The “Likeability Gap” between Romney and Obama is a serious drag on the Republican candidate’s chances to win the presidency.
“We’re not going to win a personality contest. It’s not an election for class president. It’s who can best solve the problems of the country,” said Romney’s pollster, Neil Newhouse. “Likability isn’t fixing the economy or helping the middle class make ends meet.”
Well said, and true — as far as it goes. But the vote for president has been shown to be the most personal of all ballots cast by the voter. And “likeability” is tied up in how we view ourselves as much as how we see the candidate before us.
The electoral canard about voting for the guy we’d like to sit down and have a beer with is shorthand for projecting our own personality traits on the candidate and measuring how he relates to our self-image. Political pros have their own ideas:
Voters look at the ballot with the expectation that they are going to have “a pretty intimate relationship with the president,” said Obama’s chief political strategist, David Axelrod. “In addition to everything else, they know they are going to see a lot of him.”
But Axelrod added: “Likability is a hard thing to measure.” Indeed, Obama himself is no one’s idea of a glad-hander.
What makes people warm up to a candidate, Axelrod said, is a sense that he is “someone who is accessible to me, someone who understands me, someone I can relate to.”
Those perceived qualities about the president, strategists on both sides say, have helped keep the race close, despite Americans’ disappointment with how the economy has performed under Obama.
“Likability is keeping Obama in the game at this point,” said Mark McKinnon, a top strategist for George W. Bush, who in his 2004 presidential reelection bid was famously deemed in one poll to be the candidate with whom undecided voters would rather have a beer (an irony, for a teetotaling president).
“But Romney has a lot of potential to improve his likability numbers, particularly during the convention,” McKinnon added. “Romney hasn’t really revealed much of his personal story or his personality, so he’s got a lot more potential to grow.”
It appears that we measure likeability, in some respects, by deciding whether or not we want to welcome the candidate into our living rooms every night for the next four years. Is that more important than where the candidate stands on the issues of the day? Or whether his ideology is compatible with ours?
Mitt Romney may find the answer to those questions after the convention.
Another propaganda media myth: president obama’s likeability. The real truth is that most Americans feel intense dislike, indifference, or downright loathing for this communist. That also goes for our First Entitlement Queen, Moochelle Obama. By the way just exactly what is her function at the Olympics besides having another lavish vacation funded by the taxpayer where she can parade around in a $6,800 jacket while the rest of us struggle to hold on to what we worked so hard to earn all our lives. Dispicable.
Enough with the parroting of the media propaganda. Obama will end up being the most hated president in our history.
I agree that Obama’s likeability is a media canard; under all that haughty arrogance and self-regard, there is not much to like. Maybe because I only get news from the internet and radio, I am not so much under the major media mind-control, so I find that every time I hear his voice, I am overcome with a wave of nausea.
I am afraid this article is only too correct. When I go to my ‘social’ or ‘hobby’ websites (as opposed to my political ones like PJM, Breitbart, AT, FPM, etc), I don’t see many political posts at all…But what I see are mostly pro BHO. The ones that are against BHO mainly see him as a well meaning but ineffectual man who is being deliberately torpedoed by Congress, to “help the Republicans”. Romney is mocked for being “weird”, and he is seen as corrupt and ‘misogynist’ . Check out the articles and comments on the various Gawker sites : That probably gives a pretty good idea how apolitical/moderates, especially young ones feel about various issues (feel-NOT think).
Latest stupidity I am seeing at political sites : Anti BHO posts being invaded by posters who flounce on to ask us how we can possibly be against BHO’s “giving us free health care” (among other things, like “saving” the US automotive industry), with insinuations that no one can be against “free” health care unless they’re racists. Needless to say, these posters get flamed with multiple anti obamacare/anti personal mandate rebuttals and facts….But WHERE is this notion of BHO “giving us free health care” coming from? Are these posters British, Canadian, Australians, etc, who were confused by their media’s coverage? I’d like to think so, but no:
What we have in the USA are a bunch of young and not so young ignoramuses who make no effort to keep up with the news-at most briefly scanning headlines-but who *THINK* they’re informed, and who *KNOW* BHO is an intelligent man who means well for the USA, that anyone who is against his policies *MUST* be so out of racism, that liberals and Democrats are intelligent and cool, while Republicans and Conservatives are stupid, uncool and (if religious) “weird”. And these people are going to vote according to these notions.
