9 %
Total Votes 4006

Editor's note: Instant polls are intended as entertainment. They are not considered to be true measurements of public opinion.


The Poll

Here's my thoughts:
This plan may be gaining more traction with Democrats than Republicans in the House, but on the street, it's unpopular with everyone. Minnesota voters are a relatively liberal bunch, at least in the urban core. The Minneapolis Star Tribune is considered a left-leaning newspaper. And online readers are, arguably, younger and more liberal than print readers. (That's highly debatable, but still...)

So when these relatively liberal readers are polled about the Wall Street bail-out plan -- and they shoot it down 3-1 -- that means the plan is in trouble. If Wall Street can't win hearts and minds in Minnesota, good luck in the heartland. They'll eat you alive.

Corrollary 1: To the degree that Bush is pushing this plan -- and McCain is associated with Bush -- this hurts McCain more than it hurts Obama. Liberals are expected to support bailouts and government intervention; conservatives are not. Whatever McCain's stance on the bailout, you'll see some conservative diehards staying home on election day because of disgust with and division within the party over this. McCain looks uncertain about this plan, which means he looks uncertain about economic issues in general, already a weak spot in his campaign. And it's a bad time for the decider-in-chief to look uncertain. At a time when economic issues are at the forefront of voters' minds, he does not look like he's at the forefront of economic issues. In fact, he looks like what he is -- a rich old white man with an even wealthier wife, oblivious and impervious to downturns in the economy. Not a good thing for his campaign.

Corrollary 2: Disgusted with the bailout plan and with Bush, conservative voters are going to stay home on election day. That's going to hurt GOP races across the country. Obama will win; Dems will control the House by wider margins than at any other time in recent history. Mark my words.