Lots of interesting stuff in this new Pew survey, the main findings of which confirm that enthusiasm and likely turnout are much higher on the Democratic side than on the Republican side.
In terms of the candidates, this is clearly a Change vs Experience choice, which in a Change year, has to be good for Obama:
Voters see the candidates' personal strengths and weaknesses in starkly different terms. Fully 74% of voters, including a solid majority of McCain supporters (58%), say that Obama rather than McCain "has new ideas." McCain holds about a two-to-one advantage in views of which candidate is "personally qualified to be president" (55% to 27%). In previous campaigns, voters' assessments of the candidates' traits were more evenly balanced.
Something else that caught my eye:
Uncharacteristically, the youngest voters -- those under age 30 -- are at least as knowledgeable, and in some cases more knowledgeable, about candidates' positions on Iraq and abortion than are older voters.
I wonder if this increase in political literacy amongst younger voters is a temporary blip caused by outrage about the war and Obama's youthful appeal - or if it's a sign that the age of the internet is producing better-informed voters than the age of TV.
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