Let us hope their turn out is low, as the rest of us , whatever our misgivings about Romney, nevertheless regard him as such an improvement on BHO that we will crawl over broken glass for him (at least I know I will!).
(I really believe that the only reason the American public is “only” 53-60% or so opposed to obamacare and the mandate because of the headline scanners : They want to believe that what BHO set up is a NHS dispensing free , on demand health care “like they have in the UK/Europe/etc etc etc” (all of which of course are really paid for by taxes, but these folks really and truly seem to believe the health care is completely free). Because this is what they want to believe is the case, they believe it IS the case, hence the stupid posters I’ve described above, claiming BHO “gave us free healthcare”. Those headline scanners who are aware of the personal mandate probably believe it only kicks in for people making 30 grand or more….Actually, according to all the online calculators of “What the ACA means to you” that I’ve seen at news sites like Wapo, WT, etc, the mandate kicks in at well under 10 grand a year. The headline scanners may be in for an unpleasant surprise, if obamacare isn’t defunded (or better yet repealed) after the elections.)
I’d like to agree with you but I don’t. If you can see Romney as an improvement over Obama, then they have done an excellent job convincing you that cow-patties taste like chocolate-chip pancakes! I dislike both choices immensely, and as such CANNOT vote for either one! I hate Obama because he is a globalist twat who thinks his ideas are so much better than everyone elses, that it doesn’t matter to him whether we actually want him to do the things he is compelled to perform. No one asked him to be saddled with Obamacare, but he followed Mitt’s lead down to the framework! Nevermind the flow of unemployment that will follow for thousands if not millions of American workers (a trend that has already begun despite the fact the law has yet to be fully enacted)! I hate Romney because he made his millions by unemploying and stealing pensions from hundreds of thousands of American workers. So why should I reward either man for these acts by voting for them? I hate both of these men because neither one has any regard for our Constitution, and both have visions for this country that have no basis in our ideals as a nation or a people. The only candidate in this race who does is Ron Paul, hence why despite all the blather, I am voting for him!
-Oz
You’re mad at him for “stealing pensions from hundreds of thousands of American works”… Umm, where? Because the companies that Bain bought out downsized and reorganized in order to stay in business? Are you angry that they outsourced because it was more cost effective due to regulations here in the States? Sounds like the one you should be mad at is the government, not the company that fulfilled its purpose, TO MAKE MONEY.
On top of that he was also heavily involved in Sports Authority and Staples, two companies that employ thousands of people, and dozens of others that actually made money. It sounds to me like your problem is envy that he has been a success.
In the end company buyouts come down to one thing, how many people got to KEEP their jobs? If the company stays in business and begins to turn a profit (the entire purpose of a for-profit company fyi) then it was done correctly. I feel sorry for the 400 people that lost their job, but the 2600 that got to keep theirs show the truth of the actions taken.
I definitely don’t agree with his Romneycare fiasco in Massachusetts, but his only real crime there was being so naive as to think the Democrat legislature wouldn’t pervert it and completely remove any possibility of workability of the program.
Then Oz, you are voting for Obama by proxy. Please understand, Ron Paul has zero chance at being elected. Zip, Nada, None. Welcome to the real world. It isn’t perfect, but don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
You could change your moniker to Don Quixote’s Sword, or Tilting at Windmills, because those activities would be more productive than throwing your country down the toilet because you have populist envy. Ron Paul is right where he needs to be, putting pressure on the Fed in Congress.
Hate is a horrible word….So you know what that makes you
“Another propaganda media myth: president obama’s likeability”
Exactly, and Moran, as usual, just accepts the premises of the left. The question on the Gallup survey is not who do you “like” more, but “thinking about the following characteristics and qualities, do you think this applies more to Obama or Romney? A) Is likeable.
It is a question of how Obama appears, his persona. I would answer that Obama’s persona appears more affable and likeable. That’s how he projects himself. I would also say the same in a poll about Ted Bundy.
Even so, the fact that anyone finds Obama likable is baffling to me. Every time I see his face, I don’t know whether to snarl at the screen or hurl my cookies.
Before 2008, I thought no President could be more reviled than Jimmy Carter. Boy, was I wrong.
