Did Hillary Clinton know more about the American voter than Barack Obama does?

I'd bet that Clinton is getting a lot of satisfaction from Obama's current ratings. His overseas trip didn't give him any kind of a boost, and the polls show him holding only a small edge over John McCain. RealClearPolitics's poll average today shows Obama only 2.7 points ahead of McCain, and the latest USA Today-Gallup poll shows McCain ahead by 4 points.

It's the middle of summer, of course. The public's focus on the campaign has just begun. And the people who were wowed by Obama's Berlin speech were probably solid Obama supporters already.

Still, Obama's slow start is worrying.

Apparently voters are not at all upset with McCain's ugly attacks on Obama. They seem to be embracing them - and, frankly, responding positively to his mean demeanor.

Certainly racism will play a part in this election. Everybody knew that from the start. The hope is that 1) most of the nation has moved past its ugly history, and 2) Obama's appeal to African Americans will outweigh the racist vote.

McCain is sticking with his support of the Iraq war, and you'd think the country's strong concern over that war and its costs would overwhelm the pro-war message.

But then there's the elitism issue. Hillary Clinton raised it during primary season, and the McCain campaign seems to love it. What an appalling statement that is about the US. We used to value educational achievement. Now, we sneer at it.

Syndicated columnist Bonnie Erbe says Obama needs to "step off his ‘holier than thou' platform and get his designer shoes dirty."

Erbe faults Obama for "addressing a crowd of 200,000 in Berlin and meeting with heads of state before he has reason to."

What is it we want from presidential candidates? More George Bush? From his command of the English language and his interest in the printed word to his understanding of international and domestic issues, Bush has been a disaster.

Obama's behavior, says Erbe, may "turn off the very voters he needs to turn on: the white working class."

This is, certainly, a very divided country. I had hoped that Obama would be able to help pull us together. We'll see.

Elections are decided by many things. It would be tragic if "class" differences determined the outcome of this one.