Aug. 4, 2008
Obama Has Advantage Among Working Poor
Washington Post: Poll Shows Obama With Clear Lead, But Doubts And Pessimism Reign Within Key Group
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Among white low wage workers -- a group of voters that has been targeted by both parties as a key to victory in November – Barack Obama leads John McCain by 10 percentage points in the poll by the Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University. (AP Photo)
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Democratic Sen. Barack Obama holds a 2 to 1 edge over Republican Sen. John McCain among the nation's low-wage workers, but many are unconvinced that either presidential candidate would be better than the other at fixing the ailing economy or improving the health-care system, according to a new national poll.
Obama's advantage is attributable largely to overwhelming support from two traditional Democratic constituencies: African Americans and Hispanics. But even among white workers -- a group of voters that has been targeted by both parties as a key to victory in November -- Obama leads McCain by 10 percentage points, 47 percent to 37 percent, and has the advantage as the more empathetic candidate.
Still, one in six of the white workers polled remains uncommitted to either candidate. And a majority of those polled, both white and minority, are ambivalent about the impact of the election, saying that no matter who wins, their personal finances are unlikely to change.
"It's not my main concern in life," said Mary Lee, 50, a factory worker in rural Kentucky. "I know how politics is. I really don't think it's going to matter either way."
More than disaffection drives these workers, according to the new national poll by the Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University.
Their politics are shaped partly by their lot in the current economy: These voters are among the most severely hurt by rising prices, and many are insecure about their finances and lack jobs with basic benefits. Nevertheless, many are optimistic about the future even as they express deep suspicion about government.
The new poll included interviews with 1,350 randomly selected workers 18 to 64 years old who put in at least 30 hours a week but earned $27,000 or less last year. As a group, they are somewhat less likely to be Republicans than all adults under age 65 and are also less likely to be registered to vote. As many call themselves conservatives as liberal, and nearly four in 10 said their views on most political matters are "moderate."
The group, which accounts for nearly a quarter of U.S. adults, gives the Democrat the nod both as the more empathetic candidate and as the one who more closely shares their values. And while many express no opinion about who would do more to improve the economy or health care -- or the voters' finances -- Obama has the clear edge among those who picked a favorite on these core issues.
Obama's standing with the white workers runs counter to an impression, dating from the primary season, that he struggles to attract support from that group. McCain advisers have said for months that they think the Republican can win a significant share of those voters because of Obama's performance in the spring.
The survey suggests it will be difficult, but not impossible, for McCain to increase his appeal. Whereas Obama underperforms congressional Democrats by six points among low-wage whites -- 53 percent would prefer that the party control Congress -- McCain has a seven-point edge over congressional Republicans.
Sixteen percent of the white workers polled chose neither Obama nor McCain, saying either that they have no opinion or that they support someone else or that they do not plan to vote.
Ruth Haskins, 64, the city clerk of Billings, Mo., said she is "scared about the younger generation running the country" and is solidly "on the fence" about the election.
In May, as the race between Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton raged on, McCain adviser Charlie Black told reporters that the campaign would reach out to working-class white voters, in part because of Obama's difficulties wresting such voters from the Clinton camp.Poll Database
Search recent CBS News campaign polls.
"Senator Obama doesn't appear to have the ability to hold the traditional Democratic coalition together as well as Mrs. Clinton might," he said at the time.
In an interview last week, Black said the campaign still plans to target working-class white voters, particularly by appealing to them on economic and energy issues. Jobs and gasoline prices are "very big to people in that income range," Black said.
Nearly two-thirds of the white workers surveyed want the government to make lower gas prices a "top priority," something McCain pitched earlier this year in advocating for a suspension of the federal gas tax. One respondent was particularly clear on this point: "I'll vote for whoever can bring the price of gas down," said Brian Levesque, 25, a social worker from Lansdale, Pa.
But slightly more, seven in 10, say government should focus on helping people like them find more affordable health insurance, a core component of Obama's campaign. Just over four in 10 favor placing a top priority on tax cuts or on creating jobs through an expansion of public works projects.
Overall, the survey suggests that Obama's economic appeals have the most resonance with white workers who are under the greatest financial stress. He leads by 19 percentage points among those white workers who feel "very insecure" financially; that is more than double his advantage among those in the group who feel better off.
McCain leads among those who say they have advanced over the past seven years, but it is a much smaller group -- only 17 percent of low-wage white workers. Obama has the edge among those who say they have stayed about even over that time period.
An issue of acute importance to low-wage workers -- the impact of illegal immigration -- is one that divides workers in the poll about evenly: Forty-nine percent said illegal immigrants take jobs from legal residents, and 47 percent said they do not.
Nearly six in 10 white and black workers said they think undocumented workers take jobs away from those here legally; seven in 10 Hispanics disagreed. (Nearly half of the Hispanic workers interviewed in this poll are not U.S. citizens.)