And I just don’t understand this “I hate his policies but I’d like him in my living room” thing. Why would ANYONE welcome someone into their own house who has exerted every possible effort to “fundamentally transform America” by undermining, if not outright destroying, all the institutions and customs that America holds dear?
I read a majority of the comments and ok I understand you don’t like the President and that’s fine, but none of you gave any reasons or arguments why I should like Mitt Romney. It’s one thing to hate a person but convince me why I should like the other. Back in 2004, I was talking to a number of Democrats and it was all about I hate Bush, he started an unnecessary war, he’s doing everything unilateral and alienating our foreign friends, I hate Bush, blah, blah, blah. I asked the group, ok I understand you don’t like President Bush but why should I vote for Kerry? They sort of was dumb founded and couldn’t answer the question. At that moment I knew President Bush was going to win. For the same reason I think President Obama is going to win the election. The sad part is, I can think of four good Republican that can beat Obama and it doesn’t include anyone from the primary.
Who’s this “we” kemo sabe? I find the President to be arrogant, condescending and a sneering jerk to all those who have the temerity to disagree with him. Now, I wouldn’t sit down with Mittens to share a beer, because he doesn’t drink. But he at least understands the private enterprise and federalism aspects of America, which is more than I can say about The Whine. I dislike any cult of personality. Mittens is more grandfatherly, or avuncular. There may be some distance, but a president is a leader, not my best friend.
Mitt would make a terrific designated driver. Not a beer person, but I’d have a drink with him any day of the week!
This is an excellent point, one that the Stupid Party will be sure to ignore.
Consider, which guy do you want to “party” with and which guy you want to drive you home? Who do you want to handle the Presidency? Captain Kick-Ass? or Captain “Sully” Sullenberger?
exactly so. When I was in the navy as an enlisted man I served under two skippers. Capt. A was cold as ice, old school, strictly by-the-book, and he ran a tight ship. He almost never spoke to the crew himself, that was for the XO and the watch officers. I never thought of him as likeable. But he knew exactly what he was doing. Capt. B replaced him. He was a good time Charly, wanted to be liked, and was not someone to be taken seriously. On my night watches in port I would see him coming in drunk. He was one of the guys. Which one do you think I would want to go to war with? Likeability has almost nothing to do with leadership. It is respect that counts. It is sad that so many people don’t know that.
On one of my ships my two skipper story is slightly different. Captain A was very likable, always getting around to talk to the crew, but was still extremely professional. Under Captain A, Captain’s Mast offenses were minimal.
Captain B. was arrogant, haughty, by the book, and condescending. Was he professional, I couldn’t say he wasn’t, but his mannerisms brought out the worst in people, even his own XO. Captain’s Mast offenses under Captain B. skyrocketed, and the general state of moral was in the toilet.
So being likeable doesn’t automatically make you unprofessional, nor does being a hard ass automatically make you a better leader.
Sorry, I missed a line in your post where we agreed on likeability and leadership.
I love it! Are you so desperate to get rid of Obama that you’ve gone blind? Have you even bothered to look into Romney? Who he really is, what he really stands for? I watched a vid where they took all of his main platform statements and showed him stating his perspective. ON EVERY SINGLE ISSUE, Mitt not only flipped and flopped, but CONTRADICTED HIMSELF BY 360 DEGREES! That is a sure sign that the man will SAY ANYTHING TO GET ELECTED!!! I have no room for such beings in my political pantheon. As such, I am voting for the only man in this race who believes what he says, and acts according to his beliefs, that man is Ron Paul!
-Oz
“CONTRADICTED HIMSELF BY 360 DEGREES”
heh
I’ve never understood the whole issue of likability in a president. I don’t want a friend for President, I want a LEADER. It’s sad how many immature idiots we have in this country who think likability is more important than leadership. Sad and scary.
I think there’s an MSM narrative in play about the comparative likeability of the two candidates. The intent is to make us think that we’re supposed to like Obama and dislike Romney: If we don’t, then there must be something wrong with us.
Cuz 80% of Americans would never say they don’t like a black man.
That’s because if they say they don’t like Obama, they’re also saying they don’t like the white half either.
“Cuz 80% of Americans would never say they don’t like a black man.”
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” MLK
If it is true (I’m not sure that it is true) that Americans judge Obama by the color of his skin, and not by the content of his character, then MLK’s dream remains just a dream.
