The most likable candidates?

Yahoo News ^ | 20 Nov 2007 | NANCY BENAC and TREVOR TOMPSON

[Mr Rogers]

The most likable candidates? Obama and Giuliani are tops By NANCY BENAC and TREVOR TOMPSON, Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats and Republicans alike have strong opinions about who has the best chance of capturing the presidency in 2008—Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, that is—but that's not necessarily the candidate they'd rather go bowling with, take along on a family vacation or even vote for.

Which candidate is the most likable? On the Republican side, Giuliani gets the nod, both from GOP voters and among voters overall. None of the Democratic candidates has a clear advantage among Democratic voters, with Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards running about even. But in a sheer popularity contest, pitting the most likable Democrat vs. the best-liked Republican, it would be Obama over Giuliani, 54 percent to 46 percent.

Ask voters which qualities are most important, though, and they put likability well down the list. They attach far more importance to being honest, ethical, decisive and strong.

An in-depth survey of more than 2,000 people offers a window into the thinking of Americans as they look far beyond electability in making their choices for president—grappling with matters of personality, policy and religion in sorting through the candidates.

The survey by The Associated Press and Yahoo! News is a departure from traditional polling in that it will track the opinions of the same people across the country as their beliefs develop and change through the campaign.

Overall, the poll finds, Democrats are weighing personal traits more heavily than policy positions this election season; Republicans are putting greater emphasis on policy.

[Mr Rogers]

Worth reading. I think the chart (I didn't know how to embed it) gives food for thought on why Thompson is having problems getting traction. People vote their feelings far more often than they want to admit.

BTW - I prefer Thompson...

[Just A Nobody]

Here ya go.

All one has to do is look at Mrs. BJ K'Toon's scores to see what a great "in-depth" survey this was. LOL!

[Mr Rogers]

Thanks. What I noticed were Fred’s relative rankings for decisive and experienced. I hadn’t looked at Hillary - it says even more if people in ANY numbers view her that way...

[NeoCaveman]

I call BS. There is no way that 2/3 of Americans view Missus Clinton as honest and ethical.

If they did, then 45-50% wouldn’t say they will never vote for her.

[paudio]

The survey included 1,049 Democrats, for whom the margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 points, and 827 Republicans, for whom the margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.4 points.

Like usual, they over-represented the Dims. This one the gap is quite huge: the Dims were more than 25% of the Republicans.

[paudio]

I meant 125%.

[wai-ming]

Wow, with numbers like that Hillary can give the "Dear Leader" (Kim Jong Il) a run for his money.

Notice how the selected pictures have "friendly" Hillary smiling while the others look serious, mean or dorky. No bias with this poll, none at all.

[alicewonders]

Yeah, I had to laugh when I saw the scores that Hillary and Rudy each got for being HONEST?????

Wow. The definition of honesty sure has changed a lot since I last looked it up. Hillary has told enough lies to fill a book and since when is cheating on your wife (Rudy) considered “honest”?

I’m sure seeing a lot of these bull$hit polls lately - I’m not sure my stomach can take much more.

[RoadKingSE]

[freespirited]

The chart is rigged. Those numbers are for RAT voters only!

Who cares how many RATS think Hillary is honest. What we really want to know is the % of normal people (i.e. independents and Republicans) who will say that about her.

[Just A Nobody]

I agree. Honest and ethical are 2 words that are not in her vocabulary. If there is ONE American that believes that, they should be shot.

[PeterPrinciple]

BTW - I prefer Thompson...

---

Please give a short explanation of why..........

[NeoCaveman]

Even my yellow dog Democrat grandmother knows Hildebeast is not honest or ethical.

She tells me “someone elese will get the nomination” and I chuckle back “No, you are stuck with her”

[Just A Nobody]

The Breck Girl looks pretty sweet. LOL!

[Just A Nobody]

Your grandmother? Why according to the enemedia all the older ladies are chomping at the bit to vote for a woman to be president. Work on her...she’ll come around. ;*)

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

“someone elese will get the nomination”

I cringe whenever FReepers propose that we should want Hillary to be nominated because "she can't win." In the first place, she can win; WJBC won in '96 when we knew the two of them were corrupt.

In the second place, how are we to criticize her corruption as unacceptable after she wins the Democrat nomination, if we refused to say a word about it beforehand. What kind of a patriot is sanguine about having a major party nominate a crook?

Hillary is the second coming of Robert Torricelli - someone the Democrats will nominate, but someone who - if there is any justice - will be discredited long before next November. In New Jersey, the Democrats were able to pull a last-minute switcheroo and get former senator Frank Lautenberg back on the ballot. In a national election, what are they gonna do if her candidacy implodes as it should - promise that the electors who are pledged to her will vote for someone else?

[Mr Rogers]

I prefer Thompson because I’ve listened to what he says. He has proposed intelligent plans on Social Security. He has talked intelligently about what it might take to improve the abortion situation, rather than pandering. He has a consistent message based on limited government. Mitt, Rudy, McCain & Huckabee are all proponents of ‘the Government is here to help’.

I don’t know much about Hunter or Tancredo, and Paul is a loon.