All is not rosy for Barack Obama in New Hampshire among former Hillary Clinton supporters. This account includes opinions ranging from grudging support to candid contempt. There is this eye-popper from one voter:

“He revolts me,” she said of Obama. “He can choose Bugs Bunny for vice president or he can choose God, presuming he doesn’t think that he’s God. It won’t matter.”

This is where the Berlin extravaganza hurts Obama a lot more than it helps. For those who chose Hillary Clinton precisely because they found Obama callow, inexperienced and arrogant this is only going to make it worse.

The Union Leader story is revealing for two other reasons. It emphasizes the dichotomy between national and local coverage and the importance of the latter, as I’ve previously noted. And second, political insiders and pundits forget that there is more to voting for president than issue stances. Voters do care about the person, his character, his persona and his judgment. And when voting for president no amount of reason on issue positions ( “But McCain is pro-life!”) can talk people out of their conviction that they just don’t like or trust a certain candidate. That in part is why, as Peter cogently points out today, Iraq and the European trip matter so much: they reveal Obama’s greatest weaknesses which are not ones of policy but of judgment, character and integrity.