Daily Archive for January 9th, 2008

Bill Richardson to Drop Out?

Published
by
Jeremy Clifton
on January 9, 2008
in News, Politics & Other Objectionable Subjects and Twitter Updates
. 0 Comments

It would appear that Bill Richardson is going to drop out of the presidential race. I have paid far less attention to what’s happening with any race other than the Republican one, but my impression has always been that he’s a rather principled fellow, and he definitely seems likeable. As a result, I hate to see him go. Honestly, I wish none of the candidates would drop out before Super Tuesday, but that’s not how we do things right now …

Some Observations on the NH Primary Exit Polling

Published
by
Jeremy Clifton
on January 9, 2008
in Politics & Other Objectionable Subjects
. 2 Comments

I’ve been culling through CNN’s exit polling results for the NH primaries. I’ve only looked at the Republican results thus far, since that is the side I’m most closely following. My thesis: far too many people who vote are ignorant. To support my observations:

1. Of people who said they were “enthusiastic” about the Bush administration, 2% voted for Ron Paul. 5% who were “angry” about it voted for Giuliani, and 37% voted for McCain. Given that any candidate save Ron Paul on the R ticket essentially stands for a continuation of the Bush administration’s policy, and Ron Paul essentially stands for a drastic change, why would somebody who was enthusiastic vote for Ron Paul, and why would somebody who was angry vote for Giuliani or McCain?

2. 1% of people who thought that the next president should continue the Bush administration’s directions voted for Ron Paul. Again, hello? What person who has paid any attention to this race at all thinks that Paul would continue any part of the Bush administration’s policies?

3. Fun question: “Who would be the best commander-in-chief?” This one was broken down by who the people polled said they voted for. One would expect (hope?) that the vast majority of people who voted for any one candidate would think he was the best commander-in-chief. Surprisingly, only 58% of the people who voted for Giuliani thought he would be.

4. Only 39% of the people who voted for Giuliani had a “strongly favorable opinion” of him, and only 2% had a “somewhat favorable” opinion of him. The other two choices were “somewhat unfavorable” or “strongly unfavorable.” At least 79% of the people who voted for McCain had an overall positive opinion of him. 1% of the people who voted for Ron Paul said they had a “somewhat unfavorable” opinion of him.

5. 3% of the people who voted for Ron Paul “strongly approve” of the war in Iraq. Come on people, this is one of the few things he could actually change if president, and he’s opposed to it! 44% of the people who voted for for McCain are “strongly opposed” to the war. They must have missed that he’s in favor of occupying the country for 100 years if necessary.

6. A full 45% of the people who voted for Giuliani thought one of the other candidates was the “strongest leader.”

I rest my case.