International trade -- and its impact on increasingly scarce jobs -- is another issue that may prove a flash point for workers in the fall campaign.
Half of those polled said growth in trade has made things worse for the country; far fewer, only about two in 10, said it has had a net benefit, and a similar percentage said they are unsure. But a majority also said trade has not changed their lives one way or the other.
As is the case with immigration, majorities of white and black workers said trade has done more harm than good, while most Hispanics disagreed.
"One thing I keep seeing is a lack of wherewithal to tackle the tough issues like health care, illegal immigration," said Stephanie Dayton, 51, a bookkeeper in Tucson. "It's sort of like overhauling the tax code. If there was an easy way to tackle it without conflict, they would have done it already. At some point it takes some backbone to get it done. Get some backbone and decide what you stand for."
McCain's biggest challenge is among minority workers.
Among the African Americans polled, 92 percent chose Obama as the candidate more concerned with their problems; not a single black respondent said so about McCain, although 1 percent said "both do." Hispanics also sided with Obama on that question, favoring him by more than 40 percentage points as the more empathetic candidate.
The poll was conducted by conventional and cellular telephone June 18 to July 7, among a random national sample of low-wage workers. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. The results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points.
Polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta and assistant polling analyst Kyle Dropp contributed to this report.
By Michael D. Shear and Jon Cohen
© 2008 The Washington Post Company
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See all 173 CommentsCongress is a failure and Obama is worthless.
Congress is a failure and Obama is worthless.
Congress is a failure and Obama is worthless.
Congress is a failure and Obama is worthless.
Congress is a failure and Obama is worthless.
where do you come up with this nonesence?
a Baptist university???
The "old" clowns have made a thorough mess of things, time to let someone else take the helm.
You sound like another Ultra Conservative Republican desprately grasping as straws because you know Bushie has Jacked up this country and McLame has nothing new to offer the American Public and it taking shots at Obama in the Dark.
Ariel133 McLame is going to loose in a Land Slide Vote so get ready to cry in your beer for the next 4+ years.
Stop being a douschbag and cut and paste the same thing. You are doing the same thing as McLame and the Republican Party is doing.
You sound like a very uneducated broken record, grow up and dont cut and paste.
The GOP has won national elections by getting their core group to the polls whereas the Democrats have failed to do the same. If the Democrats do get their core groups to the polls in 11/2008, we will have a landslide Democratic President and a Democratic Congress.
Maybe the working poor are tired of licking the hand that takes away their health care, provides only poisoned trailers when they lose their homes in a hurricane, and who mismanages their country''s economy into disaster.
Picture this....
First off, Sen. NObama morphs into Sen. Harry "Palms" Reid in black face.
Then dons a skirt and sports SanFranNan Peelosely''s eyes that make her look perpetually constipated!!
I''d caption it:
"Sen. Hairyless Peelosely NObama (D)- From Anywhere"
Picture this....
First off, Sen. NObama morphs into Sen. Harry "Palms" Reid in black face.
Then dons a skirt and sports SanFranNan Peelosely''''s eyes that make her look perpetually constipated!!
I''''d caption it:
"Sen. Hairyless Peelosely NObama (D)- From Anywhere"
Posted by JonGood65 at 11:27 AM : Aug 04, 2008
Keep your day job (if you HAVE one, LOL)!
Posted by demslie2u
I''m certain there are white people that will vote for McCain because they hate black people. They''re all idiiots as far as I''m concerned.
Posted by GOP_forever at 11:37 AM : Aug 04, 2008
Thanks, troll! ;)
Posted by GOP_forever at 11:37 AM : Aug 04, 2008
===============
Now, now, don''t be letting these hyphenated-Americans like Offby1 get you upset.
It''s the only response they ever have when I try to always offer something outside what they were breech loaded by Sen. NObama to deal with.
Look at the percentage of black voters who have voted Democrat in the past 10 elections and THEN come back to us with this cr@p about how ''they'' are ONLY voting for a BLACK candidate. Hint (NOT!!!!!!!)
Obama has never been poor. Obama doesn''t rub elbows with the poor. Obama is insulated from any threat of serious contact with the poor. He''s playing the game of his life right now trying to convince people he cares about what happens to them...oh he''d like to be able to say he corrected a wrong or two..but CARE PERSONALLY...he11 no!
McCain is no better except he firmly believes more government is not going to help in the end...it may delude people into thinking they have relief but if they really sit down and examine their expenses they will find just as much, if not more, is going out because the higher taxes forced on the very people intended to feel the most pain was simply turned into HIGHER COSTS FOR EVERYTHING ELSE PEOPLE BUY...THAT''S THE WORKING AND NON-WORKING POOR!!! But neither candidate is going to suffer financially from anything Congress does....they are all SET FOR LIFE.
thanks to the republicans, there is no more middle class.
republicans extremist destroying america!!
