Abc News/washington Post Poll: Obama Leading Romney Ahead Of First Debate

[News_Editor]

ABC News/Washington Post Poll: Obama leading Romney ahead of first debate < br />

2012-10-02 10:10:38 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON (BNO NEWS) -- Two days before the first of three debates ahead of the November election, a ABC News/Washington Post poll released Monday shows President Barack Obama leading Republican challenger Mitt Romney by two points - 49 percent to 47 percent.

The race for the White House has been virtually tied for months, making the first debate Wednesday night a pivotal moment for the candidates. The republican nominee is expected to capitalize on the president's handling of the economy and budget deficit, including the 8.1 percent jobless rate.

78 percent of those interviewed for the ABC News/Washington Post poll said they are worried about the direction of the economy and view both candidates' economic policies equally (47 percent). On the other hand, most of voters trust the president on social issues (52 percent), terrorism (53 percent) and foreign policy (49 percent).

The loser of this week's debate will have two additional opportunities - October 16 and 22 - to sell their policies to voters. By a two-to-one margin, voters expect Obama to win the upcoming debates and the November election.

The ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone between September 26 and 29 with a sample of 1,101 adults, including 929 registered voters and 813 likely voters. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points for registered voters and 4 points for likely voters.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-10-02

[Asiantravel]

After all the scandals regarding green energy companies and the gunrunning scandal to Mexico by the Justice Department as well as an abysmal economic record, if Obama still gets re-elected he will be able to get away with murder this time. If Obama wins I wonder what America will look like four years from now. ?

[coma]

Obama may well have it in the bag. He is leading the polls before the debating ? Obama is a pro at debating, far superior to Romney. I eagerly await viewing Obama chewing up Mitt and spitting him out.

[Ulysses G.]

Two points is within the margin of error making it a virtual tie. Obama does not speak well without a teleprompter and admits that Romney is better in debates. Romney is better, but that does not guarantee victory. A win in the first debate would certainly help Republican morale though..

Edited October 2, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[JimmyTheMook]

I eagerly await viewing Obama chewing up Mitt and spitting him out.

I'm looking forward to it as well.

Romney is done either way, wonder if the Kock Bros. will ask for a 400 million dollar refund.

[Chicog]

I either missed or never got an answer, but out of interest, who actually sets the questions and are they published beforehand?

[Jingthing]

I either missed or never got an answer, but out of interest, who actually sets the questions and are they published beforehand?

The debate moderators ask the questions. They are most certainly not published beforehand.

[chuckd]

I either missed or never got an answer, but out of interest, who actually sets the questions and are they published beforehand?

The debate moderators ask the questions. They are most certainly not published beforehand.

While the questions are not PUBLISHED beforehand, there is no guarantee the questions are not known by the candidates, depending of course on which side of the political spectrum the network and/or network moderator come down on.

Liberal networks/moderators just might slip a copy of their questions to the more liberal candidate of the two. Conservative networks/moderators might do the same...if any conservative network or moderator was going to be involved in the debates, that is.

Nothing is beneath the MSM and incumbent in this election, including directing defense contractors to break federal law.

[koheesti]

The debate should be interesting. I wasn't impressed with Romney during the primary debates, but I can't wait to see Obama speak without reading off a teleprompter. I predict, that when the media shows clips of Obama from the debate, they will edit out his long pauses, and "uh"s and stuttering. The man is NOT a great speaker by any stretch of the imagination. He isn't as bad as Bush, and Bush still won a second term so you never know.

[koheesti]

Obama may well have it in the bag. He is leading the polls before the debating ? Obama is a pro at debating, far superior to Romney. I eagerly await viewing Obama chewing up Mitt and spitting him out.

Obama's Poker Tells

http://washingtonexaminer.com/obamas-poker-tells/article/2509417#.UGm_Gk1t6Sr

[Chicog]

I either missed or never got an answer, but out of interest, who actually sets the questions and are they published beforehand?

The debate moderators ask the questions. They are most certainly not published beforehand.

While the questions are not PUBLISHED beforehand, there is no guarantee the questions are not known by the candidates, depending of course on which side of the political spectrum the network and/or network moderator come down on.

