Interesting Polling Data on Candidate Characteristics
February 27th, 2007 | by Craig R. Harmon |There’s a couple of things that flummox me, here. Resistance to electing an older candidate to be President — about 60% said they’d be unlikely to vote for an older candidate — I can understand. The Last older President we had showed signs of dimentia before leaving office and later suffered full-blown Alzheimers. This is not something that we’d like to see repeated in a President if we can help it.
Resistance to electing a Mormon? I can kind of understand that although I don’t in any way share that resistance. People don’t know much about the Mormon faith and what they don’t understand they don’t trust. What they do understand, they might not like. For example, most Christians do not consider Latter Day Saints to be Christians. As we’ve read here at BIO! recently, Americans tend to want their President to be a Christian. I would have hoped that a candidate’s religion would, by now, not make a difference but it obviously still does to lot’s of folk.
Divorces? Okay, I guess that would raise questions about a person’s judgements, temperament and/or ability and willingness to commit to a course of action. The memory of Giuliani’s affair and messy divorce may be somewhat behind this, as well.
But being a smoker? Come on. What’s with that? Is it just that struggling to give up smoking is seen as a sign of personal weakness? A lack of self-control?
Anyway, I don’t think that these polls will have much effect on the 2008 election. People will, ultimately, vote the person, the Party, or the political platform of the individual candidate when they step into the booth, not whether or not the candidate is a smoker?
What do you all think?
6 Responses to “Interesting Polling Data on Candidate Characteristics”
By tos on Feb 27, 2007 | Reply
All people have weaknesses. Drinking-Bush, Adulterer-Clinton,Pansy Ass-Carter
By Jersey McJones on Feb 28, 2007 | Reply
Don’t forget HUAC-rat Reagan.
JMJ
By Craig R. Harmon on Feb 28, 2007 | Reply
Jersey
What’s a HUAC-rat?
By Jersey McJones on Feb 28, 2007 | Reply
The Mormon thing might not keep Romney from winning the nomination, but the religious right has been warning the GOP of late that if they don’t get a strong “Christian” candidate, they’re going to sit out the generals. So the GOP might try to stifle Romney’s campaign. On the other hand, if the GOP puts up a religious right candidate, he’d probably lose, as most Americans have about had it with that bunch.
JMJ
By Jersey McJones on Feb 28, 2007 | Reply
Craig, the HUAC was the House UnAmerican Activies Committee of McCarthy fame. When Reagan, then President of the Actors Guild, was called to testify to the committee, he requested a private hearing and reportedly named names among his fellow actors, as well as writers and directors. He was a rat. A HUAC Rat. The lowest of the lowest kinds of treasonous rats, in my book.
JMJ
By Craig R. Harmon on Feb 28, 2007 | Reply
Jersey,
Ah. Gotcha. Thanks for the explanation.