Posted on 09/17/2011 1:31:07 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Two weeks ago, it was Perry 44, Obama 41. Today, this. What happened? Oh right.
Although
Perry trails Obama by 15 percentage points among women and barely leads among men. Perry trails among voters under 40, runs even among 40-somethings and leads among those 50 and older. Its worth remembering that most voters over 40 voted against Obama in 2008.
Perry currently attracts just 71% of the Republican vote, while the president wins 85% of Democrats. Among voters not affiliated with either party, the race is a toss-up.
His numbers among Republicans will soar if hes the nominee, as they would for any other candidate in the field, but Im not sure what to make of the fact that he leads O among the over-50 crowd. Like Ras says, thats to be expected given Obamas track record in 2008, but maybe its also anecdotal evidence that Social Security isnt hurting Perry as badly as we think. Could be his numbers are down simply because his overall performance at the debates has been lackluster, especially given the high expectations that accompanied his big hoss/white knight persona when he jumped in. In fact, Rasmussens crosstabs reveal that Perry leads Obama 49/38 among voters aged 65 or over. In 2008, McCain won that demographic 53/45. Perrys outperforming him for the moment.
Another data point from Gallup. Note the line on independents:
(CHART AT LINK)
Worse than this, perhaps, is that pluralities of both Republicans (37 percent) and independents (40 percent) think Perrys views on Social Security will hurt his election chances. Thats a potentially deadly liability, especially in a long primary race where electability may become more important the closer we get to the general campaign. If Romney and Perry are roughly even in delegates after two months and umpteen debates, undecideds may try to break the stalemate by looking to the most basic qualification of all viability against Obama. And unless Im missing something, theres no obvious way for Perry to undo this perception that hes less electable because of his Social Security views. Voters have heard for decades that its the third rail of American politics; they know Bush was routed when he tried to engage on privatization in 2005. Even if Perry comes up with his own reform plan which may be in the works, as hes now talking to Paul Ryan the mere fact that this became a major issue early on may influence the publics image of Perry going forward.
One more piece of bad news for Perryites:
The unemployment rate in Texas rose a bit in August to 8.5%, its highest rate since 1987.
That leaves the Lone Star State in the middle of the pack nationally, but its jobless rate remains below the national rate of 9.1%. The uptick, reported Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is worth noting since Texas Gov. Rick Perry has based his presidential campaign on his states ability to create jobs while much of the country is stuck in the economic doldrums.
Mr. Perrys campaign blamed President Barack Obama. Texas is not immune to the effects of the national recession, Mr. Perrys spokesman, Mark Miner, said in an email. And even during this national economic downturn, which the presidents misguided policies have only worsened, Texas remains the nations top economy.
Thats neat spin, but Texass economic record is the pillar holding his entire campaign up. If it starts to crack as the race wears on, his chances could collapse. Especially given the other electability concerns. Late poll tonight, just out as I write this: Perry 23, Romney 16, Gingrich 7, Bachmann 7.
Update: Yet another liability: Did Perry support TARP? The AP covered the letter [dated October 1, 2008 and co-signed by the RGA and DGA] with the headline, Governors, Business Up Pressure for Bailout Bill. Its very hard to read otherwise.
We strongly urge Congress to leave partisanship at the door and pass an economic recovery package, they wrote. It is time for Washington, D.C. to step up, be responsible, an do whats in the best interest of American taxpayers and our economy.
Perry, later that day, released a statement that seemed aimed at countering the impression left by his letter without clarifying what he was calling for: [G]overnment should not be in the business of using taxpayer dollars to bail out corporate America. Congress needs to take off its partisan gloves and work together to bring both short and long term stability to the credit markets .
Perry maintained in the 2010 primary that he hadnt supported the bailout, something his spokesman Mark Miner reiterated to me today.
He opposed a bail out but publicly supported an economic recovery package on the day Congress passed TARP. Essentially, he punted.
And I'm saying this as a woman in all seriousness. Not saying I agree it should be that way, just that it's a fact. Same thing with Sarah Palin among men.
Exactly. FWIW...
But that can’t be right, Perry created so many jobs, how can their unemployment be so high. He told us over and over and over about all the jobs he created....
