Select2008 Blog - Comparing and tracking the 2008 presidential candidates

During this election season, strong differences have emerged in gender preferences for presidential candidates.

These gender differences were highlighted by many polls during the prolonged Democratic primary season and were confirmed after Senator Clinton withdrew from the race.

For instance, Gallup released poll results on gender differences on June 11, 2008. The polls showed that:

We are extremely pleased to launch iSelect2008.com to empower women for the 2008 election.

The site brings all the collective intelligence and great content from Select2008, but offers a customized face off quiz to help women understand how Obama and McCain address women’s concerns and support women’s interests.

We are working with Glam and Glam.com and hope to bring this site to their uniquely large women audience, as a Publisher Network Affiliate.

Popularity: 29% [?]

Gallup released polls results this week showing that McCain is catching up with Obama in a general election face off.

There is one area though where McCain hasn’t yet fully caught up: viral online marketing.

Obama Girl

Raining McCain

Would that explain why McCain is trailing Obama in Select2008 Election Face Off?

Don’t forget to check out our Youtube channel for more videos about the 2008 elections.

Popularity: 59% [?]

John McCain took the stage today to address the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Kansas City, MO. His address focused on the Iraq War, ahead of this week’s anticipated testimony by General Petraeus.

McCain made the case that his assessment on the military conduct of the war and that his support for the “Surge” have both proved right.

Results from Select2008’s election face-offs show that the Iraq War remains a highly divisive topic and that McCain’s views are not yet shared by a wide majority of voters:

- The U.S. is making progress in Iraq 49% agree and 50% disagree based on 5,000+ votes including 300+ last week

- The ‘Surge’ of early 2007 is the right strategy in Iraq 45% agree and 54% disagree based on 2,900+ votes including over 100 last week

- Maintain a residual U.S. force of 50,000 troops in Iraq to protect American interests and to conduct targeted counter-terrorism operations 38% agree and 61% disagree based on 12,000+ votes including 600+ last week

- Iraq will become a failed state if the U.S. withdraws its troops now 49% agree and 50% disagree based on 2,100+ votes and over 100 last week

Popularity: 51% [?]

McCain and Obama traded barbs over the last couple of days on Al Qaeda, Iran, Iraq, and their respective experience and judgment in National Security. Senator McCain went back and forth over the last couple of days about Iraq, Iran, Al Qaeda, the broader issue of radical Islam and the war on terror.

His comments on the Iran-Al Qaeda relationship incensed the Democratic blogosphere, which qualified them as a “gaffe”. Obama also took advantage of a scheduled talk in North Carolina to criticize his confusion and undermine his alleged national security experience.

Some bloggers and reporters seem to indicate though that his connection seems more of a gray area. Regardless, his campaign went back at Obama, pounced on the supposed connection and highlighted McCain’s alleged experience in foreign affairs.

This clash on the 5^th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq gives an opportunity to revisit the top questions on the broader Middle East. Iran is indeed a key concern. Americans seem eager to avoid repeating the process that led them into Iraq. Al Qaeda remains also a key concern:

• Rule out using force with Iran – 39% agree and 47% disagree based on 1,000 votes
• Congress should authorize any preemptive or strategic attack in Iran – 45% agree and 36% disagree on 900 votes
• Withdraw all U.S. troops from the Middle East – 37% agree and 51% disagree based on 800 votes
• The Iranian Revolutionary Guard should be labeled as ‘terrorist organization’ – 27% agree and 29% disagree based on 2.500 votes
• The next President should rule out using nuclear weapons against terrorist leaders like Osama Bin Laden – 60% agree and 32% disagree based on 11,500 votes

Popularity: 89% [?]

The Select2008 website has proposed four Candidates Face Offs for a  the last three weeks: two partisan ones - Clinton v Obama on the Democratic side, McCain v. Huckabee on the Republican side, and two independent face offs - McCain v. Clinton and McCain v. Obama.

Candidates Face Offs are a unique and non-partisan tool to compare and choose candidates to the 2008 primaries and presidential elections, by answering a personalized sequence of policy- and program-based questions.

We have now improved the overall experience to make it even more informative, engaging, and educative. Candidates Face Offs now provide live polling data about users’ opinion on each question asked and on candidates’ position. This feature is part of a bigger push to make even more data available to users to help them understand candidates’ positions and track opinion. Give it a try!!

Popularity: 38% [?]

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 Clinton and McCain or between Obama and McCain.

Popularity: 45% [?]

The field of presidential hopefuls has narrowed down this week with Edwards and Giuliani bowing out of the race. However, the race is more competitive than ever, ahead of next week’s Super Tuesday primaries.

To help users make up their minds in these more confrontational times, we are launching four Primaries Face Offs on Select2008:

Users can still compare and choose among more than two candidates, especially useful for Republican and Independent voters.

