Morning Buzz: Southern whites and McCain

Are Southern whites - especially men - turning toward McCain as the election draws near?

McCain's six-point gain in a Public Policy Polling survey of North Carolina yesterday came largely with the help of white male Democrats. Also yesterday, a Washington Post tracking poll noted that while whites in other parts of the country poll for Obama or even, in the South they favor McCain by a two-to-one margin.

The temptation, for some, will be to attribute the numbers solely to race, but ideology might be a bigger factor of late. McCain, in the past two weeks, has honed his economic message to this: Barack Obama wants to share the wealth by taxing some Americans more than others. Democrats (and others) will argue that any tax system is a form of wealth sharing - and that McCain himself has argued that the rich should contribute more. But McCain's message now is resonating with conservative Democrats, especially men, and those voters are moving his way here.

Is it enough to tilt N.C. toward McCain and make Virginia a tossup? Expect Obama to launch a forceful appeal to those voters' pocketbooks today in Virginia and tomorrow in Raleigh.

Tell us what you think.

Your morning buzz:

The Wall Street Journal looks at the mayors who've made it to the executive branch. There aren't many.

The Washington Post's Dana Milbanks says that sometimes, mavericks turn into divas.

A John McCain fan, Post writer Anne Appelbaum, explains why she can't give him the nod.

Another must-win for McCain, Florida, is being fiercely contested by Obama, says Politico's Jonathan Martin.

While we're being geographic, Newsweek examines why Virginia, the state that's home to McCain HQ, is in play.