Does Race Skew Polling?

CBS News' Kathy Frankovic Examines The Possibility That The "Bradley Effect" Is Skewing The Polls In The Presidential Race

(CBS)  This column was written by CBS News director of surveys Kathy Frankovic.

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In every election, people make claims about polls - what they mean, what their weaknesses might be this time around, what the poll consumer needs to be aware of. But not all of those claims are true, including some that figure in many current political discussions. Some claims about possible polling errors even contradict each other!

Consider the belief that polls are understating Barack Obama by about two percentage points, because they are missing all those young voters who are only reachable on cell phones. I will have to deal with that in a separate column; suffice it to say here that many polls, including the CBS News Poll, do call both land-lines and cell-phones. But a competing claim is that polls overstate support for Obama, because Americans are more likely to say that they will vote for an African-American than to actually do it - and, oh yes, some even say that this means that Obama is overestimated by two points or so.

So there are either too few or too many Obama voters. Of course, if both of these statements are true, then the polls -- like Goldilocks - will be just right!

There is a lot we don’t know about that second claim. But some recent articles are worth looking at for answers. A good review of the question about possible lying to pollsters, especially racially-motivated lying to pollsters, is Ellen Gamerman’s Wall Street Journal report. But many people talk about the “Bradley effect.” Tom Bradley was the Mayor of Los Angeles from 1973 to 1993. He was only the second elected black Mayor of a large U.S. city (Cleveland elected Carl Stokes in 1967). In 1982, Bradley ran for Governor of California. Polls before the election suggested he would win; but Republican George Deukmejian beat him in the election.

Thus was born the “Bradley effect.” There were other examples in the 1980’s too. In 1989 David Dinkins appeared to be coasting to victory in the New York City Mayoral race, but just squeaked by Rudy Giuliani; and four years later Dinkins would lose their rematch. Doug Wilder won his race for the Virginia Governorship that year by a much smaller margin than pollsters predicted.

Discussion of the “Bradley effect” fell by the wayside until Andy Kohut helped to revive it in a much-read New York Times op-ed piece that first appeared on line just after this year’s New Hampshire primary. And now, of course, everyone talks or writes about it, including columnists as politically diverse as Paul Kurgman and Robert Novak.

It’s important to separate racial voting (voting for or against someone because of their race) from the “Bradley effect,” which involves misrepresenting what you intend to do when asked by a pollster. There will be some people motivated by race this fall, but if they report their intended vote accurately, then they aren’t creating a “Bradley effect.”

The “Bradley effect” of misrepresenting one’s vote in polls seems to belong to a particular time and place - to urban America in the 1980’s. And there is good reason to think that times have changed.

Daniel J. Hopkins, a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Harvard posted a paper last month that examined 133 state wide elections from 1989 through 2006. He looked at whether what he calls the “Wilder effect” existed for black candidates and for female candidates. Here’s a sentence from his conclusion: “In the early 1990s, there was a pronounced gap between polling and [election] performance for black candidates of about 2.3 percentage points.” He goes on: “But in the mid-1990s, that upward bias in telephone surveys disappeared.” And he gives a good reason for the change: “As racialized rhetoric about welfare and crime receded from national prominence in the mid-1990s, so did the gap between polling and performance.” In addition, he notes that some of those poll-election differences in the early 1990’s might have been due to the fact that some African-Americans were frontrunners in the polls, and frontrunners sometimes do less well on election day than in the pre-election polls (that’s the “underdog effect,” also a topic for another day).

Hopkins explains it this way: When the critical issues facing Americans have a racial component, there could be an impact on people’s beliefs about African-American candidates and what they are willing to say about them. When political rhetoric changes, and the focus shifts away from race, that changes the way race impacts how we answer polling questions.

If crime and welfare are important concerns, as they were in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, and if people create an image of who is more likely to commit crimes and be on welfare, topics like these and others can become racially sensitive. When polls have asked whether numerically there are more blacks or more whites on welfare, people tend to say there are more blacks - something that just isn’t true! And of course it was fear of black crime - justified or not - that created racial profiling.

Crime and welfare are hardly mentioned now in surveys asking Americans to name the country’s most important problem. Economic issues predominate. And race does not have as much to do with that discussion. So operationally, we might see a change in polling, too. Under what circumstances would people feel uncomfortable telling an interviewer they are NOT going to vote for an African-American? Only when they think that the person they are speaking to might object to what they have to say, or they believe their interviewer supports a particular candidate, or if they think their answer might offend the person they are talking to. Respondents do make up an image of the person they are speaking to. It’s one reason why pollsters train interviewers to ask questions as written and not to give any indication of their own point of view. And why interviewers are monitored to make sure that they actually do this.