Users can also refer to some of our recent blog posts on the Democratic Face Off and the Republican Face Off, as well as our posts to help Edwards and Giuliani supporters make up their minds.

Popularity: 37% [?]

Rudy Giuliani has abandoned his bid to the presidential candidacy in the aftermath of the Florida primaries and endorsed John McCain. However, his supporters might want to make up their own minds and choose between John McCain and Mitt Romney. Although other candidates are still in the race on the Republican side - namely Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul - McCain and Romney have really jumped ahead of the pack, so we’ll focus on them for now.

We highlight below the key policy issues that will help Giuliani’s supporters choose between McCain and Romney for the remaining Republican primaries and Super Tuesday:

- Energy and environment: Giuliani agreed with Romney and disagreed with McCain on global warming and energy independence, including supporting biofuels and corn ethanol subsidies, tapping into domestic sources of oil such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), setting up a Federal market to trade carbon emissions caps, and increasing research funding for alternative energy technology;

- Healthcare: Giuliani’s healthcare plan and support for market-based approaches to lower healthcare costs and to increase access to health insurance has differences and similarities with McCain and Romney’s proposals, such as drug reimportation, setting up a means-tested tax credits for healthcare insurance, creating a tax deduction for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, a tax deduction for healthcare costs, or subsidies to high-cost and low-income individuals to supplement tax credits and Medicaid;

- Homeland Security and war on terrorism: Giuliani and McCain have both boasted his leadership skills, as well as military and foreign affairs experience, to propel their candidacies; however Giuliani disagreed more often with McCain than with Romney on this issue, in particular on maintaining the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, supporting the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, like waterboarding,, and supporting the NSA‘s warrantless wiretapping program; on the other hand, Giuliani and Romney had their strongest disagreements on illegal immigration, for instance on Federal grants to sanctuary cities.

- Social issues: Giuliani’s stance on conservative social issues undermined his candidacy; however, even McCain and Romney disagree on gun control and on whether to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution on marriage, defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman; their support of a pro-life position and record on the question also differ;

- Taxes: Giuliani disagreed with both McCain and Romney on the Alternative Minimum Tax; Giuliani proposed steep tax cuts, which provide common grounds with both McCain and Romney, although these candidates differ on both on tax incentives to corporations and income tax; they also have not both signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.

Popularity: 69% [?]

The Florida primaries are turning the race for the Republican nomination into a two-man race between John McCain and Mitt Romney. Although the two candidates emphasize their differences of personality, leadership style and record, both candidates disagree on five key policy issues:

- Energy and environment: both candidates disagree on the remedies to global warming and energy independence, such as supporting biofuels and corn ethanol subsidies, tapping into domestic sources of oil such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), setting up a Federal market to trade carbon emissions caps, and increasing research funding for alternative energy technology;

- Healthcare: both candidates disagree on market-based approaches to lower healthcare costs, to increase competition in the healthcare market and to increase access to health insurance, such as drug reimportation, setting up a means-tested tax credits for healthcare insurance, creating a tax deduction for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, a tax deduction for healthcare costs, or subsidies to high-cost and low-income individuals to supplement tax credits and Medicaid;

- Homeland Security and war on terrorism: both candidates disagree on acceptable means to the war on terrorism, such as maintaining the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, supporting the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, like waterboarding,, and supporting the NSA‘s warrantless wiretapping program;

- Social issues: the candidates disagree on gun control and on whether to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution on marriage, defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman; their support of a pro-life position and record on the question also differ;

- Taxes: the candidates’ proposed tax policies are different both on tax incentives to corporations and income tax; they also have not both signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.

Popularity: 50% [?]

Select2008.com’s activity has accelerated ahead of the South Carolina’s primaries as a vast number of users turn to our site for help to choose their favorite candidate for the 2008 primaries. The website’s live polling statistics are now starting to yield some interesting facts. The audience’s geographic distribution is still concentrated on the West Coast (California and Washington states), New York, New England, and the Chicago area. Therefore, Select2008’s insights on candidates’ popularity and most divisive issues will be most relevant for the February 5 Super Tuesday.

On the Democratic side, John Edwards and Barack Obama are head-to-head and ahead of Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama has a commanding lead on Economic and International Affairs, while Hillary Clinton edges ahead on Energy and Environment and Education. John Edwards is ahead on Defense (including the war in Iraq) and Healthcare.

On the Republican side, Rudy Giuliani is slightly ahead of John McCain. Rudy Giuliani seems to be #2 on most issues and therefore comes out ahead of all other candidates overall. Rudy Giuliani also leads in Energy and Environment. John McCain is strong on Homeland Security and in a dead heat on Economy with Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. Rudy Giualini and Mitt Romney are head to head on Government Reform (including tax cuts). Mike Huckabee leads on Education.

Popularity: 67% [?]