Sam Stein On Morning Joe: Past Year Has "Taken A Toll On Enthusiasm Gap" For Democrats (VIDEO)

Huffington Post political reporter Sam Stein went on Morning Joe this morning to discuss a variety of topics, among them the relative voter energy of Democrats and Republicans in the run-up to this fall's midterm elections and eventually, President Obama's reelection race in 2012.

Stein called a recent Gallup poll that shows Republicans substantially leading Democrats in voter enthusiasm "the more concerning number" than the generic congressional ballot showing a narrower Republican advantage. "Obviously this past year and a half has taken a toll I think on the enthusiasm gap," Stein said. "Whether it was in the health care fight with the drop of the public option, the inability to get immigration reform, Afghanistan, all of these things have had a cascading effect."

Stein went on to point out Obama's dropping numbers among Hispanic voters in particular. "I think what happened was is they saw that immigration reform was being pushed down the political calendar, they ended up growing disenchanted with this president, and they ended up walking away," Stein said. "Now whether they go to the Republican party is a whole other bag."

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