Obama holds key leads on Romney, as economy malaise looms over reelection bid

[alp227]

Source: Washington Post

With the general-election campaign beginning to take shape, President Obama holds clear advantages over Mitt Romney on personal attributes and a number of key issues, but remains vulnerable to discontent with the pace of the economic recovery, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Obama has double-digit leads over the likely Republican presidential nominee on who would do a better job of protecting the middle class, addressing women’s issues, handling international affairs and dealing with health care.

On personal traits, the president’s edge is even bigger: He has a better than 2-to-1 advantage as the more friendly and likable of the two, and nearly that margin as “more inspiring.”

Romney faces a huge deficit among female voters, one that more than negates his advantage among men and represents one of the biggest challenges he and his advisers face as they turn toward the November election. Obama’s edge among women gives him a clear lead among all registered voters in a matchup with Romney.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-holds-key-leads-against-romney-as-economy-malaise-looms-over-bid/2012/04/09/gIQA8s1G7S_singlePage.html

[bluestateguy]

1. I am starting to virulently hate pollsters

As soon as they do one poll, write it up in the paper, analyze it a million which ways (usually wrongly BTW), then they go out into the field and conduct another poll.

[Jamaal510]

2. I don't get why polls are even covered in the news.

I think they should just do the polls, then show them to the elected officials only so they'll know how well they're doing.

[Drunken Irishman]

3. I don't know about you, but I like to know where the race is at and heading...

If we don't have polls, we're all left in the dark until November when, on election day, it's like, "hey, surprise!"

Yeah, polls can be off. Yeah, they're not always right, but they're right most of the time. They were right in '08, right (if you read 'em all, instead of just plucking the ones that favored Kerry) in '04, '96, '92, '88, '84 and '80 - with '00 being the only time polls were generally off and that was an extraordinarily close election.

But I agree. There can be poll fatigue. Instead of every week, it should be every month.

[neurochaos]

9. I whole-heartedly agree…

Kind of reminds me of school when the teacher would give you a pop quiz or a chapter review so as to gauge what you know (or in this case - where you’re at).

Polls can also depress or inspire depending on the spin:

They could say we still have time to turn this around as Romney has a slight lead in creating jobs, economic issues and deficit reduction… whereas we could feel a bit nervous about that in spite of a strong showing for the President in the rest of the poll.

We can say that in spite of a slowly recovering economy and relentless attacks by the right, the President is in a remarkably strong position headed into the general election… and the right-wingers (looking at these numbers) must feel a panic-anxiety at the prospects of a 2nd term for President Obama. Just think back to how most of us felt when George W Bush had encouraging numbers for his re-election heading into the 2004 election.

Furthermore, the trickledown effect by this poll on the right-wing base places a strong sense of discouragement, frustration and anger as the disarray of the primaries, the discontent of having Romney as their nominee and a resonating populous message by the President will cause many republican voters to feel defeated.

It’s a snapshot in time; but I’d rather have it looking like this then the other way around.

[Kahuna]

7. Polls are important as a deterrent to election theft. If polls consistently show a certain trend

election officials may be less likely to risk prison for tampering with the results. If the election officials know that the Obama administration will win reelection, regardless of their tampering, they will be less likely to risk being prosecuted by the Obama administration.

[shimonitanegi]

4. Obama will win an very easy victory.

Repukes are so fucked up with their own filth.
Today, Hannity interviewed Gingrich to hear soar loser's campaign strategy.
It was so pathetic that even Verminnity couldn't swallow what Gingrich blabbed about.
Gingscum vowed to keep attacking Romney until the convention.
Two delusional nutjob candidates will make Romney unelectable by August.

[Denninmi]

5. Unfortunately, polls like this give Republicans a road map to the next 7 months...

... trash the economy, in any way possible. The Koch brothers are, no doubt, working on it right now, along with their cronies.

$7 a gallon gas this summer? More massive layoffs?

I wouldn't put it past them.

[Kahuna]

8. They've been trashing the economy since the day Obama won the election. They've

been working overtime since their huge gains in 2010 to crash the economy even more. Polls have nothing to do with their intentions and efforts to tank the economy other than to affect the president's poll numbers.

[truthisfreedom]

6. There's an adjective that will be associated with refilth candidates for years to come as a result

of this silly season.

Unelectable.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

10. It's like they're rooting for the economy to fail, just waiting for it to happen to hurt Obama!

There is so much "LIBRUL" bias in this media.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

11. ETA: And what pissed me off so much about the American people is their short-term memory.

Why would ANYONE want to give this country back to the Republicans, the very same people SERVING TODAY who tanked this economy with their "trickle down" policies? I don't get this. Why are Americans so fucking stupid?!?!?!?

[leftynyc]

12. WP thinks they're clever

using the word malaise. That word alone sunk any chance Jimmy Carter had at reelection.