The answer lies in enunciation – most people think the pollster is asking about the candidate’s “lackability” and you have to admit that Obama has an astronomical “lackability” rating.
Where do we go to take your polls? They’re definitely more accurate.
(I’m sure my friends will agree on the “lackability” rating ).
They don’t. They’re lying. Can we move on now?
I don’t like anybody who takes my money like it’s my privilege to pay him and wastes it on illegals, deadbeats, and communists because his idea of fairness is that half the people don’t pay taxes and the other half should sacrifice to support them. I could write a dissertation on the subject.
Nobody likes arrogance. We haven’t seen the two side by side in a debate. Until then all discussion of ‘likeability’ is a dem-sided meme. What are the internals of those polls, how were the questions phrased, etc?
Thus my response is:
1- bad polling
2- ill informed public
3- too premature to be of concern
4- Obama is a vomitous mass of incompetence and will lose in a landslide
“Obama is a vomitous mass of incompetence and will lose in a landslide.”
I sense you’re holding back, Carmelita…tell us how you REALLY feel.
What a wornout liberal line of feces! The object of your vilification is saying what she believes; not what she feels. Conservatives think, reason; liberals only “feel”, being incapable of rational thought. Obama is a sociopath, meeting all the diagnostic criteria for such.He is evil personified, perhaps a moslem by choice; certainly a satanist by deed. He kills babies, promotes sodomy, destroys our economy, trashes our constitution,acts as a dictator, ignores the law, via inflation steals the savings of millions, betrays our allies, aids our enemies, alsely represents himself as a Christian,and surrenders our national sovereignty. He is a disaster, challenged on all planes, particularly the moral and intellectual.
We need to press the handle and listen for the swoosh. Then pray that the sewage disposal plant will not be contaminated.
The pollster knows your name and your phone number, and you are not going to tell the truth about a president whose campaign repeatedly accuses his opponents of being racist.
That’s all.
As #4 and #6 had already said.
Obama’s “likability” is a pie in the sky.
Americans can’t stand mr. I Keep My Chin Up When I Speak.
” … you are not going to tell the truth about a president whose campaign repeatedly accuses his opponents of being racist.”
Well, I would tell the truth, but nobody ever asks me.
For once I’d like to see details from these fawning media outlets of what is allegedly so damned likeable about Barack Obama. He’s stuck up, petulant, petty, small minded, not at all bright in any sense of that word. What is there to like? He’s not a good orator & his voice inflections exhibit his arrogance & condescension each & every time he opens his mouth to say something.
It’s way past the time to stop spreading around this absurd lie that Obama is likeable. He is not. I’d rather cuddle up to Gollum than even remotely be in the same room with Obama. Each time somebody plays a segment featuring him speaking, I promptly hit the mute button.
What’s this “likability” thing you are talking about? To quote a famous character:
I don’t think that word means what you think it means. When a president has strong disapproval ratings that are equal to his overall approval ratings, I think you can discount any “likability” affect in November.
Calvin Coolidge had to be one of the most boring presidents we ever had. Yet today many historians consider him to be one of the best. I think the general public has had enough of “flash” and “personality” with Obama. After four years of that, how’s that “Hope and Change” working out for you? I think people want some real change for a better tomorrow. They sure as heck are not going to get that by giving Obama another four years in office.
Change is coming. Real change. And Obama had better start packing. With a GDP of 1.5% and falling, I don’t think Americans are going to worry about “likeability” this fall. They are going to worry about whether or not we go totally bankrupt in the next four years. Obama and his minions would only bankrupt us faster, and the American public will come to that conclusion come November.
Famous lines from “Silent Cal”:
“THe business of America is business.”
“I do not choose to run.” (1928)
Definitely an underrated president.
What’s this “likability” thing you are talking about? To quote a famous character:
I don’t think that word means what you think it means. When a president has strong disapproval ratings that are equal to his overall approval ratings, I think you can discount any “likability” affect in November.
Most people will claim to like Obama because he is the first black president and they don’t want to seem insensitive or intolerant. I have no problem telling people I don’t like him at all but I am not most people. I think his likability is overstated in polls. Obama isn’t a nice guy at all and I wouldn’t want to have a beer with him.
Mitt is a very nice guy based on the reports of people who know him personally, he is just more guarded in public. If he lets that guard down a bit he will do just fine. Competence is more important anyway. We did and American Idol style election last time around and it didn’t work out too well.
