Should we pay attention to the polls?
May 25, 2012
Ken Bickers
With Mitt Romney now considered the presumptive GOP presidential nominee
pollsters are daily asking who is in the lead in the race for the White House.
Right now most polls show President Obama and Governor Romney are very close –
within a percentage point or two.
But according to CU-Boulder political science professor Ken Bickers, there’s really
only one poll to pay serious attention to at this point and that is the approval rating
of the president’s job performance.
CUT 1 “If the approval is below 50 percent, particularly if it’s well below 50 percent, you’re
really asking people a question analogous to do you think you’ll still be married to your
spouse in November. If they can’t say yes, there is a serious problem in that relationship.
They need to see a marriage counselor. And if they’re a candidate running for president they
may want to start raising money for their library.” (:22)
Right now the president’s approval rating is just below 50 percent. As for who is up and
who is down in the general election polls, the president or governor, Bickers says not to pay
too much attention to those polls until after the conventions.
-CU-