Voters Mad but Hopeful in Roll Call Survey
Roll Call Staff
President-elect Obama’s strong victory on Election Day can be attributed not only to voters’ dismay at the direction of the country, but also to their hopes that a new generation of leaders is prepared to turn things around.
Despite Obama’s margin of victory and the fact that Democrats made substantial gains in the House and Senate, the voters have not gone through an ideological realignment, even as some key voting blocs supported the Democratic nominee in greater numbers than ever before.
These and other conclusions are contained in a poll of 1,049 voters that was taken election night for Roll Call and two public-affairs companies, Strat@comm and Fleishman-Hilliard.
The poll asked voters about their attitudes and their positions on myriad issues, including the economy, taxes, job creation and the Congressional agenda for the months ahead. It was conducted by Dee Allsop, a former White House pollster and Strat@comm senior researcher, and Mike Dabadie, another former White House pollster.
Among the poll’s findings:
• 84 percent of voters said they felt the country is on the wrong track and 79 percent said they are worried. But 77 percent said they are hopeful that things can be turned around.
• 55 percent of those surveyed said they prefer divided government to a government that is controlled by one political party.
• 39 percent are expecting government spending to go up a little in the next few years and 34 percent expect it to go up a lot.
• 26 percent expect taxes to go up a little in the next few years and 32 percent expect them to go up a lot.
• Two-thirds of voters saw the “Saturday Night Live” election parodies during the campaign season and 10 percent said the program had an influence on their vote. Asked whether they would prefer Alaska Gov. Saran Palin (R) or actress Tina Fey — who portrayed Palin on the show, to hilarious effect — as vice president, 51 percent said Fey.
For a full look at the poll results, go to firstviewsurvey.com.
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