512 Obama Voters 11/13/08-11/15/08 MOE +/- 4.4 points

97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates

Results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions

57.4% could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing)

81.8% could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing)

82.6% could NOT correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing)

88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing)

56.1% could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing).

And yet.....

Only 13.7% failed to identify Sarah Palin as the person on which their party spent $150,000 in clothes

Only 6.2% failed to identify Palin as the one with a pregnant teenage daughter

And 86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her "house," even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!

Only 2.4% got at least 11 correct.

Only .5% got all of them correct. (And we "gave" one answer that was technically not Palin, but actually Tina Fey)

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Ironball wrote:

How and Who Elected Obama 

Zogby Poll

512 Obama Voters 11/13/08-11/15/08 MOE +/- 4.4 points

97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates

Results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions

57.4% could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing)

81.8% could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing)

82.6% could NOT correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing)

88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing)

56.1% could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing).

And yet.....

Only 13.7% failed to identify Sarah Palin as the person on which their party spent $150,000 in clothes

Only 6.2% failed to identify Palin as the one with a pregnant teenage daughter

And 86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her "house," even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!

Only 2.4% got at least 11 correct.

Only .5% got all of them correct. (And we "gave" one answer that was technically not Palin, but actually Tina Fey)

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The Poll is not surprising nor is the video. I saw similiar questions posed of people by Howard Sterns reporter asking people if they agreed with Obama's positions except they were really McCains positions.

The reality apparently is that the election was hardly about issues. It was a popularity contest separated by a relatively small 10 million votes.

It does not matter at this point Obama was adept at channeling that vague promise of change into votes despite actual issues.

Obama was "looked" better on the T.V., he was hip, articulate, and charismatic to those eager to jump on the next trend.

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civengr wrote:

It is discouraging to think that a right to vote does not require any knowledge about what you are voting for.  To be fair I would like to see the same type of poll for McCain voters.  You can't do it but I often think there should be some kind of simple questionaire for voters.  We couldn't do it because too many people couldn't vote then and they have a constitutional right to vote.  It only makes me sad that some of us spend a lot of time and study on the issues only to have someone cancel our vote without even knowing what they are voting for.

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civengr wrote:

I am sure that the Obama voters did not confuse McCain's policies with Obama's.  I just don't think they even had a clue what Obama's policies really were.

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Hlynn wrote:

This is nothing new. There have been comedy bits about uninformed voters for years. Haven't you ever seen "Jaywalking" on The Tonight Show where people walking by are asked questions--often about the government or politicians--and give bizarre answers or can't answer at all? Bush was elected because people "liked" him and thought he would be a fun guy to have a beer with.  Even ignorant people have the right to vote. And many probably voted for McCain because they know his name, he is caucasian, and they thought Palin is pretty. People vote for all kinds of reasons. But Obama got a lot of votes--it was a decisive victory--and I doubt most of those people confused his policies with McCain or thought he looked better.

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Soundoff wrote:

Obama supporters are a bunch of maroons

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