Posted on 07/20/2009 4:07:38 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
If voters get to choose between Republican Mitt Romney and Democratic President Barack Obama in the 2012 election, a new national poll suggests the race would be too close to call.
Both Romney and Obama had the support of 45 percent of respondents to a new Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday.
The public opinion polling company asked 1,000 likely voters nationwide on July 18-19 whether they would vote for Romney or Obama if the 2012 presidential election were held today.
The telephone survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
Utah's top pollster, Dan Jones, said so early in the election cycle, such polls are "somewhat guesswork but it's still an indicator. I would be very surprised if we had an election and it would be that close."
Jones said the poll results say more about how Americans view Obama than a potential GOP challenger.
"It shows there are people who are discouraged with the (president's) economic package and especially with the direction America going," Jones said. Still, he said, the poll "will be very, very encouraging to the Romney people."
The results should give both Romney and the GOP a boost, said Kelly Patterson, the director of Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy.
"Gov. Romney can take a lot of heart from this because the Republican Party has gone through a very difficult stretch," Patterson said. "The fact that any Republican candidate is that close to Obama at this point is good news for the Republican Party."
And Romney, considered a "favorite son" candidate by Utahns because of his Mormon faith and leadership of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, may be in an especially good position to take advantage of the GOP's well-publicized struggles.(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at deseretnews.com ...
No Mitt no Huck, no Newt, no Bush’s.
Without much effort, and with all the 24/7 carpet bombing of her, Sarah Palin is only a few points behind 0bama? I’d say that’s pretty good. She may even be even with him, Margin of Error 3 points would give her 45 and him 45. Another way of looking at it.
Once Palin is free to travel, speak her mind, and write, her numbers will climb. You can bet that her book will hit #1 on the best sellers list as well.
Come 2012, Romney, Huckabee, Pawlenty, Gingrich, Daniels, whoever, won’t even be speedbumps in Palin’s way. Speedbumps implying slowing something down, what they will be is roadkill on the Palin Highway.
IYO, why Jindal over Palin? Is it for substitive reasons or do you feel Palin has been “damaged” a la Quayle, Gingrich, etc. for a general election? Just curious.
Rudy G.
Ha! No, Rudy G., although I bet you would have done better than McCain.
Hahahahaha! Yeah, further left than McCain, that’s where we should have gone! Oh, My Lord, and you’re serious, too, aren’t you? Why even have a Republican Party? Just merge them back into the Democrat-Republican Party circa 1810. Or we could call them the Federalist Party, for the added touch of irony!!
Your posts are entertaining, and will do nothing to influence the GOP candidate in ‘12.
Support your candidate with passion in the primaries, don’t defame the other GOP candidates, and commit to support the GOP ticket in the general. That’s all you’ve got to do.
This is very early for the sitting president to be losing to any named candidate.
That’s a strange belief that many here have. On national security and economics, RG was among the most conservative in the field. On social issues, he committed to the appointment of Scalia-like SC justices, which is the extent of the president’s influence in those matters.
Yes, he was conservative.
Yes—the wheels may be coming off.
Substance. I don’t worry about the “damaged” thing. Nobody was more maligned than GWB in 2004, and yet, he was able to win.
But I have been routinely disappointed by Sarah’s grasp of some issues thus far. Maybe that will change in a few years. She doesn’t seem to me to be a Reagan type intellectual. Yet.
Are you suggesting that Rudy would have been the best candidate for the general?
Anyone can change positions when they’re running for president (See Gov. Willard “Mitt” Romney) but actions speak louder than words. Mayor Giuliani was tough on crime and terrorism. That’s about the beginning and ending of his so-called “conservatism” FRiend. Would he make a good Homeland Security secretary, FEMA director or Drug Czar? Sure. Do I want him in the Oval Office? Not on your life! President Clinton is to the right of Hizzoner on many issues. Rudy is pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage, for open borders, etc. Senator McCain was bad enough!
Yes.
We disagree.
Thankfully, that has-been ran one of the worst campaigns for national office ever.
“Rudy is a known liar and control freak who would have been a disaster as President.”
Liar? Hardly. Control Freak? Sure hope so.
He would have been a fine president. May still be...
>> commit to support the GOP ticket
No can do, as long as they prove themselves unworthy of support.
Tell you what though, I’ll support to commit them. Most of them could use some time in an asylum to “discover themselves”.
Law and Order Eurofascism mixed with social liberalism has no place in American conservatism.
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