Exit polls show why Edwards is the most electable

[_Jumper_]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/daily/graphics/wiscexit_021704.htm

Edwards did the best among moderates, conservatives, independents, and Republicans. More importantly, he won a whopping 49% of votes among people whose top factor in deciding their vote was voting for a candidate that "cared about people like them." He did twenty points better than Kerry among them. He beat Kerry on four out of six qualities. Experience obviously is Kerry's strength. Kerry also won a staggering 69% of votes among those that wanted to vote for the most electable candidate. Edwards only won 21% of the votes.

People voted for Edwards because they liked him and what he stood for. Kerry won many of his votes because of a media created aura of invincibility...

Edwards can appeal to swing voters and people that are struggling economically the best. In that respect he is reminiscent of a 1992 candidate named William Jefferson Clinton. We need a candidate that can appeal to voters we need to attract to win, not a media designated flavor of the month.

[eileen_d]

1. I would comment, but I can't hear what you're saying

over the media BLARE that is drowning out all of my independent thought....

That aside, I am happy for Edwards and his supporters tonight. Edwards is a great candidate, and if he's the nominee, I will be happy to support him.

[_Jumper_]

2. The media

The media has been an absolute disgrace this year. They ignored Clark, lynched Dean and now are worshipping Kerry. :mad:

[Allwaysforward]

3. ed will get money from trial lawyers so he could stay in it

[_Jumper_]

5. Good

The champions of the people will prevent the media from selecting our candidate.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MercutioATC]

Actually, inaccuracies like this "did in Dean". He NEVER ran out of $$

...as a matter of fact, he had more money after N.H. than any of the other candidates after deducting campaign debt (like Kerry's huge loans to his campaign). At its worst, he still had between 3 and 7 million dollars on hand.

Repeating an untruth doesn't make it so, but it CAN influence people unwilling to look into the facts for themselves...

[ngGale]

6. About the media control over the candidates and...

their campaigns. Shouldn't ever surprise anyone now that the media is backed and owned by major corporations. They are stacking the deck, so to speak.

[Tweed]

7. Good statements, odd conclusion

"Kerry also won a staggering 69% of votes among those that wanted to vote for the most electable candidate." Yet you think that Edwards is more electable? Interesting...

"Experience obviously is Kerry's strength." Kerry will have nine months to make people feel that he cares more about their problems then George Bush. Edwards won't have that time to get more experience.

[_Jumper_]

10. Response

They think that Kerry is the most electable because the media has been peddling that message and because most of them are not following the process closely. Even Dean did decent among those voters in the past.

Experience is the only area where Kerry is a better candidate. However, experience does not win elections. If it did Gore would have "beaten" Bush and Clinton and Carter would never have been serious candidates.

[Tweed]

22. More crazy insights

"They think that Kerry is the most electable because the media has been peddling that message and because most of them are not following the process closely." I didn't realize you had talked to every single voter. Thanks for the update!

[atre]

24. So you're saying you think the Kerry exit polls are wrong?

Or are you saying anything at all?

[_Jumper_]

25. Why didn't those voters think Kerry was electable 5 weeks ago?

Did they suddenly research his background and reach that conclusion or did they jump on the media-led bandwagon?

[katieforeman]

20. ask Grey Davis or Al Gore if experience wins in a general election.

Let's look at some of Kerry's experience:
-kerry's quoted in 1997 saying the US spends too much on intelligence and then after Sept. 11th he blamed our lack of intelligence

-Kerry voted to cut intelligence in the 1990's

-Kerry voted against the first Gulf War and for the Second Iraq war and gave inconsistent reasons

-Kerry was against the death penalty for terrorists who killed Americans overseas in the 1980's

Dubya will have over 200 million to spend on negative ads highlighting Kerry's experience!

Too many primary voters mistake experience for electablity.

[delhurgo]

8. I think these WI results are due in large part to the 'scandal'...

...during the past couple days. Democrats got nervous. Kerry started to seem not as electable as they thought. The denial by the woman just came out yesterday. I think there'll be a lag before its effect will be felt in full, which wasn't soon enough for the primary tonight. But now that the scandal is over, Kerry will get back on track. Edwards did have a good debate though. He was tough on Kerry at times, and he tapped in to anger in the electorate over trade and NAFTA. Clearly that and outsourcing jobs will be very good issues this fall. I'm still sure Kerry will be the nominee, but its beginning to look like Edwards may be able to force his way on to the ticket.

[TheDonkey]

9. Let's vote for a republican!!!

Rethugs love em :eyes:

[_Jumper_]

11. Moderate Republicans

We can't win if we can't attract some moderate Republican vote. This is the reality. Liberals are less than 1/5 of the population. We need to form a moderate coalition in order to win.