Hopkins’ paper reminds us that times change in polling - change isn’t just how poll numbers are different at different times, or how sometimes one candidate pulls ahead of the other, and then falls behind. There can be change in the way people answer questions too. While some would argue that the nature of the race has changed - we’ve never had an African-American leading a major party’s presidential ticket before, so perhaps the evidence from statewide races is irrelevant -- the evidence we do have so far seems clear: the “Bradley effect” could very well be a thing of the past.

[cak67]

I still believe Obama will probably be our next president. However, if he should lose, I pray CBS and the rest of the MSM will not blame this on race. I think "experience" will be the reason.

[fcb155]

The time has come for McCaib/Bush oops McCain/Pailin to to the truth.
Dirty Ads. Untrue statements are Bush/Rove, McCain Bush / Back to Basics PLEASE!

[fcb155]

On if you agree with CBS do you get published

[dhtigerfan]

I have said this before and I will say it again. Obamas base is not being polled. He has always appealed to the youth of America. Much of his support is from the colleges around this country. These young voters do not have land lines and therefore their voices are not being counted. These polls are no where as close as claimed.

[kemetorigin]

This is certainly true; just like the classic, "I''m not racist because I have black friends", phrase. Ask these same people if they would support their daughter or son marrying someone black and the true colors emerge. This is certainly not to say that everyone is lying, but to say that some, nonetheless, do.

[mandalay-bay]

Obama Advisers---
Al Sharpton
Louis Farrakhan
William Ayers
Anthony Rezko
Rev. Wright


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Posted by mr22581 at 04:07 PM : Sep 19, 2008

McCain Advisors--
George W Bush
*** Cheaney
Raffaello Follieri
David Duke
Rev. Hagee

[mandalay-bay]

I live in Pennsylvania (a swing state),
and no one I know is voting for Obama .. not one.

Posted by dmcfee1
=================================

That''s not shocking. Stupid is as stupid does right?

[soothsayer99]

I think the "Bradley Effect" will be much more widespread than it was back in the ''80''s. Whites view the presidential race much differently than they view a gubernatorial or mayoral race. Deep-seated white tribalism has existed in this country ever since it was founded and many whites can only envision a fellow Anglo-Saxon as leader of the free world, regardless of ideology. Even if racism isn''t as overt as it once was, whites still hold subconscious (and sometimes conscious) prejudices against blacks that are constantly reinforced by the mainstream media.

Personally, I''m a moderate and have been a McCain supporter for quite a while (well.. not that long, I''m only 26) but I have many friends that are liberals. They are supposedly some of the young voters who support Obama in overwhelming numbers. However, I''ve been absolutely shocked to find out that many of these ultra-liberal, 20-something year olds will NOT vote for Obama even though they completely agree with his policies and tell pollsters that they avidly support him. And these aren''t people on the fringe that I''m talking about... these are people I thought would be working for Obama''s campaign. Many of them have told me they "don''t trust him" even though they share his political ideology. Why else would they feel "uncomfortable" with a candidate that they''d normally support? There are plenty of reasons why not to vote for Obama... but if you''re a democrat, you better think up something better than "I don''t trust him"

[dj292009]

Hi,

I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:

"Impeach Senator Barack Obama"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petiti
on/obamaimpeachment?e ...

I really think this is an important cause, and I''''d like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It''''s free and takes less than a minute of your time.

Thanks!............

http://w
ww.ipetitions.com/petition/obamaimpeachm
ent?e

Are you guys that lame. What would you do if someone went after McCain? Oh thats right you would call them Hyphenated American''s. First off Lame Wit, the fact that there are Anonymous people proves it will go no where. And secondly, 1800 signatures is not even reason to give a small worry about. Go sign your petition and cry when you and It are tossed out.

God I HATE ******* REPUBLICONS. At Least McCain has some Dignity, which is more than I can say for the people who follow him.

[bigal321321]

The truth will set you free. So let''s see....do you believe in the people who tell you it''s the truth? Why should you believe them? Have YOU done your due diligence? Most of these posts a pathetic. They are just a replay of what some talking head on TV or radio has told them. Learn to accept your own truth. Live outside the bubble of perceived truth. Believe in what IS true by doing some research. If you''re too lazy for that then go to www.zeitgeistmovie.com. Be prepared, the truth will not be easy to take. You may find that you''re delusional as is 97% of the general public. Good luck.

