AP poll: 1 in 7 voters still persuadable in presidential race

[FreeStateDemocrat]

Source: AP/Baltimore Sun

AP poll: 1 in 7 voters still persuadable in presidential race
By Alan Fram | The Associated Press
7:35 AM EDT, October 31, 2008
WASHINGTON - Patrick Campbell worries Barack Obama will raise his taxes but thinks John McCain will send people off to war. He says that leaves him leaning toward Obama ... maybe.

"I'm split right down the middle," said the 50-year-old Air Force Reserve technician from Amherst, N.Y. "Each one has things that are good for me and things that are bad for me. And people like me."

With the sand in the 2008 campaign hourglass about depleted, Campbell is part of a stubborn wedge of people who, somehow, are still making up their minds about who should be president. One in seven, or 14 percent, can't decide or back a candidate but might switch, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll of likely voters released today.

Who are they? They look a lot like the voters who've already locked onto a candidate, though they're more likely to be white and less likely to be liberal. And they disproportionately backed Hillary Clinton's failed run for the Democratic nomination.



For now, their indecision remains intact despite the fortunes that have been spent to tug people toward either McCain, the Republican, or the Democrat Obama. Fueling their uncertainty is a combination of disliking something about both candidates and frustration with this campaign and politics in general.

"We have a lot of candidates who have never really hurt, have never had to struggle" economically, said Jeff Wofford, 28, a pastor and Republican from High Ridge, Mo., who may back McCain. "A lot of candidates are interested in working the political system but aren't really interested in changing things."


Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/world/iraq/bal-appoll1031,0,6304102.story

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Persuaded by what, a Bin Laden tape? This is far too large a group that have no idea what the fuck they are doing for our democratic process to function effectively.

[Zynx]

1. They sure buried this in there: The survey found Obama leading McCain among all likely voters, 51-43

[GOPNotForMe]

4. I was wondering if there were head-to-head numbers!

Good find. AP so sneaky.

[mucifer]

2. lots of people have already voted.

[BeyondGeography]

3. As David Sedaris put it, they are trying to decide between a properly cooked meal

and a plate of shit with pieces of glass sticking out of it.

Decisions, decisions.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

8. LOVE IT!!! LOL

[Kahuna]

5. That is not a random poll. That is a controlled group that the AP has

been tracking for months. Joe Scaborough just tried to push this poll off as a legitimate poll. It's not.
http://news.yahoo.com/page/election-2008-political-pulse-methodology;_ylt=AtpMdaRzrQEQ2ZbqU0MEmZTNUpF4
Methods and Results
By The Associated Press
The AP-Yahoo! News Poll is a unique study that will track the moods and opinions of a group of more than 2,700 people throughout the presidential election campaign. The study involves an extensive national survey of 2,714 people who will be re-contacted several times during the next year to see how their attitudes and opinions change over time. The survey is being conducted by Knowledge Networks of Menlo Park, Calif., under the direction and supervision of AP's polling unit.

[fjc]

6. Undecided at this late hour means they can't see a thing in front of them.

[Kelvin Mace]

7. This just in....

1 in 7 people functionally brain dead.

[Robb]

9. Interesting. What it doesn't say

...is what percentage of those "persuadable" 1 in 7 are actually on the fence, or have made a weak decision about who they're voting for.

I would think the weak decision folks actually are persuadable. I wonder if more so with a weak decision to vote GOP. :shrug:

Almost everyone I know already voted.

[Doctor_J]

10. OK. Read this and then tell me that the country's not doomed

We're just too ignorant on the whole to survive. Natural Selection on a cultural scale.

[melody]

13. It's not just us, it's a cross-cultural phenomenon

Trust me, we ain't special.

[bemildred]

11. What a pantload:

"The AP-Yahoo News poll of 1,040 likely voters was conducted Oct. 17-27. It included interviews with 147 likely voters considered persuadable, meaning they're either undecided or back a candidate but say they might change their mind, and 893 likely voters considered not persuadable. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 8.1 percentage points for persuadable likely voters and 3.3 points for those considered not persuadable.

The poll was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks, which initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods and followed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free.
"

[elocs]

12. So, Patrick Campbell, do 50-year-old Air Force Reserve technicians make over $250,000?

Then why would you be worried about Obama raising your taxes? Don't believe Obama will not raise your taxes? Why would you believe McCain who was against the Bush tax cut, but now warmly embraces it?