I took "the other side" as meaning the committed kind of Republican, rather than all those who have voted Republican, or been registered as Republicans.   And the indications seem to be that, when it comes to voters who aren't committed, Obama is better placed than Clinton. These kind of issues sound more like stuff that would appeal to people who were already settled opponents rather than would turn off people who had been finding Obama attractive.

The other suggestion I have seen is that there are signs that Obama is capable of getting significant support from within the very large pool of people who would normally be expected no to vote at all, a pool which is larger than the number of people who normally vote for either one of the parties.