Liberal networks/moderators just might slip a copy of their questions to the more liberal candidate of the two. Conservative networks/moderators might do the same...if any conservative network or moderator was going to be involved in the debates, that is.

Nothing is beneath the MSM and incumbent in this election, including directing defense contractors to break federal law.

Notwithstanding your opinions on potential subterfuge, I now understand that the candidates are not supposed to get the questions beforehand.

But who actually SETS the questions - I kind of worked out who asked them.

[uptheos]

I think there is a lot riding on the debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan.

Personally, I haven't been impressed with Ryan and I think Rubio would have been better choice.

[Jingthing]

History shows people vote for the top of the ticket. The Ryan-Biden debate is much more about entertainment and Ryan's political future in 2016, if any.

[chuckd]

I either missed or never got an answer, but out of interest, who actually sets the questions and are they published beforehand?

The debate moderators ask the questions. They are most certainly not published beforehand.

While the questions are not PUBLISHED beforehand, there is no guarantee the questions are not known by the candidates, depending of course on which side of the political spectrum the network and/or network moderator come down on.

Liberal networks/moderators just might slip a copy of their questions to the more liberal candidate of the two. Conservative networks/moderators might do the same...if any conservative network or moderator was going to be involved in the debates, that is.

Nothing is beneath the MSM and incumbent in this election, including directing defense contractors to break federal law.

Notwithstanding your opinions on potential subterfuge, I now understand that the candidates are not supposed to get the questions beforehand.

But who actually SETS the questions - I kind of worked out who asked them.

Remember, Google is your friend.

The moderator sets the agenda and the questions for the debates.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOPICS FOR FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE ANNOUNCED BY MODERATOR

Jim Lehrer, moderator of the first 2012 presidential debate, has selected the topics for that debate, which is on domestic policy. Mr. Lehrer stated:

Subject to possible changes because of news developments, here are the topics for the October 3 debate, not necessarily to be brought up in this order:

The Economy - I

The Economy - II

The Economy - III

Health Care

The Role of Government

Governing

The debate will be held on Wednesday, October 3 at the University of Denver in Denver, CO. The format calls for six 15-minute time segments, each of which will focus on one of the issues listed above. All debates start at 9:00 p.m. ET and run for 90 minutes.

http://www.debates.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=41&cntnt01origid=15&cntnt01detailtemplate=newspage&cntnt01returnid=80

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just curious, is this the first presidential race you have been through?

Edited October 2, 2012 by chuckd

[Chicog]

History shows people vote for the top of the ticket. The Ryan-Biden debate is much more about entertainment and Ryan's political future in 2016, if any.

Having said that, I think Palin did a fair amount to hammer the nail into McCain's coffin.

[Chicog]

Just curious, is this the first presidential race you have been through?

No, but it's probably the first in which I'm taking interest. I couldn't wait to see the back of Bush, and I still maintain four years and the accompanying political sectarianism is not enough time to fix it.

And I don't think Romney is smart enough to do anything other than what his paymasters tell him.

Edited October 2, 2012 by Chicog

[chuckd]

Just curious, is this the first presidential race you have been through?

No, but it's probably the first in which I'm taking interest. I couldn't wait to see the back of Bush, and I still maintain four years and the accompanying political sectarianism is not enough time to fix it.

And I don't think Romney is smart enough to do anything other than what his paymasters tell him.

It is interesting to note you find Romney not smart.

Romney obtained a Bachelor's degree in English from Brigham Young University with a 3.97 GPA. Romney then enrolled in both Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School simultaneously. He obtained his MBA from Harvard in 1975 and graduated cum laude from law school with his Juris Doctor the same year, finishing in the top 5% of his class.

Hardly "not smart" by most reasonable standards.

Further to my earlier question, would you mind sharing your nationality with us?

[Ulysses G.]

And I don't think Romney is smart enough to do anything other than what his paymasters tell him.

He gave away his inheritance to charity and went on to earn 250 million dollars. He saved the Olympics and was the governor of Massachusetts. You can't do all that with no brains.

[Chicog]

And I don't think Romney is smart enough to do anything other than what his paymasters tell him.

