Poll: 20 percent say election is an afterthought

(CBS News) In spite of persistent, significant concerns about the economy, as many as one-fifth of American voters are paying little to no attention to the presidential election, according to a new CBS News poll.

Americans continue to say the country is headed in the wrong direction, and they are split over whether the nation is headed into another recession. Nearly four in 10 say they are worse off financially now than they were four years ago.

While these concerns dogged Americans over the summer, President Obama and his GOP rival Mitt Romney launched aggressive presidential campaigns. Their well-heeled super PAC allies added to the clamor, casting this year's election as one of the most important ever. Yet according to the poll, conducted Aug. 22-26, voters' attention to the campaign has not changed much since April when Romney all but locked-up the Republican Party's nomination.

CBS

As many as 45 percent of registered now say they are paying a lot of attention, including slightly more Republicans (47 percent) than Democrats (42 percent). In April, 43 percent were paying a lot of attention. In August of 2008, 51 percent said they were paying a lot of attention.

Another 34 percent of voters say they are paying some attention, while 20 percent are paying little to no attention.

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[bonzothemonkey]

With pollsters announcing months in advance the Election is going to be decided by voters in just three or four states, the knowledge
has to be a key factor responsible for killing off interest among voters around the country. Also, it's the best reason each state has
for demanding an end to the Electoral College and for replacing it by a simple count of the vote of each citizen. This way we'd all go into the polling booth with a sense of purpose and a feeling that our vote really counted!

[expatriate2]

Americans are waking up to the fact that their interest, participation or votes mean little or nothing in the elite world of political manipulations. An electoral college can erase the public will. Promises by inept leaders will not resolve domestic disasters. They are disenfranchised and are locked into the process of watching the middle class diluted and poverty to be the norm. Their remaining right is to look up to the rich and powerful and remember when times were different.

[fxr60]

People better be paying attention to the polls! Go see 2016 "Obama's America" and you won't reconize the U.S. if Obama gets re-elected!! All his radical views and polcies will be in place! Good film, documented and verfied by real people-not made up groups. See how Obama and Dinesh D'Sousa came from the SAME envirment and how each chose different paths and beliefs about America.Very well done. The theater was full and you could have heard a pin drop-everyone was listening!!!

[AOCGUY]

I am amazed how ignorant some people can eb with respect to how our government is structered. Whether its Obana or Romeny in January fact is that Congress is teh real power in this country and at present they can't pass gas.

[bonzothemonkey]

fxr60, That piece of right wing propaganda "Obama's America", which just happened to arrive on the screen weeks before the election, is just another attempt, similar to the lying slander against John Kerry by the Swift Boaters in 2004, to delude the American people into thinking "up is down" and that giving the banks and the richest 1% of America tax breaks will somehow improve things.

We all know that this is exactly what George W. Bush did to get us into this recession back in 2001 and 2003.

[TimeToEvolve]

This has been the right wing conservative and corporate plot from the beginning. Take over the government and make elections a joke run by them. And making enough people apathetic that they could keep stealing and robbing all of us to enrich radicals like Mitt Robbed Me.

Now THAT is Mission Accomplished!

[orlandocajun]

Let's hope that they don't pay attention and that they don't vote either.

[TimeToEvolve]

That's true, if everyone voted (or even all those people), there would not be one radical, obsolete Republicon near an elected office.

[RollotheNorman]

Speaking of polling: Here's one Willard won't talk about, because it is a referendum on his abilities as a political leader.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/ma/massachusetts_romney_vs_obama-1804.html

[FLHRC-12]

This report is more bad news for Obama.
The mood of the country that of despair and hoplessness under Obama's non-leadership.
The writting is definately on the wall for this poser of a president.

[FLHRC-12]

They probably figure why bother thinking about the election any way since Obama may get reelected and finish off the country for good.
The Obama hopelessness has set in for some who have just tossed up their hands and said 'screw it, what's the point'.

[FLHRC-12]

'hopelessness'

[mikesfilms]

$1 billion spent to trash Obama. I'll tell all here for free but donate the $ to help the unemployed. The worldwide crisis-OBAMA DID IT! Spain unemployment hits 30%-OBAMA DID IT! Greece's bankruptcy-OBAMA DID IT! China's growth slows to 2%-OBAMA DID IT! Italy in trouble-OBAMA DID IT! Deyanira's mutt's got scoliosis-OBAMA DID IT! Oh no! THE ANTI-CHRIST (O foamy mouth), COMMUNIST, TRAITOR, MONSTER, FOREIGN-BORN! AAAAH!!!!!

[FLHRC-12]

Money well spent even though you are exaggerating about the billion.
That's the amount Obama was wanting to raise to trash Romney but people are just not donating to Obama for obvious reasons.

[esq777]

I actually think it's probably a lot higher than 20%. There are probably more Americans who can name all of the Kardashians than can name the candidates for president and VP on both tickets.

[Oh-Pin-Yun]

The problem is no one wants to re-elect Obama, because they rather blame him for the mess BUSH made, and no one wants Romney in the White House unless they are nuts.

[guyfrompa46]

yea yea,, Blame Bush fior everything that's ever happend heard it all before. A little late to blame him for Obama's mess. I could see if Obama has made any improvement but he just has totally blew it.