Pirate's Cove

This toxic, via The Daily Caller’s Matt Lewis

Things appear to be tightening in Maryland, where a poll leaked to The Daily Caller shows the gubernatorial race is “extremely close — only 2 points, 46 to 44, separate Democratic Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown and Republican small businessman Larry Hogan.”

One should always be cognizant of outliers — and it’s worth noting that this survey was commissioned by theMaryland Republican Party. It’s also true that polls conducted by Gonzales this cycle have tended to show the race tighter than others — but as the Washington Post noted, Gonzales “does not have a partisan track record.”

With those caveats out of the way, let’s assume for a minute this survey is accurate. This would represent a nine point swing from a week ago, when, according to the RealClearPolitics poll average, Hogan was down by 11 points.

And what happened during that time period?

How could this be possible? I mean, what has happened in the last week? For one thing, President Obama — not welcome on the trail in red states — campaigned for Brown in Maryland, where crowds began streaming out during his speech, leaving empty bleachers behind.

Could it be that President Obama is such a drag on Democrats that he even hurts them in … Maryland? That’s one possibility. Another factor: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the head of the Republican Governor’s Association, hasalso been stumping hard for him.

Having Obama on the trail tends to be toxic, even in those deep blue areas he goes to. Because he’s typically avoiding competitive races. Other Big Players are out: Bill Clinton, Hillary, Jimmy Carter, Mitt Romney, Chris Christie (regardless of what Conservatives think of him, he plays well to squishy Republicans, centrists, and Independents)

(Breitbart) “You might be saying at home, ‘it seems everyone is out there,’ but someone is not; why was President Obama at the White House this Monday? Let’s get right to ABC’s chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl.”

“David, the President was home all weekend too,” Karl told Muir. “And today the only time he ventured out was to go to Sasha and Malia’s school for parent-teacher conferences.”

“So what’s going on? Well, the President’s approval rating is at an all-time low, just 40 percent, and in many of the states with the big races, it’s even lower,” Karl explained. “So while the President will be out campaigning for some candidates for governor this week, you won’t see him in a single place with a competitive Senate race.”

Well, let’s be clear on one thing: Obama has never been a big helper for other Democrats, even going back to the 2010 midterms. He’s a miser when it comes to helping out Democrats with campaign cash. Golfing (which he did again over the weekend) and his own campaign events take precedence over getting Democrats elected. That said, for 2014, he is a massive drag on Democrats. I almost think that he would prefer a GOP controlled House and Senate, the better to create more strife and hyper-partisan attacks.