Posted on 10/21/2004 5:41:45 PM PDT by wagglebee
Two national polls of American children have markedly different results this year, one showing President Bush a clear winner, and the other predicting an even bigger win for Sen. John Kerry.
Interestingly, both unscientific surveys proclaim historical accuracy in presidential prognostications.
In the first poll, conducted by Scholastic, the global children's publishing and media company, more than half a million students in first through eighth grades from across the U.S. participated. They voted online and through mail-in paper ballots found in many of Scholastic's classroom magazines.
"George W. Bush won the kids' election poll with 52 percent of the vote," announced Scholastic student reporter David Rush.
Kerry collected 47 percent, with one percent going for other candidates. A few reportedly wrote in "mom" as their choice for president.
Scholastic has been conducting similar polls since 1940, with predictions only wrong in two close elections: 1948 when students chose Thomas Dewey over Harry Truman, and 1960, predicting Richard Nixon would beat John Kennedy.
Meanwhile, the second poll with a large sampling shows Kerry the victor, defeating Bush by a margin of 57 to 43 percent.
Nickelodeon TV's "Kids' Vote" had nearly 400,000 children participate in online voting.
The Viacom-owned network says children in its poll have correctly predicted the winner of the general elections for the last four U.S. presidential campaigns. Its first poll was in 1988. Four years ago, Bush was predicted the winner over Vice President Al Gore with 55 percent of the vote.
Former NBC newscaster Linda Ellerbee hosted a Nick News program last night announcing Kerry as this year's winner.
"Kids aren't dumb, they're just younger and shorter," she said, according to the Associated Press. "In fact, last election, a boy came up to me and said, 'We picked George Bush to win, and he didn't really win. Al Gore won the popular vote, so we were kinda wrong.' Quite an observation."
In addition to the national polls, local schools across America have been holding their own mini-elections, with students evoking strong stances for both candidates.
Fourth-graders in Kosciusko and Attala County, Miss., classrooms were recently asked their opinions.
Abortion was the key factor for Bush supporter Autumn Lewis, who told the Star-Herald, "I don't want a president who would kill children. That would end the world."
Dylan Pope told the paper he picked Kerry because "he'll make peace and let us do anything we want."
I have a feeling Nicklodeon's poll was designed by the Viacom leftists who probably had subliminal messages on the screen telling kids that they would wind up in orphanages if they voted for Bush or some crap like that.
Well actually they have only been wrong once....theu got the Kennedy/Nixon election right
TV turns young minds into mush.
That would be a good education ad for the Bush Campaign.
The title says it all!
LOL, sure they did.
Man I am drinking Jim Beam with a Monte Cristo can't formulate an opinion enjoying this and listewning to Laura Ingram interviewing vice-prex D Cheny
I'm a high school teacher, with Channel One service at our school. They did a student vote across the country, and just announced the results in today's broadcast. Bush took over 300 electoral votes and won easily. Kerry got Calif., Hawaii, and nothing else outside of the northeast. Bush even took Michigan and Illinois. The biggest shocker for me was that he even took Vermont! I think he also had New Hamp., everything else from NY north was Kerry. Bush had PA, but I don't remember who got NJ.
What do you expect from a network that shows cartoons all day?
I remember Linda Ellerbee on an NBC show in the early 80's. She and the hideous Andrea Mitchell spent the entire show every week telling us all of the evils that Ronald Reagan was doing to our country. I don't care whether she had cancer or not. Ellerbee's a fat Marxist pig!
Was there participation from public schools?
The Scholastic poll was actual kids. The Nicklodeon poll was just another online poll, and got the DU treatment. I don't think half the votes in it were even cast by kids. Not that it would have even been possible, but there was no attempt by Nicklodeon whatsoever to ensure the people voting were really kids. I know, because I voted in it. I just went to the site, saw the poll, and voted. Then I got a screen thanking me for voting. It wasn't even a membership only poll.
It wouldn't surprise me if Viacom reaired the Ratherbiased "memo expose" to persuade the kids to vote for sKerry, based on the assumption that kids who watch cartoons all day would believe it.
Now why doesn't that surprise me; the Book readers go for Bush and the boob-tube hypnotized go for the Dems Boob-Kerry?
I think Nickelodeon's poll was internet, Scholastic's poll was mail-in ballots. Not sure, but that would tell me that Scholastic's would probably be closer to being accurate.
They weren't subliminal. I banned Nickolodeon in my house for that reason (that and an episode of Degrassi Next Generation my SO turned to accidently instead of Star Trek NG.)
In keeping with your post, I posted this earlier on a thread:
My 9th grader said the high schools around the country had a mock election. I can't believe these results as shown today at http://www.channelone.com/election_2004/results/
American teens have spoken, and they want George W. Bush for president. Nearly 1.4 million teens voted in the nation's largest mock election, and the Republican incumbent wound up with 393 electoral votes and 55 percent of the total votes cast.
Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry received 145 electoral votes, far short of the 270 electoral votes needed to win a presidential election. Kerry received 40 percent of the total votes, while five percent of teens selected the third-party option, though no third-party presidential hopefuls managed to pick up any electoral votes.
The link has a comprehensive chart for all states and percentages, but here's a few facts.......
In the NE, Bush won VT,NH,DE,PA.
Bush swept every state in the midwest. MI was too close to call most of the day and ended up the closest of all state results. Out of 88,000, the difference was 170 votes! IL & IA were also close.
Bush swept all SE states, with SC & MS being close races.
In the west, Bush won all but CA & HI.
How I hope this is an indicator that the Nov.2 election won't be close either!
"Nickelodeon TV's "Kids' Vote" had nearly 400,000 children participate in online voting. "
CORRECTION FROM NICKELODEON: nearly 50,000 children voted, 300,000 middle aged DUers, and 50,000 middle aged freepers participated in online voting.
Spongebob Squarepants was expected to win before attorneys for Kerry/Edwards had him removed from the ballot.
I'm sure it wasn't 400,000 kids. I'm thinking it was 3 or 4 welfare DUmmies getting their jollies.....deleting cookies and voting again. When you don't work you have time to do things like that.
"I'm a high school teacher, with Channel One service at our school. They did a student vote across the country, and just announced the results in today's broadcast. Bush took over 300 electoral votes and won easily. Kerry got Calif., Hawaii, and nothing else outside of the northeast. Bush even took Michigan and Illinois. The biggest shocker for me was that he even took Vermont! I think he also had New Hamp., everything else from NY north was Kerry. Bush had PA, but I don't remember who got NJ."
My daughter took this vote and just told me about it today. She voted for President Bush of course!!!
When her little sister starts whining she says "oh shut up you tree-hugging democrat" HAHAHAHAHAHA
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