He gave away his inheritance to charity and went on to earn 250 million dollars. He saved the Olympics and was the governor of Massachusetts. You can't do all that with no brains.

The government paid for the Olympics; the Government paid for his Mass. Health care scheme. He made his money off the backs of others, with the right network of "friends" and "advisors", just like GWB did.

And he thinks airplane windows should open to let oxygen in when there are fires.

I don't think America needs another mouthpiece president being told what to do by bankers, big business and Israel. It's no good for anybody.

Further to my earlier question, would you mind sharing your nationality with us?

No, it's mine and I'm keeping it. If you want a British passport, apply for one. They give them out like candy these days.

Edited October 2, 2012 by Chicog

[koheesti]

History shows people vote for the top of the ticket. The Ryan-Biden debate is much more about entertainment and Ryan's political future in 2016, if any.

Having said that, I think Palin did a fair amount to hammer the nail into McCain's coffin.

She didn't do any worse than Dan Quayle ® against Lloyd Bentsen (D) in 1988 and the Republicans still kicked but that year.

[koheesti]

And I don't think Romney is smart enough to do anything other than what his paymasters tell him.

He gave away his inheritance to charity and went on to earn 250 million dollars. He saved the Olympics and was the governor of Massachusetts. You can't do all that with no brains.

The government paid for the Olympics; the Government paid for his Mass. Health care scheme. He made his money off the backs of others, with the right network of "friends" and "advisors", just like GWB did.

The government also pays for the Post Office and Amtrak so why aren't they doing better?

[Chicog]

The government also pays for the Post Office and Amtrak so why aren't they doing better?

If the Post Office is anything like the UK, it's basically being killed by email and rival services.

If the Amtrak is anything like British Rail.... oh hang on, we got rid of British Rail and privatised it. Now it's inefficient and over-priced, losing money, and the directors still pay themselves handsome salaries and massive bonuses.

Good question. You think Mitt would be able to save either of the above?

Do you think Mitt would do anything to make sure this couldn't happen again?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19795646

It relates to securities sold by Bear Stearns in 2006 and 2007 - before it was taken over by JP Morgan.

The legal action claims the bank "systematically failed to fully evaluate the loans, largely ignored the defects that their limited review did uncover, and kept investors in the dark about both the inadequacy of their review procedures and the defects in the underlying loans".

It says that this led to the inclusion of mortgages on which borrowers were likely to default, and that investor losses in 2006 and 2007 totalled more than a quarter of the original £87bn value of the securities.

The NYAG wants the company to pay an undisclosed amount of damages for investor losses "caused, directly or indirectly, by the fraudulent and deceptive acts".

The BBC's business editor Robert Peston said there were some "jaw-dropping elements" exposed in the suit.

He said it disclosed "a manic and frenzied culture of procuring and packaging as many mortgages as humanly possible, to maintain the bonds spewing from the investment bank, to generate as much short-term profit as humanly possible".

"All this is a bit like the fifth instalment in a series of horror films, with each succeeding production gorier than the preceding one," adds our editor.

Edited October 2, 2012 by Chicog

[coma]

Obama may well have it in the bag. He is leading the polls before the debating ? Obama is a pro at debating, far superior to Romney. I eagerly await viewing Obama chewing up Mitt and spitting him out.

Obama's Poker Tells

http://washingtonexa...17#.UGm_Gk1t6Sr

Yes. You will always have your pro's and no's .However I believe that Obama showed great debating skills during his primary and subsequent election campaign 4 years ago. Truly inspiring stuff. Sadly he hasn't performed as well in office since.

[koheesti]

The government also pays for the Post Office and Amtrak so why aren't they doing better?

If the Post Office is anything like the UK, it's basically being killed by email and rival services.

If the Amtrak is anything like British Rail.... oh hang on, we got rid of British Rail and privatised it. Now it's inefficient and over-priced, losing money, and the directors still pay themselves handsome salaries and massive bonuses.

Good question. You think Mitt would be able to save either of the above?

Who knows? But I do know Romney deserves a helluva lot more credit for the success of the Olympics than the Gov't just because they paid for it. Actually, DID the gov't pay for it? I thought we had sponsors and broadcasting rights money to cover a lot of it?