[incapsulated]

12. Clark did better than Kerry in that area, too

But you have to win over the Democratic base and win the primaries to get to those swing voters.

Unfortuanately, voters ideas about who is most electable don't always jibe with reality.

If things continue as they are, and Kerry wins, then we will see whether they, or the statistics, where right this time.

It's also important to remember that surviving the campaign against the Rethugs is also part of the equation that isn't in play in the primaries. Who looks the most electable, whether using swing voters or exit polls to determine that, doesn't mean a whole lot once the GE campaign starts. That's what really seperates the men from the boys, the reality from the fantasy.

[BootinUp]

13. Edwards has not been under ANY scrutinizing

He will turn out to be the weakest candidate once people get a deeper look. And if he is our nominee he would be straffed and left for dead by the Rove machine.

Sorry :evilgrin:

[katieforeman]

23. Straffed with what?

Kerry's 19 year voting record gives tons of ammo to Rove.

What do they have on Edwards?

The trial lawyer thing doesn't work- If it did Edwards would never have been elected in NC. It's impossible to attack Edwards' trial lawyer work without attacking his very sympathetic clients.

They can't attack him for lack of experience because he already has more foreign policy experience than Bush, Clinton, or Reagan when they were elected. Remember Bush couldn't name the President of Pakistan when he was elected. John Edwards has visited Pakistan, Afghanistan, and met with leaders there.

Rove and the Republicans use any inconsistent statements or votes to make a candidate look like a weak panderer. Kerry is much more susceptable to these types of attacks than Edwards.

Again--if experience won elections Arnold would not be the gove of California!

[BootinUp]

14. Luv that picture of Clark btw.

[_Jumper_]

16. Thanks

I think it is from when he announced that he was going to enter the race. Can you or anyone else verify that?

[BootinUp]

29. looks like it, definitely a very early rally

He looks like a million bucks, he coulda tore Bush to fuckin pieces.

[Skwmom]

15. How long do you think

the "he cares about people like me" would hold up after Rove was finished with him?

[incapsulated]

17. Well

I'm withholding my personal opinion in the name of "civility on election night", heh.

[_Jumper_]

18. It would hold up well

Edwards is Clinton-like in this area.

[incapsulated]

19. 12 minutes till midnight...

:evilgrin:

[_Jumper_]

21. lol

:nuke:

[David Dunham]

26. Kerry's AFL-CIO Endorsement Will Blunt Edwards

The candidate who gets this endorsement wins the nomination. ALWAYS!

[auburnblu]

27. Edwards tone vs Kerry tone

Edwards is someone that I think can seem more connected to the "average" American. Like it or not, Bush did a better job than Gore at that in 2000. Gore should have crushed Bush, but didn't.

Flying around in your second rich wife's private jet and hanging out in Martha's Vineyard may put you in touch with Babs and George Soros, but the unemployed guy I'm thinking will have a hell of a lot more faith that John Edwards cares about him.

And damn its George Bush is evil here and evil there. Damn tell me JFK what you are positive about, remember the song don't stop thinking about tomorrow. I listen to JFK, I get gloomy. Edwards has a positive tone. Most people do not want to hear just how sucky things are, but how we can have a brighter future.

[OneBlueSky]

28. Bush would kill Edwards in the GE . . .

he'd play the experienced, wise daddy to the inexpreienced kid with no foreign policy or military experience . . . after Dean, Edwards is Rove's first choice for an opponent . . .

[delhurgo]

31. Yeah, I agree.

As much as the American people may like him and agree with him on issues I have my doubts that they'd trust him on nation security. He's too inexperienced. Heck, he's only been a senator for three years. This is the reason the Kerry people are making for why he wouldn't be a good candidate for VP either. Obviously its less of an issue for VP than it is for Pres, so it may work. If he keeps doing well in primaries and possibly even winning a few it'll be harder for Kerry to resist putting him on the ticket.

[David Dunham]

32. You are right. Edwards has no significant national security background.

[corporatewhore]

30. yep hes speaking out against nafta it is THE one issue cons and andlibs

can unite against cons hate it when their jobs go away event the texas gop has an anti nafta/wto plank because they agree outsourcing is bad

[David Dunham]

34. But no Protectionist Democrat Has EVER been elected president

[Blue_Roses]

33. and with Kerry's monotone

speeches, it's not helping him. I think Edwards would do well against Bush.

[Sinistrous]

35. Edwards is electable because of his one salient asset:

He is cute. An intellectual fluffball with little background and no depth. But damn, he is cute.