It''''s the only response they ever have when I try to always offer something outside what they were breech loaded by Sen. NObama to deal with.
Posted by JonGood65 at 11:42 AM : Aug 04, 2008
Never saw that you said ANYTHING, so bring it on, sweetie.
BTW, I''m not even VAGUELY hyphenated--bring it on, kiddo!
Where do you get your imaginary information from?
http://www.zogby.com/50state/
Or
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/us/general_election_mccain_vs_obama-225.html
Got to love these Swiftboats, firing blanks
Posted by GOP_forever at 11:52 AM
Chalk up one for the racists.
Source--thomas.gov
Obama has sponsored or cosponsored 570 bills in three years (more than McCain in the same timeframe); he has directly introduced 15 bills that have become law (more than McCain); he has introduced amendments to 50 bills, of which 16 were adopted by the Senate (more than McCain). Most of the bills he sponsored were in: energy efficiency (25 bills), health care (21 bills), public health (20 bills), consumer protection (14 bills), Veterans bills (13 bills) and ethics bills (12 bills). He hasn''t set any kind of record, but his record IS above the average for a freshman Senator. On a related point, let''s note that Obama has voted on more than half of all bills this year vs McCain who has missed every vote since April (indeed, McCain''s own leading state newspaper has criticised him, and noted that AZ voters are citing McCain''s failure to even show up in the Senate this year, as a major reason NOT to vote for him!). Source--thomas.gov
Posted by GOP_forever a Honky
*********
I''m not even black and that offends me...Do you just type to hear the clicking sounds Greedy Oil Pervert_forever a Honky?
Posted by mike071067 at 12:01 PM
Unfortunately for you, McCain has three more months to show us how feeble he is.
Posted by mike071067
******
Let me have this one...Too much gas and $$ for Big Oil.. If I were you..10 cents worth of lead would take care of your problem.
Yesterday in Wisconsin, Barrack Obama laid down his plan for tax reform. His plan is to eliminate the income tax on seniors making under $50,000 annually. My question is this. Who will absorb this missing tax component? What of the seniors making $50,001 or more? What about the rest of Americans making 50K or less.
This is political pandering to the extreme. Mr. Obama knows his audience and what buttons to push. He is after all a great orator. But, his economic views and lack of legislative reality differ from what actually is.
That''s getting to be a bigger and bigger segment of the electorate.
Mccain main focus is the white trash vote...
cindy is going to flash us for some beads
http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/would_obama_tax_my_profits_if_i.html
Tax the rich a little more so.
The rich will have less to give.
The poor''s status wont change.
The middle class will then be taxed more resulting in more poor. This is what the change will be.
Tax the rich a little more so.
The rich will have less to give.
The poor''''s status wont change.
The middle class will then be taxed more resulting in more poor. This is what the change will be.
Posted by papabc at 12:24 PM : Aug 04, 2008
I have heard this garbage so long now, it turns my stomach! My Dad used to tell me about Con''s in HIS day doing the same thing. I guess somethings NEVER change. When we switch away from the "Trickle Down" Economics back to a Demand Based Economy, when you allow the Working Stiff to get a fair break, wages and benefits, he will buy more and create MORE jobs. It has been proven how many times in our history? Sieg Heil McBush!!
I just hope he keeps his stand up comedy act going about lowering gas prices by taxing oil companies.
---------------------------------------
Let me ask this...
You tax the Big Oils Wind fall.
What is a wind fall..
Is that getting something for doing nothing?
or
Is that working, selling something (World wide here) making a profit?
You but back $1000 (Another Obamaism) per tax payer.
If this $1000 does not come from BIG OIL will be came form our taxes?
If it come from BIG OIL will the cost per GAL go up will all porfits are removes and nothing lift to explore with? Will this also hurt the development of other fuels?
...
Posted by johndevinejr at 12:25 PM : Aug 04, 2008
=================
John, it''s likely difficult for us real Americans to buy into what you hyphenated-Americans label as "lies" simply because we know you do so much of this research while on your knees.
Posted by WellHell3 at 12:11 PM : Aug 04, 2008
It is absolutely amazing how Uneducated and Bigoted you are. According to The Department of Labor 80% of the POOR work for a living. But aside from that FACT, the POLL was taken with LOW WAGE WORKERS! That MEANS they had to have a WAGE to be part of the poll!! I do wish you would take a READING Class at night. What 6th grader doesn''t know the meaning of the word WORKING??
We have become a Socialist State.
Women can have babies and don''t need to worry about sticking it out with her man, because Uncle Sam will hook her up.
The Government wants you to depend on them...
NOT Churches and Family.
This is the reson why we have so much crime and lack of morales in this nation.
Uncle Sam is your Daddy!
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