By Tim Jones
So much for all that purported excitement about a rock-em, sock-em, extra-inning presidential primary.
A new report from the National Annenberg Election Survey shows that satisfaction with the extraordinarily long primary season –particularly among Democrats—is falling prey to battle fatigue. After satisfaction levels peaked during the first week of January at 38 percent and jumped up a bit around the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday contests, happiness with the primary slugfest between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has tailed off, dropping to about 22 percent, as of Mar. 24, according to the Annenberg survey.
The survey also showed a split between Obama and Clinton supporters about the role of so-called superdelegates. A clear majority of Obama backers –60 percent-- said the decision by superdelegates should be guided by which candidate has the most votes in the primaries (which right now is Obama), while 28 percent said superdelegates should use their best judgment. Clinton supporters are evenly divided on the same question, at 44 percent.
“Clearly, the underlying tendency is for Americans to want the popular vote to matter most. However, in such a tight and highly contested race, people’s loyalty to a candidate also enters into the feelings,” said Diana Mutz(CQ), director of innovation for the National Annenberg Election Survey.
Data for the survey were gathered between Jan. 1 and Mar. 31, involving a total sample of 20,000 people, including 6,334 self-identified Democrats and 5,433 self-identified Republicans. The margin of error ranges from less than 1 percent on the superdelegate question to 4 percent on the primary satisfaction issue.
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Comments
Well, this race began the end of 2006, nearly two years before the actual presidential election. All the candidates have been campaigning nearly daily since the beginning of 2007. Sorry, but two-year election campaigns is ridiculous. There have been dozens of "debates."
Let's get back to the days when the campaign to be president began after Labor Day in the year before the election, which would have put it in the fall of 2007, or about six months ago. Even then, that gets long.
Posted by: John D | April 10, 2008 11:16 AM
superdelegates should do what they are supposed to do: endorse the candidate they believe is the most electable.
Posted by: brigitte sanz | April 10, 2008 12:16 PM
I was sick of all this before Christmas.
The only thing John D and I agree on; The primary system in America is awful.
But it would probably take a Constitutional Amendment to fix it. No way would all 50 states cooperate to rationalize the schedule.
BTW, as long as Iowa's caucus is assigned any importance at all, we are bound to lose our food production capacity to ethanol. We may soon become a net importer of food due the ethanol cockup.
One more reason to regularize the primaries.
Posted by: C.Morris | April 10, 2008 2:54 PM
Superdelegates
stink
At least the GOP uses popular vote.
Posted by: one person two thirds vote | April 10, 2008 3:52 PM
One person,
Sorry, but the winner take all is the least democratic option for democracy. Everyone needs to go proportional, but with the primary on the same day, or only three closely staggered iterations, perhaps. Crazy John D'Mime actually came up with good scenario once, during a lucid moment. It was clean and, most importantly, quick.
In a parliamentary democracy, it's one man/woman one vote. In a winner take all republic it's one man 1/3 vote, at best.
Posted by: C.Morris | April 10, 2008 6:07 PM
Yes, Superdelegats do suck, and I think Mr. Morris thought too quick on the comment, as his responce had nothing to do with Supers.
That said though, the lenght of the primaries is rediculous. The DNC and RNC with all of their combined infinite wisdom really messed this one up. Seeing a campaigns Christmas commercials was a really low point in my life. I think the whole system needs an overhaul. Campaigns start on Memorial Day; Conventions on Labor Day; No 3rd party advertising for candidates; 5 state primaries every Tuesday in the summer; Republican and Democrats vote on same day in states; eliminate supers for dems; and I'm sure much more if I took a few more minutes to think about it all. It is clearly a mess right now.
Posted by: Xcellentform | April 10, 2008 8:02 PM