We’re going to end up with both houses of congress either way. Even if he wins, he loses.
Not all women will vote based on looks.
When will Perry realize he's not in Texas anymore? Perry gets away with mucho BS in Texas.....seems cattle country doesn't demand veracity ....or much else.....from its elected officials. Perry's campaign theme is "There's One Born Every Minute."
If Perry gets the nomination, I sure hope Newt will help him work on that debatin’ thang—it needs work! He has the best charisma of the ones running at this time. That’s a good thing, it will be needed against Obama.
If Cain gets the nomination he needs a little help with debating, too and at times I have difficulty understanding what he is saying, so I hope Newt would work with him.
If Newt gets it— it would be the VERY best debate EVER, watching Newt eat Obama’s lunch!
Romney gets it and I will just cry.
The others are done.
Unless someone else gets in, Perry for his charisma, Newt for his brains and grasp of all this crap, Cain for his business sense and humor.
I still can’t decide, though.
The fix is in ...America is finished ...You think those that got Obama in the WH are going to let him go ? The Repubs are complicit . One party / two card monte baby ...Wake up people ...R vs D . A sick joke .
Rasmussen is usually pretty accurate - if this is, it may be an indication that our nation is beyond recovery apart from divine intervention.
That today a majority would STILL re-elect O is an indication that the disease may indeed be fatal.........
Ras is the self proclaimed king maker... right... LOL!
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BUT, BUT HE'S SO "POPULAR" IN TEXAS Senor Ricky gets away with mucho BS in Texas. Cattle country doesn't demand veracity...or much else...from its elected officials.
EXHIBIT A. "No Ma'am," Perry replies when asked whether he signed on to support Obama's $800 Bill TARP giveaway.......even as the letter w/ Perry's signature goes viral.
We ain’t done yet.
"Come on down. You get in-state tuition at any Texas college, government
checks made out to all your identities, and 'raza studies' in every school."
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RAZA STUDIES: Anti-Americanism Disguised as Ethnic Studies in Tucson Schools
Townhall.com ^ | August 27, 2011 | Rachel Alexander
FR Posted on Monday, August 22, 2011 by Kaslin
The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) is in a contentious fight with the state of Arizona over its controversial Mexican-American Studies program. A state law went into effect in Arizona on January 1, 2011, banning the teaching of ethnic studies in K-12 schools. It was prompted by an investigation into TUSDs ethnic studies curriculum by Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne when he was State Superintendent of Schools.
The program is known as raza studies, which means race studies, championed by organizations like the far left organization National Council of La Raza. The course does not simply teach Latino youth about their heritage, it goes well beyond that. The textbooks teach Latino youth that they are mistreated by America, training them to become radical anti-American activists.
Textbooks include The Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Occupied America. Another text "gloats over the difficulties our country is having at enforcing its immigration laws." Benjamin Franklin is vilified as a racist. White people are referred to as gringos and oppressors of Latino people. Privilege is described as related to a persons ethnicity.
At a TUSD school board meeting on May 10, one upset mother read excerpts from the textbook An Epic Poem: " My land is lost and stolen, My culture has been raped......we have to destroy capitalism
overthrow a government that has committed abuses
.to the bloodsuckers, the parasites, the vampires who are the capitalists of the world: The schools are tools of the power structure that blind and sentence our youth to a life of confusion, and hypocrisy, one that preaches assimilation and practices institutional racism."--SNIP--
..... and “there’s yer sign!”
How do Perry and Romney do against HILLARY? She’s going to step in at the last moment when 0bama has to step aside because of the rising tide of scandals that are unfolding now.
It’s the left’s only hope of hanging on to the White House and preventing the destruction of the party.
Were done. The fact that Obama still has the support he does with everything he’s screwed up means this country doesn’t stand a chance.
If Americans had any brains at all his approval rating would be around 2%, but he’s still in the high 40’s.
I said from the beginning that the nation wouldn’t survive this president and I stand by that statement whether he wins or loses we won’t recover.
Argentina, here we come.
That does not mean Obama would score as high against another candidate.
The Rass poll is about Perry's dwindling chances not about Obama's chances at being reelected.
In fact, Obama's popularity numbers are dismal.
Outlier.
A voice of reason and truth ...Thank you ...
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