Polls: Give the People What They Want

Perhaps nothing is more telling about where the public is than what pollsters are learning. As the poll below shows, prospective voters are more interested on positions and the person than ranking in the polls.

What Topics the Public Wants Covered: More Coverage / Less Coverage

Candidates’ position on issues 77% /17%
Candidate debates 57% / 32%
Candidates’ personal backgrounds and experiences 55% / 36%
The candidates who are not front runners 55% / 37%
Sources of candidates’ campaign money 55% / 35%
Which candidate in leading in the latest polls 42% / 45%

Source: Pew Research Center for People and the Press September 28 – October 1, 2007

What some other pollsters are learning:

Just five candidates have been the focus of more than half of all the coverage. Hillary Clinton received the most (17% of stories), though she can thank the overwhelming and largely negative attention of conservative talk radio hosts for much of the edge in total volume. Barack Obama was next (14%), with Republicans Giuliani, McCain, and Romney measurably behind (9% and 7% and 5% respectively). As for the rest of the pack, Elizabeth Edwards, a candidate spouse, received more attention than 10 of them, and nearly as much as her husband.

Democrats generally got more coverage than Republicans, (49% of stories vs. 31%.) One reason was that major Democratic candidates began announcing their candidacies a month earlier than key Republicans, but that alone does not fully explain the discrepancy.

Overall, Democrats also have received more positive coverage than Republicans (35% of stories vs. 26%), while Republicans received more negative coverage than Democrats (35% vs. 26%). For both parties, a plurality of stories, 39%, were neutral or balanced.

Most of that difference in tone, however, can be attributed to the friendly coverage of Obama (47% positive) and the critical coverage of McCain (just 12% positive.) When those two candidates are removed from the field, the tone of coverage for the two parties is virtually identical.

There were also distinct coverage differences in different media. Newspapers were more positive than other media about Democrats and more citizen-oriented in framing stories. Talk radio was more negative about almost every candidate than any other outlet. Network television was more focused than other media on the personal backgrounds of candidates. For all sectors, however, strategy and horse race were front and center.