[dj292009]

dj292009 is a bitter liberal voter who clings to gun control laws and secular humanism.

And your an idiot with a keyboard with an IQ of about 2. I may be a liberal but with the way you GOPers have been talking, especially you sir, I would not vote for a republican if you paid me too. You make me sick

[dj292009]

When they step in the voting booth alone.Most white people will not vote for Obama.That just the way it is.You can say what you want.It will not change the fact.


And that sir is called RACISM!!! Something you all deny but you just put it out there in black in white.

[mandalay-bay]

I talked to a group of young workers today.They were from 22-27 years old.I asked who they were voting for for president.They all said McCain.I asked why none were voting for Obama.They said because he was black.At least thet were honest.


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Posted by mr22581 at 04:32 PM : Sep 19, 2008

OH NO!!! THERE''S A GROUP OF FIVE 22-27 YEAR OLDS SOMEWHERE IN PA ARE GOING TO VOTE FOR MCCAIN ACCORDING TO MR22581!!

IM SURE OBAMA IS SHAKING IN HIS BOOTS NOW!!!

wait....since this article is about misrepresenting your vote.....how do you know they weren''t lying to you and are all actually voting FOR Obama?

[mandalay-bay]

When they step in the voting booth alone.Most white people will not vote for Obama.That just the way it is.You can say what you want.It will not change the fact.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by mr22581 at 04:41 PM : Sep 19, 2008

Got news for you. Not all white people are racist like you mr22581. Maybe you and your racist buttt buddies want 4 more years of McSame, but the rest of America doesn''t.

[easeup-2009]

Didn''t these same pollsters have Kerry comfortably ahead in 2004?

These polls are a joke.

[jackiean1]

How many blacks are voting for Obama just because he is black?

Maybe those voters who motivated by race will cancel each other out

[toby2957]

When they step in the voting booth alone.Most white people will not vote for Obama.That just the way it is.You can say what you want.It will not change the fact.

Posted by mr22581 at 04:41 PM

I''m white. You leave white people out of this.

Your statement should say: "When they step in the voting booth alone. Most bigots will not vote for Obama.That just the way it is.You can say what you want.It will not change the fact."

[mydiatribe]

"There are some black people who just want to make everything a race issue."
Know who said that?
My pastor. He''s a black man.He''s lives a loving Christian life. He speaks the TRUTH!!

[toby2957]

I''''m glad I made you guys so happy.I did not say all.I said most.I think it is true.

Posted by mr22581 at 05:07 PM

You''re 100% correct. Bigots will not vote for Obama. But it has nothing to do with being white. It has everything to do with hate and intolerance.

[sdfaeg]

Economist and Stateman LaRouche Outlines Four Necessary Steps to Worldwide Economic Crisis%u2014---September 12, 2008 (LPAC)%u2013In discussions yesterday, Lyndon LaRouche emphasized that the actual breakdown which he had forecast on July 25, 2007 has already occurred, and as of now, there will be no return to the system that existed prior to September 2008. Only a new design of a system echoing the intentions of Franklin Roosevelt at the 1944 Bretton Woods conference could rescue the world%u2019s physical economy under present, post-August 2008 conditions.

To this end, LaRouche specified four necessary steps:
Step #1: Put the present international monetary system into bankruptcy reorganization. Step #2: Create a new system, a credit system, rather than a monetary system, in the form of an appropriately modern version of President Franklin Roosevelt%u2019s intention for a Bretton Woods system. Step #3: Organize the new system on the basis of an extended form of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia system, rather than a conflict-system. The IMF must be replaced by a treaty organization among participating sovereign nation-states with complementary long-term economic missions of scientific and related progress per-capita and per-square kilometer of territory. Step #4: Define a common, long-term mission-orientation of two or more generations%u2019 span for increase of the productive powers of labor among nations generally.

[tonyd_31]

McCain will win.It''''s that simple.

Posted by mr22581

Would you like to place a wager? I know that the "Bubba" vote is a concern but all the young people I talk to say that Obama is their man. I just think there are a lot more open-minded people across the spectrum than there are bigots. Let''s see and I think you are in for a surprise. :)

[obriann]

What a desperate-sounding article, hoping that the polls are understating McCain''s supporters who right now are lying to make it look as though Obama is winning? But then becuase of racism they switch their votes in the booth? Hmmm. Feasible, but ...

