Saturday Politics Thread: What Do Voters Want? [Y-not]

A short Saturday Politics Thread this week as I have been sidelined with terrible sinus headaches. But, just to give us something to chew on, how about some poll-gazing?

Via the Twitter feed of the good folks at Ricochet:

The great unwashed have been polled by WSJ/NBC, and have spoken. The top three traits causing voters to be uncomfortable or have reservations about a president candidate are: 1. No previous elected experience (excludes Carson and Fiorina) 2. A leader of the Tea Party movement (excludes Cruz and possibly Rubio); and 3. No college degree (excludes Walker).

Here's a graphical representation of the WSJ/NBC poll results showing desired and unfavored characteristics in a presidential candidate:

(I apologize for the graphic, which I think is a bit hard to read. If you click through to the original you might have better luck.)

According to this poll, the most-favored characteristics are an African-American, a woman, and someone under the age of 50.

Per The Washington Times, the WSJ/NBC poll results also indicate:

There's one quality that everyone appears to favor: 90 percent of GOP primary voters are "enthusiastic/comfortable" about voting for someone with a military background; 57 percent of Democratic primary voters agree - this according to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.

There's quite a partisan divide in one aspect, though: 90 percent of Democrats would feel comfortable and enthusiastic voting for a woman candidate - 54 percent of Republicans agree.

That Washington Times piece also cites a recent YouGov poll indicating that 92 percent of Americans would prefer a candidate under age 60.

Meanwhile, in the world of real candidates, here's a link to the latest RealClearPolitics poll averages. Inexplicably, Jeb Bush continues to lead, with Rubio on his heels.

So, what do voters want?

I think they have no idea.

I'm curious if any of your friends and family are starting to tune into the 2016 race. My dad watched Ben Carson's announcement and absolutely loved it.

posted by Open Blogger at 08:03 AM

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