AP Web Survey: Pet Owners Prefer McCain

Fox News ^ | Tuesday, July 8, 2008 | AP

[WFTR]

WASHINGTON — If the presidential election goes to the dogs, John McCain is looking like best in show.

From George Washington’s foxhound “Drunkard” to George W. Bush’s terriers “Barney” and “Miss Beazley,” pets are a longtime presidential tradition for which the presumed Republican nominee seems well prepared, with more than a dozen.

The apparent Democratic nominee Barack Obama, on the other hand, does not have a pet at home, although he has promised his daughters a dog after the election, win or lose.

The pet-owning public seems to have noticed the difference.

An AP-Yahoo News poll found that pet owners favor McCain over Obama 42 percent to 37 percent, with dog owners particularly in McCain’s corner.

[WFTR]

The article eventually points out that pets seem to be a correlation and not the cause of people supporting one candidate or the other. Any kind of survey is hard to run in a way that really allows good statistical analysis. I'd love to see the analysis run in a way that allows them to try to identify how much of the correlation ties only to pets and how much ties to other things. The article suggests (and I agree) that much of the correlation is just that people in a certain place in life tend to have pets and tend to vote for Republicans. That place in life is a cause of both outcomes rather than pet ownership pushing someone to vote for John McCain.

Ultimately, I'll vote for John McCain because the alternative is so horrible, but I don't like John McCain at all politically. However, the fact that he owns a couple of exotic pets makes me like him a little more as a person. I'm not sure that his owning these pets helps me at all in any practical way, but I like him more.

Bill

[Names Ash Housewares]

The scholastic poll of kids I think is rarely wrong as far as weird polls go.

[max americana]

Obama had a b*tch once 2 months ago. I think OB named her Hillary or something...

[SatinDoll]

<...the fact that he owns a couple of exotic pets...>

What kind of exotic pets does he own? Pythons? Nile crocodiles? Yaks?

[txroadkill]

Pet Owners Prefer McCain

Maybe so, but my dog thinks he's not conservative enough.

[Mr. Mojo]

Barack Obama, on the other hand, does not have a pet at home,

Yeah but he has a Hanuman in his pocket. ....which scores big in the idol-worship community.

[Secret Agent Man]

Stupid poll.

This pet owner prefers “None of the Above,” or “Rush Limbaugh” if I have a write-in choice. Yes I know Rush wouldn’t want it.

[Secret Agent Man]

Someone needs to ask him if he likes dogs. Practicing Muslims of course do not like them, impure things and all...

[flyfree]

Obama said that if they won he would get the girls a puppy.

[Ciexyz]

How sad, that the Obama girls don't have a pet in the house. Maybe Mom and Dad are too busy with their careers to provide a home atmosphere that includes pets. (That requires time and training, of course.)

[flyfree]

That's because kids vote the way their parents vote and they are naive enough not to lie to pollsters.

[Norman Bates]

Ultimately, I'll vote for John McCain because the alternative is so horrible, but I don't like John McCain at all politically.

How do these comments fare with you?

Remarks by John McCain
July 7, 2008
Denver, CO

"Small businesses are the job engine of America, and I will make it easier for them to grow and create more jobs. My opponent wants to make it harder by imposing a "pay or play" health mandate on small business. This adds $12,000 to the cost of employing anyone with a family. That means new jobs will not be created. It means existing employees will have their wages cut to pay for this mandate. My plan attacks the real problems of healthcare -- cost, availability and portability."

"We need to keep the IRS from taking more of your income and making life harder for small business. If you believe you should pay more taxes, I am the wrong candidate for you. Senator Obama is your man. The choice in this election is stark and simple. Senator Obama will raise your taxes. I won't. I will cut them where I can. Jobs are the most important thing our economy creates. When you raise taxes in a bad economy you eliminate jobs. I'm not going to let that happen."

"Senator Obama's tax increases will hurt the economy even more, and destroy jobs across this country. If you are one of the 23 million small business owners in America who files as an individual rate payer, Senator Obama is going to raise your tax rates. If you have an investment for your child's education or own a mutual fund or a stock in a retirement plan, he is going to raise your taxes. He will raise estate taxes to 45 percent. I propose to cut them to 15 percent. His plan will hurt the American worker and family. It will hurt the economy and cost us jobs. For those of you with children, I will double the child deduction from $3,500 to $7,000 for every dependent, in every family in America. At a time of increasing gas and food prices, American families need tax relief and I, not my opponent, will deliver it."

"My opponent believes America would be better off by refusing opportunities to sell in growing foreign markets. But protectionism not only puts a hidden tax on almost everything you buy, but it undermines American competitiveness and costs jobs."

"When I'm president, I will order a stem to stern review of government, modernize how it does business and save billions of dollars. I will veto every single bill with wasteful spending. We aren't going to continue mortgaging this country's future for things Americans don't want or need. My opponent has a very different record on this issue. He has sought millions upon millions of dollars in earmarks since his election to the Senate. In 2007 alone, Senator Obama requested nearly $100 million for earmark projects. I have never asked for a single earmark in my entire career. He supported the $300 billion pork laden agricultural subsidy bill. I opposed it. He voted for an energy bill stuffed with give-aways to oil compan ies at a time of record profits. I voted against it."

[Eric Blair 2084]

[Admin Moderator]

Unfortunately I'm going to have to pull this thread. Material from Associated Press is not welcome here.

We’re not going to pay AP’s extortion fees and we’re not going to allow them to control free speech!

[mplsconservative]

Obama said that if they won he would get the girls a puppy.

I'll believe it when I see it. Hopefully I won't ever have to deal with the Omabination.

I mean, come on, you have to be elected President to get your girls a puppy? That excuse never would've flown with my son. LOL! It's not like the Obama family doesn't have enough help around to deal with a puppy. It might even be therapeutic for their children with the stress of the campaign and all.

Why wait until after the election, Obama? Scared of dogs, or something?

[HerrBlucher]

LOL!

[flyfree]

Well his wife works full time and he has been campaigning continuously for, what? 4 years?

[Prokopton]

Maybe Mom and Dad are too busy with their careers to provide a home atmosphere that includes pets.

Please, good home atmospheres do not need to include pets especially if they take limited resources from children. Besides, God already gave animals a home atmosphere, it's called the outdoors.