Company News · January 29, 2008
Though Economy Filters to Top, Iraq Passions Still Seethe
By Tom Webster
Most of the post-exit poll analysis focuses on the big issues, and in South Carolina the primary issue was still the economy. Hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians are feeling the pinch on their pocketbooks, and over half of the voters we surveyed in last Saturday’s Democratic Primary indicated that the state of our economy was the most important issue on the minds of these voters.
Still, change occurs at the margin–and even when an issue such as the war in Iraq gets pushed down the page, there are still plenty of people passionate about our continued presence in the Middle East. In South Carolina, 19% of voters still felt that Iraq was the most important issue. These voters closely resembled the rest of the sample in most areas–they weren’t any richer, certainly–save one: their proposed solution to the Iraq problem. In one of the only areas of inquiry that this 19% markedly differed from the total sample, these voters’ preferred solution continues to be immediate withdrawal:
“Only 19%,” but a loud minority with a clear difference from their fellow Democrats.
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Most of the post-exit poll analysis focuses on the big issues, and in South Carolina the primary issue was still the economy. Hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians are feeling the pinch on their pocketbooks, and over half of the voters we surveyed in last Saturday’s Democratic Primary indicated that the state of our economy was the most important issue on the minds of these voters.
Still, change occurs at the margin–and even when an issue such as the war in Iraq gets pushed down the page, there are still plenty of people passionate about our continued presence in the Middle East. In South Carolina, 19% of voters still felt that Iraq was the most important issue. These voters closely resembled the rest of the sample in most areas–they weren’t any richer, certainly–save one: their proposed solution to the Iraq problem. In one of the only areas of inquiry that this 19% markedly differed from the total sample, these voters’ preferred solution continues to be immediate withdrawal:
“Only 19%,” but a loud minority with a clear difference from their fellow Democrats.