[tonyd_31]

How many blacks are voting for Obama just because he is black?

Maybe those voters who motivated by race will cancel each other out

Posted by jackiean1

First, if you had a little common sense you would see that blacks vote overwhelmly for the democrat nominn whomever that would have been. I am black and I will vote for Obama and not because he is black. I just agree with the DEM''s point of view on most issues. Now if Obama was the Repub nominee, he would not get my vote nor most black people vote. The only way you will be able to see the number of blacks who would vote for a candidate simply because he is black would be if the Repub nominee (which will never happen) was balck.

[republic1776]

How many blacks are voting for Obama just because he is black?
I am a white minority at my place of work. (50 Blacks)
They are all voting for Obama.
That''s sad, that they only see black.
I will not vote for him, not only because he is a Socialist, but also because this is a bad message to send to all Americans that races matters.

[billarynfl]

all the young people I talk to say that Obama is their man

Posted by Tonyd_31

I know a lot that don''t, and their numbers are growing as i see more of them on the news standing against obama. There is always hope they will make the right decision. Your observation does bring one thing to mind though. Why are so many young people always saying they are for the democrat candidate? Two things, one they are kind of brainwashed in high schools and colleges today, plus, age makes a difference. When your young your inexperienced and don''t really know what''s going on in the world in general. As you get older you gain experience and wisdom, then they shift to being conservatives.

[seafang]

Well of course Race is the WHOLE issue in this campaign. A work colleague (non-white, non-black, non-hispanic, non oriental) remarked that the Republican convention was a sea of white delegates; with no blacks. (he didn''t count the hispanic delegates). Actually there were apparently 65 black delegates.
Repeatedly, the nationwide polls say that 95% of black registered voters have said the plan to vote for Senator Obama. That would tend to suggest that only one in 20 black voters is a registered Republican; so why would you expect to find many blacks in Sat Paul. If it wasn''t a race issue, there would have been about 650 black delegates in St Paul.
So yes it is a purely racist campaign.

[john43218]

In Ohio, Senator Obama announced this year that he plans to increase the Bush initiative of using federal tax money to support faith based organizations such as churches and religious ministries.

Senator Obama has recently announced that the Bush tax cuts will not be suspended until the economy improves. According to Senator Obama, economic times are too precarious to allow taxes to increase -- even on individuals making more than $250,000 a year. Senator Obama acts as though he believes tax cuts are the most important policy for overcoming economic adversity. This does not sound like change. In fact, it sounds a lot like current Bush economic policy.

Senator Obama showed his willingness to resemble the Bush administration in his understanding of the situation in Iraq. In August 2008, he described the Bush administration surge in Iraq as succeeding "beyond anyone''s expectations." It seems that Senator Obama is comfortable taking President Bush''s positions on Iraq at moments that suit his own political designs.

Senator Obama characterizes his campaign as being about change. On at least five major issues including Iraq and economic policy, Obama has shown himself to be enough of a political chameleon to match President Bush whenever it suited his immediate purposes. Is that what he means by change?

[seafang]

So tell us tonyd31, did you get out there and promote Juatice Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court; or is he not black enough for you.

[republic1776]

It''s sad, it''s really a step backwards for blacks to vote for Obama on race.
I am sure I will be called a neo-com, or racist on this site.
My last 2 girlfriends were Black, and all of my fiends at work are black. I don''t have a problem being the only white guy.
I don''t see any difference, we''ll all human and Americans.

[lalabradle]

I am glad to see once again, the polls are saying that 95% of black voters are voting for Obama. My question is, where did they get that number. I am black, I have not taken any polls, and neither has anyone I know. So where were these polls taken? A lot of us are proud to have an intelligent black man running for president. We did not support Jesse Jackson, and he is black. Why? Because Jesse Jackson was and is only out for Jesse Jackson. We have not had a strong leader since Martin Luther King. I am voting for Obama because he is very intelligent and contrary to popular belief has a plan not just for blacks but for all Americans. It''s the brainwashed mentality that has been in the US since it has existed that the white man is superior and that no other man, not only black, could run this country. God made all men equal and able to learn equally, there is no such thing as the white man being the smartest. Actually the Chinese have us all beat by a long, long shot on that. I think it''s ignorant and sad that in 2008 race still means so much to people. It is also sad that most people will not admit that they are just prejudice. They do not judge people in America by character, but by color of skin. If Bush had been anything other than white, they would have impeached him after all the secrets and lies told in the Iraq war. These are facts, not fiction. But nobody is going to do anything about it. If he were not white, he would be in jail by now.

