2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumPoll: Obama, Romney neck-and-neck ahead of party conventions
AMPA The Republican National Convention opens this week with President Obama and presumptive nominee Mitt Romney running evenly, with voters more focused on Obamas handling of the nations flagging economy than on some issues dominating the political debate in recent weeks.
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows Romney at 47 percent among registered voters and Obama at 46 percent barely changed from the deadlocked contest in early July.
The findings continue a months-long pattern, with neither the incumbent nor the challenger able to sustain clear momentum, despite airing hundreds of millions of dollars in television ads most of them negative and exchanging some of the harshest early rhetoric seen in a modern presidential campaign.
Romneys selection of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as his running mate also did not fundamentally reshape the race, although the GOPs conservative base has grown more enthusiastic about the ticket but no more so about the chances of beating Obama in November.
Enthusiasm or a lack thereof will be on display as Republicans and Democrats hold their conventions over the next two weeks. The two parties will make their pitches to an electorate stuck in a deeply pessimistic mood. More than eight in 10 give the economy negative marks and nearly seven in 10 see the country as seriously off track an assessment that has not changed significantly all year.
The Post-ABC survey highlights the dominance of the economy as an issue in the 2012 election. Seventy-two percent of voters say the presidents handling of the economy will be a major factor in their vote this November.
Fewer voters place great significance on other issues that have roiled the campaign, including newly minted GOP vice presidential candidates plan to restructure Medicare, differences between the parties on womens issues and Romneys handling of his tax returns.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-obama-romney-neck-and-neck-ahead-of-party-conventions/2012/08/26/62882360-efc3-11e1-adc6-87dfa8eff430_story.html more
Summer Hathaway
(2,770 posts)The media needs this race to be close, all the way to the finish line.
And so, according to them, it will be.
TroyD
(4,551 posts)It's dangerous when they try to keep it close.
It would be disastrous if 2000 happened all over again.
TroyD
(4,551 posts)Is Rasmussen up to something, or are these legitimate numbers?
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows President Obama attracting support from 47% of voters nationwide, while Mitt Romney earns 44% of the vote. Four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided.
This is the presidents biggest lead since May. His 47% level of support matches his best since March.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll
gkhouston
(21,642 posts)Every time I hear a "likely voter" number, I wonder who decided what "likely" is... and remember that this election doesn't seem very "likely" to begin with.
otohara
(24,135 posts)This is where McCain/Obama was in 2008
I wish people would stop posting these useless polls.