[Ulysses G.]

Obama may well have it in the bag. He is leading the polls before the debating ? Obama is a pro at debating, far superior to Romney. I eagerly await viewing Obama chewing up Mitt and spitting him out.

Obama's Poker Tells

http://washingtonexa...17#.UGm_Gk1t6Sr

Yes. You will always have your pro's and no's .However I believe that Obama showed great debating skills during his primary and subsequent election campaign 4 years ago. Truly inspiring stuff. Sadly he hasn't performed as well in office since.

I agree that he did a good job in 2008, but he did not have a record to attack. Now he has a whopper of one.

[coma]

Obama may well have it in the bag. He is leading the polls before the debating ? Obama is a pro at debating, far superior to Romney. I eagerly await viewing Obama chewing up Mitt and spitting him out.

Obama's Poker Tells

http://washingtonexa...17#.UGm_Gk1t6Sr

Yes. You will always have your pro's and no's .However I believe that Obama showed great debating skills during his primary and subsequent election campaign 4 years ago. Truly inspiring stuff. Sadly he hasn't performed as well in office since.

I agree that he did a good job in 2008, but he did not have a record to attack. Now he has a whopper of one.

Indeed. An arduous task for anybody in a debate. But if he is as good as I believe him to be, both he and his team will be working hard preparing for him to defend his record and convince the electorate he is the better man and deserves a second term. Which 2 term presidents seem to be the norm these days. Either way I am really looking forward to the this debate. Will be a cracker.

[chuckd]

The government also pays for the Post Office and Amtrak so why aren't they doing better?

If the Post Office is anything like the UK, it's basically being killed by email and rival services.

If the Amtrak is anything like British Rail.... oh hang on, we got rid of British Rail and privatised it. Now it's inefficient and over-priced, losing money, and the directors still pay themselves handsome salaries and massive bonuses.

Good question. You think Mitt would be able to save either of the above?

Who knows? But I do know Romney deserves a helluva lot more credit for the success of the Olympics than the Gov't just because they paid for it. Actually, DID the gov't pay for it? I thought we had sponsors and broadcasting rights money to cover a lot of it?

The Federal government supported the Olympics with $1.4 Billion. What is conveniently forgotten is Romney was called in AFTER the USOC had begun the organization of the games and had turned up problems in their finances. He was not in on it from the first and came in to help rescue an, at the time, failing venture.

The money had to come from somewhere or the US would have lost considerable luster on the Olympic front.

The USOC also accepted nearly $500 Million from the federal government for the Atlanta Olympics.

Romney had nothing to do with the Atlanta games.

Edited October 2, 2012 by chuckd

[chuckd]

The government paid for the Olympics; the Government paid for his Mass. Health care scheme. He made his money off the backs of others, with the right network of "friends" and "advisors", just like GWB did.

And he thinks airplane windows should open to let oxygen in when there are fires.

I don't think America needs another mouthpiece president being told what to do by bankers, big business and Israel. It's no good for anybody.

Further to my earlier question, would you mind sharing your nationality with us?

No, it's mine and I'm keeping it. If you want a British passport, apply for one. They give them out like candy these days.

So it is safe to assume you are British, NOT American.

Interesting.

[geriatrickid]

Why is this called a debate? It is not. Both will offer rehearsed sound bites and trot out their little nuggets that they have memorized by rote. Both candidates are intelligent and good speakers. Mr. Obama's training as a lawyer and his experience as a senator and a community advocate give him an edge of explaining complex subjects to large groups of people. Mr. Romney's experience as venture capital investor and governor give him an edge of focusing in on the key points. Mr. Obama is a master of speaking to large groups, Mr. Romney is a master of speaking to small groups. Mr. Romney may win the local audience in attendance giving the impression of support and that can be infectious. Mr. Obama may win the viewers at large and solidify his support, which is what he needs.

A good lawyer knows how to make a witness go off track, to become confused and to create reasonable doubt. A successful investor knows how to make a case and to stay on message.

[Scott]

I think we can stop any further discussion of posters' nationality.

A post with an over-sized photo has been deleted. Over-sized pictures mess up the formatting of the forum and make it necessary to scroll back and forth on some browsers.