[lalabradle]

And as Jesse Jackson showed us on national TV, it''s sad that our own people don''t support each other. Any black man who does not support Obama is fooling himself if he thinks that it will get him browny points with white America. Some of our people are living in an unreal world. They make a few dollars and think they are in. They are in alright, in denial.

[hypnotoad72]

Until you ask every eligible American, any poll is skewed by locale, district, or any number of random factors.

[lalabradle]

Lots of white people are not voting for Obama because he is black. That''s just as sad. Many whites overlook Bush, the worse president ever because he is white. It sounds like the pots are calling the pans black to me. Double standards, same old white game.

[cbullcom]

Only death can cure the ingnorance of someone not liking somebody because of skin color. But that''s fine because hell is awaiting you, and your kids will be what you''re not, a decent human being.

[dj292009]

Pay not attention to NObama_SUX,

He has been pressed for answers (by me) all day, and he runs away just like McCain. So no worries. Hey NObama_SUX, I challange you to a debate on my forum and anyone here is welcome. You and anyone else. My forum is owned by me. Do you accept? If so I will give you a time when the forum is opem

[dj292009]

NObama_SUX Do you Accept?

[willymack]

All but a few of you are missing the boat. Black people in this country began some time ago to realize that democrats have been promising to up grade the Bronx in New York for decades and never kept the promise. Republicans never did either. So a lot of black people decided to take therir future into their own hands. Look at a NY subway car and you will see a black man in a suit, another in a hard hat, in a police uniform, in a soldiers uniform, wearing a verizon name tag etc. Only ignorant masses vote according to color based on rabble rousers like Jackson, Sharpton, and Wright. The rest of the black population are working hard for their family and moving up in the world, just like white people.

[dj292009]

Pay not attention to NObama_SUX,

He has been pressed for answers (by me) all day, and he runs away just like McCain. So no worries. Hey NObama_SUX, I challange you to a debate on my forum and anyone here is welcome. You and anyone else. My forum is owned by me. Do you accept? If so I will give you a time when the forum is opem
Posted by dj292009 at 06:15 PM : Sep 19, 2008
===================

More with your constant whhhhaaaaaahhhh, whhhaaaaahhhhh, whhhhaaaaahhhh, I see Dj???

Dj, I explained exactly why you''''re a mere percentage of the American I am.

All I can figure, you''''re so friggin un-American you really can''''t even read English....For there is zero doubt about you not comprehending it.

BTW: I''''ll accept your debate, when you 50%-Amerifrican accepts one of John McCHANGES townhall debates.

Until then, blow it out your sphincter you un-American!!



HA! Figures, Your just as I suspected. Thats fine, Oh BTW I am going to LMAO when your guy gets his A$$ handed to him a week from tonight

[cbullcom]

NObama_SUX, ignorance is bliss.

[willymack]

mcwhitey4u a

You state you want to go to war with Russia because you are a coward sitting in a prison library playing on the internet. You would never qualify to be a soldier so you feel safe and although I am white I doubt you are black.

You lack intelligence and try to inflame people. Who would vote for anyone who wanted white or black people to die in a war? Blood is red, not black or white, and there are a multitude of our boys trying to insure freedom for the people of Iraq. They know you are a sham.

If I knew your prison e-mail address I would send all the inmates your e-mail. Why not publish it. Afraid?

[skyk239]

The BEST poll is the one you take for yourself. IF you talk to people out there who work everyday and who are putting up with this economy AFTER the Clinton years and there is NO doubt about who is ahead and who is going to win. Anyone with a brain that votes for MORE of what we have been living with this week is flat out SICK!!

[skyk239]

Poll''s? When I am struggling to feed my family and I find out that a complete Collapse of our Finanical System was on the brink? When I see the Government who took over with a BALANCED BUDGET and a SURPLUS just BOUGHT a FAILED INSURANCE COMPANY AND ALL THE BAD LOANS IN THIS NATION with my tax dollars!! Folks I don''t give a tinkers Da@n what color Obama is HE is the man for the job!! NO REPUBLICAN especially Mr. De-Regulation, deserves ANY Honest American''s vote. He WILL NOT get them either. HE want''s to "Reform" his party, because THEY were in Charge... He want''s to "Reform" them fine. Do it on their OWN time and OWN dime. OBAMA 08

[skyk239]

As you read these these comments it is plain to see that the Repig''''s are in a state of great panic, only hope is that they start jumping off of building etc.

