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September 18, 2008 03:55 AM UTC

Public Perception: McCain = Bush Who Puts Ambition First

  • 7 Comments
  • by: Go Blue

With the convention comfortably behind us, we are beginning to see the public perception a little clearer. Yes, this is still a very tight and close race. However, the public perception of John McCain has solidified into a negative one. The latest New York Times/CBS News Poll shows the following:

Over the last two weeks, Mr. McCain has increasingly tried to distance himself from his party and President Bush, running as an outsider against Washington. The poll suggested the urgency of Mr. McCain’s task: The percentage of Americans who disapprove of the way Mr. Bush is conducting his job, 68 percent, is as high as it has been for any sitting president in the history of polling by The New York Times. And 81 percent said the country is heading in the wrong direction.

The poll found that 46 percent of voters thought Mr. McCain would continue Mr. Bush’s policies, while 22 percent said he would be more conservative than Mr. Bush. (About one quarter said a McCain presidency would be less conservative than Mr. Bush’s.) And at a time when Mr. McCain has tried to appeal to independent voters by separating himself from his party, notably with his convention speech, 57 percent of all voters said they viewed him as a typical Republican, compared with 40 percent who said he was a different kind of Republican.

“From everything I’ve heard that he plans to do if elected, McCain doesn’t sound different from Bush to me,” said Susan Bearman, 47, an independent and writer from Evanston, Ill., in a follow-up interview.

And as for McCain putting “Country First” it appears the Country wasn’t fooled by that gimmick either.

And 75 percent said they thought Mr. McCain had picked Mrs. Palin more to help him win the election, rather than because he thought that she was well-qualified to be president. By contrast, 31 percent said they thought that Mr. Obama picked Mr. Biden more to help him win the election, while 57 percent said it was because he thought Mr. Biden was well-qualified for the job.

More on the flip side.

And as for Obama. Well, he “understands the needs and problems of people like yourself, and shares the values that most Americans try to live by.”

Despite weeks of fierce Republican attacks, Mr. Obama has maintained an edge on several key measures of presidential leadership, including economic stewardship. Sixty percent of voters said they were confident in his ability to make the right decisions on the economy, compared with 53 percent who felt that way about Mr. McCain. Sixty percent also said Mr. Obama understood the needs and problems “of people like yourself,” compared with 48 percent who said that of Mr. McCain.

And more than twice as many said an Obama presidency would improve the United States’ image around the world – 55 percent – compared with those who believed a McCain presidency would do so. Mr. Obama also gets high marks for “sharing the values most Americans try to live by,” despite concerted Republican efforts to portray him as elite and out-of-touch with average voters. Sixty-six percent said Mr. Obama shared their values, compared with 61 percent who said that about Mr. McCain.

Overall Poll Results:

The contest appears to be roughly where it was before the two conventions and before the vice presidential selections: Mr. Obama has the support of 48 percent of registered voters, compared with 43 percent for Mr. McCain, a difference within the poll’s margin of sampling error, and statistically unchanged from the tally in the last New York Times/CBS News Poll in mid-August…

When asked who they think will win in November, 45 percent said Mr. Obama and 38 percent said Mr. McCain.

Remember this is just one poll. The only one that really matters is on election day. So stop reading blogs, visit a local campaign office or sign up to volunteer. You can also skip out on the lines on election day by registering to vote by mail.

Comments

7 thoughts on “Public Perception: McCain = Bush Who Puts Ambition First

  1. On December 5, 2007 McCain answers question on sub prime mortgages from Managing Editor Paul Miller during a Keene Sentinel Editorial Board interview.

    You’re going to see a lot more of this interview over the next few weeks. The second half is my favorite, especially starting around 4:00.  

  2. According to the latest local Indianapolis Star-WTHR (Channel 13) poll.

    Sen. Barack Obama holds a tenuous lead over Sen. John McCain in Indiana, with one in four likely voters saying they could change their mind on who to support for president, according to a new Indianapolis Star-WTHR (Channel 13) poll.

    Obama’s three-point lead in the poll, 47 percent to 44 percent, reinforces Indiana’s status as a battleground in the race for the White House.

    Interesting.  

    1. After the GOP Convention, there was a lot of talk about Obama’s map-changing electoral game plan possibly being flawed, as many weak McCain states swung strongly in his direction.

      Now it’s starting to look like we’re returning to base course, just a few weeks delayed.  VA is currently averaging +1 for Obama, CO remains close, and OH and FL are looking better for Team Democrat.  States like IN, NV, and even NC are threatening once again to become players in this year’s electoral map.

      The big warning sign up for the McCain camp is the Diego/Hotline tracking poll, which has also been tracking “who would do the best job handling the economy?”  McCain has dropped from 43% to 36% in the last 4 days, while Obama has gone up from 45% to 47%.

      It’s too soon to tell, though.  Next week, maybe.

      1. McCain 48 Obama 44

        I mean WV is not going to go Obama, its not even a target state for the campaign.  But it shows how badly McCain is cratering.

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