Scientific Polls

Lies, damned lies, statistics & polls, the list goes on... Even less useful than a scientific poll is a random, unweighted poll offered on the Internet for any ninny to click. So this is merely interesting. We found a completely non-scientific poll today in Parade, the rotogravure (What is this, 1959?) insert that is stuffed into the L. A. Times. (One part that hasn't shrunk to nothingness yet; we suspect that Parade pays to have itself in major metropolitan papers, so we're probably stuck therewith for a while.) Parade being about as middle-brow, middle middle-class, & middle-aged as one can get, we might assume that its readers are just the sort of reactionary fence-sitters who might remain, even at this date, undecided. And reactionary. So the non-scientific Internet poll (we reëmphasize) had some surprising (To us, but what do we know?) results.

Who's More 'Presidential'? In a recent issue of PARADE, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote about 10 traits shared by Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, two of our greatest Presidents. We asked readers to vote on whether the current candidates had those qualities. Here are some of the results*. McCain – Obama Courage to stay strong 49% – 51% Learns from errors 50% – 50% Willingness to change 34% – 66% Self-control 36% – 64% Understands people's concerns 33% – 67% Strong moral compass 40% – 60% A gift for inspiring others 31% – 69% *Results accurate as of Oct. 8, 2008.

Assuming these "qualities" or "traits" are what matters to the masses, looks as if there's a clear winner in the real American heartland.