Obama Fatigue

It's still only August, and apparently people are tired of at least one candidate -- Barack Obama.

Some 48% of Americans say they've seen and heard too much about the Illinois senator and presumptive Dem nominee, according to one recent survey. In part this is a function of all that coverage from his trip overseas. In part it's him and his wife appearing on the cover of nearly every magazine published in the western world. In part it's because poor John McCain struggles to get any media love. After all, the same survey finds only 26% say they've been exposed to too much about the Arizona senator and GOP likely nominee.

What does this mean in the long run, as we get past Labor Day and into the campaign proper? Maybe people are just sick of all the politics, but to be honest I'm surprised that many are paying any attention at all, at least enough to be "fatigued" by the coverage. We seem to be getting ads earlier than usual and that's invading our entertainment time. Maybe that's part of it. Or maybe the gloss is rubbing off the Obama "change" campaign, at least enough to make some people just a little tired.

Can you be overexposed as a candidate for the presidency? Can you peak too soon? No, and yes. A contradiction, but absolutely you can peak too soon. As poll numbers edge down, they feed on themself, as does the all-important $ in campaign funds.

The Obama folks gotta come up with an answer for this, because you can be damn sure the McCain people right now are attacking him on this and a number of fronts, and quite well. What people know about the campaign may turn out to be more a case of what they're sick of hearing about.