By Stephanie Lee
A new poll suggests that a vice presidential candidate from the South would hold no sway over Southern voters, who favor John McCain over Barack Obama overall.
In a poll released today by Winthrop/ETV, more than 87 percent of voters surveyed in 11 southern states said a running mate from the South would have no bearing on their vote.
If the election were held today, 51 percent of voters surveyed would elect McCain, while 35 percent would pick Obama, according to the poll. Eight percent said they were undecided; the remainder refused to answer the question or said they would vote for another candidate.
Both candidates are expected to announce their running mates in the coming days.
When asked what age is "too old to run for president," about 21 percent said no age is too old and about 15 percent said they weren't sure. The remaining respondents said that about 74 years old, on average, is too old.
McCain turns 72 on Aug. 29; Obama turned 47 on Aug. 4.
The poll surveyed 1,088 likely voters from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. The poll has a 2.97 percent margin of error, and was conducted by Winthrop University and South Carolina's public television station.
The primary issue on voters’ minds is the economy, followed by the Iraq war, according to the poll. The majority of respondents said they believe that McCain would do a better job than Obama of handling most major issues, including gas prices, the war and taxes. But the two candidates are evenly matched when it comes to health care, with 41.6 percent choosing McCain and 40.8 percent choosing Obama.
About 73 percent said race is not an important factor in their choice for president.
The respondents also indicated an overall disapproval with the state of the country. According to the poll, about 53 percent disapprove of the way President Bush is handling his job and nearly 63 percent believe the nation is heading in the wrong direction.
The Democratic National Convention will take place in Denver, from Aug. 25-28. The Republican National Convention will be in St. Paul-Minneapolis, from Sept. 1-4.
Stephanie Lee, (757) 446-2628, stephanie.lee@pilotonline.com
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Georgia
How can anyone "overreact" to the Georgia "problem"???
A small nation was invaded by a former superpower which still has a lot of its infrastructure in place. Who can say it is an overreaction to speak up in such a situation? Cheers, MGM
Poll article
The statement that the only poll that matters is the one in November is also incorrect. The ONLY poll that counts is the one from the electoral college. We citizens DO NOT elect the president - the Electoral college does.
This is propraganda
The language of this article should be studied as rhetoric
Low information voters ?
For a guy who frequently gets the warring factions mixed up, for getting Iraq sooooo wrong, for demonstrating a hot temper & overreacting to the Georgia problem, for a guy who claimed "There’s Been Great Progress Economically" since Bush took office, for a guy whose chief economic advisor was an Enron Enabler who just recently claimed that the econ problems were mental in nature & that the foreclosed were whiners.... its remarkable that the respondants thought that McCain would handle the war & the economy better.
"We'd be welcome as liberators."
"The president has handled this, in my view, skillfully."
"antipathy toward the US in the Islamic world might diminish."
"I think we have in numbers probably enough troops." (feb05)
"No one has supported President Bush on Iraq more than I have."
And more specifically
The only "poll" that counts is the election on November 4. Everything else is meaningless.
VP picks
BHO is better off picking himself as VP. That way he would not have to worry about the VP being smarter on current and world affairs than the.
Or more general
Or more general...any voters are not swayed by any VP.