Hillary Vs. Paul: Rasmussen Poll Not So Surprising

Ron Paul Vs. Hillary Clinton.

Is it David vs. Goliath? The Fight of the Century? The Underdog and the Behemoth?

The headline promises long-concealed information just now coming to light: the story delivers something else: a bland look at how many Americans have opinions of Hillary Clinton vs. how many have heard of Ron Paul
More from the merry pollsters at Rasmussen:

A recent Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey featuring a match-up between Hillary Clinton and Ron Paul highlights one of the perils that comes from overanalyzing poll results between candidates with different levels of name recognition.

In that survey, Clinton held a fairly modest 48% to 38% lead. But, a careful look at the results tells us a lot about the public’s opinion of Hillary Clinton and virtually nothing about their opinion of Ron Paul.

The story goes on to say what is well-known: more Americans have heard of a former first lady than of a Congressman from Texas.

Why? First, because just about everyone in the United States has an opinion of Hillary Clinton. She has been a major player on the national and international state for 15 years. Half the country has a favorable opinion of her and half holds the opposite view, but all have an opinion. Our most recent survey results show that nearly 60% of voters have a strongly held opinion about the New York Senator and former First Lady.

As for Ron Paul, 42% don’t know enough about him to have an opinion one way or the other. He’s one of 435 Congressman whose life is way below the radar screen for most Americans. Still, his presence in the GOP Presidential Debates has raised his profile a bit--26% now offer a favorable opinion and 32% say the opposite. But, only 16% have a strongly held opinion about Paul (7% Very Favorable, 9% Very Unfavorable).

The reaction to this "news" will be predictable: the Ron Paulistas will shout it out that it's proof their man is the Great Bright Hope; the equally-rabid anti-Paulistinians will paste it up as more proof that Paul is getting too much attention. It's getting so there is a definite negative element to covering any news of Ron Paul. Even more so for the disinterested observer trying to play it straight.

Us? We thought about it and decided to comment on this story instead of this weekend's NFL games.

Barely.



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by Mondoreb