Obama not concerned with polls or Palin-o-mania

With 55 days to go and the latest polls showing the presidential showdown deadlocked in a tie, sounds of worry are emanating from the left about the impact of McCain runningmate Sarah Palin.

But if Democratic nominee Barack Obama is worried, he's got a great poker face.  Speaking at a press briefing this afternoon in Ohio, Obama addressed the Washington Post/ABC poll which showed white women jumping over to the McCain-Palin ticket in droves.

Polls, schmolls

“These are the same polls that had me 20 down last summer that have swung wildly thought this process,” he said.  “I think that what we’re going to have to do is see how things settle out over the next few weeks when people start  examining who is actually going to deliver on the issues that people care about.”

Obama specifically mentioned education, health care, insurance, and the economy as the issues he thinks "are going to make the biggest difference in this race."

Palin-palooza

On Palin, Obama acknowledged that the Alaska Governor has generated a lot of hoopla but said she was firing up the far right rather than women as a whole.

"She's been on the minds of all of you, and as a consequence has been before the American people constantly throughout the week, and has brought excitement to the Republican party, there is no doubt about that," he said.

"I think that has less to do with gender than it has to do with her ideological predispositions, which are closely aligned to theirs," Obama added.

Not a fan

Though there is plenty of Palin-o-mania occurring, one person who isn't getting caught up in it is the always quotable former New York Mayor Ed Koch.

His thoughts on Palin?  She "scares the hell out of me," he said while endorsing Obama.

"Protecting and defending the U.S. means more than defending us from foreign attacks," Koch continued.