Hillary Clinton reaffirmed her opposition to the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, as President Bush decided to send the FTA to Congress. This statement is not a departure from Clinton’s rather restrictive positions on free trade. However it follows the controversy over Clinton’s chief strategist recent support of Colombian efforts, as part of his lobbying activities.
You can express and share your opinions on free trade agreement by answering some Select2008 questions:
The response to Obama’s speech on the blogosphere is overwhelming. Will this speech help him preserve his lead in the Clinton vs. Obama Face Off? Will the speech help Obama catch up with Clinton in Pennsylvania, who according to latest polls is edging over?
First, key social issues – same-sex marriage and abortion – remain as divisive as ever in the electorate. These issues are currently eclipsed by the partisan nature of the primaries. However, as we enter the general election season, we expect these issues will come back to the forefront.
The issues of illegal immigration and earned legalization process are also very sensitive. It will be interesting to see how this issue plays with the electorate, not only at the presidential level, but also at State and local levels, especially in border states. McCain’s about face on the matter does not shield him from criticism on his right.
Finally, the issue of Iraq is coming back to the forefront. The apparent and relative improvement of the situation on the ground is reflected in voters’ opinion. If the conflict stays on this track, Iraq will increasingly play to McCain’s strengths vs. Clinton’s and Obama’s anti-war stances.
This post is the third and last part of our analysis of voters’ support for Clinton and Obama healthcare plans. It reviews voters’ support for mandatory healthcare, a key difference between Clinton’s and Obama’s health care plans.
Obama’s plan will not provide healthcare to approximately 15 million US residents, by all estimates. However, voters seem to see the glass half full rather than half empty here and a 2/3 majority supports the Obama plan in that regard.
Small business employees are much less likely to receive health insurance through their employers. Voters support requiring small businesses to provide health insurance with a 2 to 1 majority.
Mandatory health care seems to receive broad support across voters. A strong majority both recognizes it as a key to achieving universal healthcare and an action item for the next President.
The analysis above reviews over 60,000 expressed opinion on healthcare on over 200 questions that cover the whole gamut of health care proposals for the 2008 primaries and presidential elections. The most important and selective questions on Select2008 on universal health care are the following ones:
Funding a universal healthcare plan raises a host of very interesting issues. Voters would overwhelmingly rather have the plan being self sustained through cost reallocation and savings. However, most experts agree that universal healthcare cannot be achieved without additional funding. Voters seem to have caught on to it and a majority of voters support funding in ranges in line with those of Clinton’s and Obama’s universal healthcare plans.
On the other hand, raising taxes to achieve universal healthcare is more contentious. Voters support repealing the Bush tax breaks to fund universal healthcare. However, a strong majority seems to oppose raising taxes across the board for universal healthcare. These conflicting views in the electorate hold the promise for a lively debate on universal health care, as we move closer to the November 4 election.
The analysis above reviews over 60,000 expressed opinion on healthcare on over 200 questions that cover the whole gamut of health care proposals for the 2008 primaries and presidential elections. The most important and selective questions on Select2008 on universal health care are the following ones:
Only a slight majority of voters supports universal health care, which hints at a spirited debate as we move into the general election phase. Obama’s plan seems to provide a solid baseline to move towards universal health care, since a 2/3 majority supports a “partially” universal health care plan, which would still leave 15 million people uninsured.
To the contrary, support for universal health coverage for catastrophic health problems only seems much narrower than a broader universal health care plan. Interestingly, the electorate seems to expect the Federal government to be a key catalyst of universal healthcare, as voters dismiss the idea of curbing Federal government’s role in healthcare.
The analysis above reviews over 60,000 expressed opinion on healthcare on over 200 questions that cover the whole gamut of health care proposals for the 2008 primaries and presidential elections. The most important and selective questions on Select2008 on universal health care are the following ones:
Romney’s endorsement of McCain has now settled the Republican primaries and nomination process. On the other hand, the Democratic one is still unusually and intensely competitive, with both Clinton and Obama still having their shot at the nomination.
Wisconsin has a long-established tradition of open primaries. These primaries will provide an insight into voters’ opinions that will extend beyond the primaries and into the general election, as voters ponder the likelihood of a Democratic nominee facing a centrist Republican.
The Select2008 Blog has already highlighted the key differences between Clinton’s and Obama’s platforms, on key domestic and foreign issues. These differences are indeed very relevant to next week’s primaries. However, we would like to encourage Democratic, Republican and independent voters to have an eye on the general elections.
We will therefore focus the next few posts on helping voters think through the key policy and programmatic differences for a general elections face off between Clintonand McCain or between Obama and McCain.
The Select2008 Blog was just added to the Wonkosphere directory of political blogs tracking the 2008 election cycle. The Select2008 Blog is one of the only 65 independent blogs tracking the 2008 presidential election - as opposed to over a thousand liberal and conservative blogs.
The Select2008 Blog currently focuses on the four top face offs of the 2008 presidential primaries - Clinton v. Obama, McCain v. Huckabee, Clinton v. McCain, and McCain v. Obama, by:
- Comparing and tracking candidates’ programs and policy positions, which is based on Select2008.com’s detailed analysis of presidential candidates’ electoral platforms (over a thousand bite-size questions);
- Compiling and reporting on Select2008.com’s live polling, which is based on 450,000 votes over the last month.
For additional information on Wonkosphere, here’s a summary in their own words:
“Wonkosphere is designed for those who seek an analysis of the political buzz that is timely and unbiased.
Wonkosphere tracks hundreds of blogs and web sites per day, more than any human can read. Patented technology text analysis technology identifies posts that matter, not just posts that are popular.
If you’re tracking individual candidates, our unique analysis will show you their share of buzz in conservative and liberal blogs, highlight the most representative posts, and tell you whether the tone of discussion about your candidate is trending up or down.“
The War in Iraq and the War on Terrorism have been looming large over the primaries and presidential campaign.
Interestingly, extremist and populist positions, such as leaving Iraq within 6 months, have vanished. The controversy now focuses on how best to stabilize Iraq, draw down the number of U.S. troops deployed over there, and adjust military expenses to new economic realities.
As for the War on Terrorism, closing the GuantanamoBay prison camp and banning torture in counter-insurgency and intelligence activities draw the most controversy.
The following sample is based on over 450,000 votes on Select2008.com over the last few weeks:
The whole gamut of so-called divisive social issues have bubbled up to the top of Select2008.com’s live polling, based on last week’s over 300,000 votes. These issues include same-sex marriage, a constitutional amendment on marriage, partial birth abortion, the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy and restrictions to Second Amendment rights.
Highly contentious issues still hold sway with voters – beyond traditional value voters - in the 2008 presidential election cycle. This matter of fact runs counter to the conventional wisdom that values’ influence has diminished.
If the sample below is any indication, look for social values to make a resurgence as we move into the general campaign:
