Poll: Age may play bigger role than race on Election Day

[DeepModem Mom]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new national survey suggests that race won't be a major factor in the outcome of the presidential election.

Seven out of ten Americans questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Survey released Friday say that the race of the candidates will not be a factor in their vote for president this year. That 70 percent figure is up 9 points from July, when the same question was asked. Only 5 percent of those polled say race will be the single most important factor in their choice for president, with 11 percent saying it's one of several important factors, and 13 percent indicating race will be a minor factor in their vote....

So how will race affect the results on election day? "First, don't assume that everyone who says that race is factor in their votes are voting against Obama,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. He adds that some voters are choosing Obama because of his race — and that many of those who say that race will influence their votes are Republicans who were highly unlikely to vote for any Democrat this year.

"By one complicated measure, the number of votes Obama may lose due to his race is roughly equal to the number who will vote for him because he is black. And both those numbers appear to be small, possibly just one percentage point in each direction," says Holland....

***

What about the age question? If elected, 72-year-old John McCain would be the oldest person to be inaugurated as president. Roughly half of those polled say the age of the candidates will affect their vote, a number essentially unchanged since July. Three percent said age would be the most important factor in determining their presidential pick, with 19 percent saying it would be one of several important factors, and 25 percent saying it would be a minor factor....

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/24/poll-age-may-play-bigger-role-than-race-on-election-day/#more-26302

[Nambe]

1. I honestly think the weather on 11-4 will play a bigger than race or age.

Bread and butter issues have taken over. The couch potato GOP voters cannot afford their pretzels or their cable subscriptions so they have to read the free voters guide for the first time. If that is not enough, they have to use public transportation and get a taste of people actually involved in the real world outside the NASCAR replays on Fox.

[VoodooGuru]

2. McCain never stops making jokes about his age...

And he's totally oblivious to the effect it has, which is to reinforce the idea "Holy crap, this guy is old." He really seems to be campaigning as if it were 1988 or even 1968 sometimes.

It's really the worst possible combination for the Republicans. A very appealing, young candidate on the other side to whom idealistic young people can use as a mirror for their own idealism (Obama has said as much himself) and an old, uncool, increasingly out-of-touch seeming relic of a past age whose major accomplishment has been capitalizing on his greatest misfortune and billing himself as a "maverick", something which is, significantly, neither being a leader nor a follower. Not exactly the most inspiring thing on examination, is it? Especially when compared to the enormous potential on the Democratic side?

[jkappy]

3. Public Campaign Denials of Age, Islam, the Left diminish each

in an even deeper way. And in the case of Palin a kind of reversal...what protests she is is diminishes women and feminism--which means they are about to go extinct.

[Nambe]

4. Palin, the born again maverick, is rebelling against the campaign.

Ben Smith reported that, “Four Republicans close to Palin said she has decided increasingly to disregard the advice of the former Bush aides tasked to handle her, creating occasionally tense situations as she travels the country with them.” The article goes on to say that the Alaska governor “blames her handlers for a botched rollout and a tarnished public image.”

[jkappy]

5. credit Palin for this stand.

[Nambe]

6. How naive of her to jump in with this crowd before having her role defined.

I honestly hope she takes the role of full time mom or gets her own show on Fox so Tod can raise the children.

[tanyev]

8. Oh, this could get interesting.

Will she give a tell-all interview or write a book after the election? Probably a book. She seems like the mercenary type.

[Skittles]

7. I think the Asshole factor will be big too

What about the asshole question? If elected, 72-year old John McCain would be the oldest asshole to be inaugurated as president.

[Imagevision]

9. I do believe Mccain will have a tough sell to the Woodstock Boomers