Posted by Endeaver at 07:14 PM : Sep 19, 2008


I know it is amazing. Because THEY are to hate filled to vote for someone who doesn''t belong to the party! LOL Man there is a lot of anger out here and it ain''t aimed toward Mr. Obama. AMERICA KNOWS he wasn''t SUPPOSED to be watching the WORST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY... When you provide NO oversight and just Borrow and Spend like there''s no tomorrow, these things do happen. Mr. McSame was....

[skyk239]

I live in Pennsylvania (a swing state),
and no one I know is voting for Obama .. not one.

The local talk radio stations are asking people to lie to
pollsters and reporters in order to make the polls meaningless

Several people I know, including myself, have received
phone calls from pollsters and reporters. We all lie and tell
the pollsters and reporters that we are voting for Obama,
even though we are really voting for McCain.

So, if you see a poll showing Obama with
a slight lead in Pennsylvania, do not believe it.


Posted by dmcfee1 at 07:28 PM : Sep 19, 2008

You should find a rock my friend!! You are part of the Past and there''s a NEW Generation out there and they are about to let their presence be felt. THEY have none of your bigotry and hate. THEY know they have been mislead and they know that MR. MCSAME is part of that. Nope... there''s a wave headed right at you and YOU need to find that Rock.

[hotwitch]

I think the more interesting aspect is that Senator Obama is doing so poorly in the polls. With the economy in the gutter, and people supposedly tired of 8 years of GWB, you''d think the Democratic nominee would be leading by double digits. Most recent polls have McCain/Obama in a virtual tie. There seems to be something lacking in Senator Obama, either policy, personality, or race.

[willymack]

The immense disappointment and subsequent shame of people who voted for democratic heros, like Elliot Spitzer, Bill Clinton and John Edwards, resulted in a bottom of the barrel pick of Barack Obama as their choice.

With no foreign policy experience he selected Joe Biden as VP to make him look like a statesman.

Unfortunately Biden subseqently announced that Hillary (sitting in the shadows as Obama''s women scorned) was a better choice.

John McCain picked a Women of substantial character who happens to be well spoken and attractive. This act has shattered the democratic party, panic has set in and attacks on the family and character of Palin abound. Biden will withdraw for phony health reasons and Obama will cow tow to Clinton naming her his new VP choice. A party in chaos. Sad.

[willymack]

There are probably about 1 percent of americans that vote based on race. Then there are about 10 percent of Americans that are simply so ignorant that they harp on race and Bush. Then there are the 89 percent of the rest of us that are trying to decide who can lead us in this time of change. I hope that John McCain, is sincere that he wants to serve. He has demonstated his service in the military and as a maverick in Congress, crossing partisan isles to join
with no lesss than "Liberal Lieberman". Barack Obama came from nowhere with inspiration speaches but has never demonstrated leadership, unless you want to belive his great community organizer credenials. I question these because they were all race oriented as were his unsuccesful drafts of legislateon that failed. For me there is no questoon on who to vote for.

[noboundary]

This article isn''t helpful to the present situation. If you want to see how the polls are working, just review the primary we just went through. You will see the polls were accurate within the margin of error stated.

[willymack]

The immense disappointment and subsequent shame of people who voted for democratic heroes, like Elliot Spitzer, Bill Clinton and John Edwards, resulted in a bottom of the barrel pick of Barrack Obama as their choice.

With no foreign policy experience he selected Joe Biden as VP to make him look like a statesman.

Unfortunately Biden subsequently announced that Hillary (sitting in the shadows as Obama''s women scorned) was a better choice.

John McCain picked women of substantial character who happens to be well spoken and attractive. This act has shattered the Democratic Party. Panic set in and attacks on the family and character of Palin abound. Biden will withdraw for phony health reasons and Obama will cow tow to Clinton naming her his new VP choice. You have to question a party that presumed itself guaranteed the Presidency. Obama has the golden tonsils, and only had to anoint Hillary his VP to insure a landslide. He did not do so. If this is not a reason to very, very, very, seriously question his judgment, you need to have another drink.

[willymack]

linymo

I agree......I ask frieds, people on line at the grocery store, former business associates, service people who deliver and install an appliance, store clerks, and the list goes on and no one seems to be real high on Obama. However, if you take a poll of University students, and young citiy people ....that is a different story. It is sad that university professors are so distorting our youth. Actually, we as parents are to blame. At least us that are over 50.