Barack Obama is the kindest, gentlest warmest human being I have ever known.
Then I can only assume you’ve spent your entire life in solitary confinement in a North Korean gulag being tortured. Pretty much any who’d lived anything resembling a normal life would have met nicer people than Barack Obama
Dude, that’s a line from “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962). When all the returned brainwashed POW’s of Cpl. Raymond Shaw’s unit return home they always robotically give this line when asked their opinion of him…
“You must love Big Brother. It is not enough to obey him; you must love him.” George Orwell – 1984
OK, so our Marxist/Fascist mass media has changed the line from “love” to “like,” but the word “must” is still in play.
Touche. Our brainwashers –the MSM—are surely doing their job.
I don’t get it either. I know Obama. I don’t like him. If you want me to characterize Mitt Romney, okay here goes: rich, Mormon. Neither of those particularly does anything for me, but I’m gonna vote for him.
The whole concept of likability wrt presidential candidates is inane.
We’re voting for the person that will run the executive branch of the federal government. Not choosing our best buddy.
Yup, even as Leftie professor/guru George Lakoff has written, in trying circumstances such as these, us peasants want a stern Father figure rather than a best buddy.
Why do those of us on the right side find it so hard to stop being suckers for the leftists? It should be “seared into our brains” that “all leftists are liars” and not to be believed. It is beyond stupid to continue to engage in the loaded and rigged false “debates” that the leftists foist on us, such as the bulls**t meme that “most people find Hussein more likeable than Romney”. When statements such as that are made by the leftists those of us on the right side should just laugh out loud without trying to participate in arguing their ridiculous positions. Would any rational man try to “straighten out” a barking mad dog?
I started liking Romney a lot more when I found out he and some buddies chopped off some other guys’ long hair. And carried his dog in the car topper. The more he acts like a regular guy, the more I’ll like him. Aw sure, he’s got money, but he earned it. People who dislike him for that are just showing their envy.
Mit is just not likeable. I do not find Obama to be likeable either but to defeat him Romney is going to have to do better than he has thus far.
I don’t think Romney has to go on Jimmy Kimmel’s show and make an ass of himself in order to appeal to American voters. Most of them are adults.
Besides, these meaningless, “likeability” polls are nothing but media-contrived BS designed to give Obama another positive and to distract people from the utter disaster that his presidency has been.
What I wouldn’t give for Romney to be the second coming of Silent Cal…
The most underrated President ever. A virtual 180 from our current President.
Odd note; Silent Cal hired Edward Bernays to be his PR man when he decided to try and shift his persona of grim and stoic to more flash and man of action. Bernays had him filmed with the Hollywood stars of the day. Needless to say it didn’t work. And his administration was replaced by dashing Herbert Hoover of Russian famine fame. Which led us to the new deal.
Apparently, the cut of Romney’s jib isn’t as impressive as the crease in Obama’s pants.
If Romney picks Louis Farrahkan for V.P., he might steal a couple of Obama’s constituents.
Yes, I would say that I would not mind having a beer with President Obama because I to love basketball and golf, but after 3 1/2 years of watching his non-leadership and constant lying and hypocrisy, there is no way I would ever vote for him.
Most people I deal with on a regular basis are just fine w/Obummer – including my employer, who sees Obamacare as a way to get out of our company’s onerous health care plan and to level the playing field in the labor market. He’s not the only one.
I don’t see Romney winning the presidency. At least a loss will (hopefully) clear the field for 2016. Meantime, we need to campaign like mad for congresscritters and, if we can get them elected, hope they don’t cave as ususl.
You know who was likable? Jimmy Carter was likable, and we know how that worked out.
In 2006, 2007 and 2008, when Obama was clearly going to be the Democrat Candidate, what little I could learn about him did not lend itself to likability, at least not in the world I inhabit.
I could not be expected to like a man who, in his feted rise to the top, displayed the most un-American sensibilities and values I have ever seen in a national public figure. I’m comparing him to some pretty unsavory characters, and he comes off almost best in show.
Make your entire professional life’s work a statement of your hatred of my culture and my way of life, and I’m naturally not going to like you.
Wow, And all this spit and bile because a black man won an election? I guess for you folks it is always cult first, America second.
Obummer’s color has nothing to do w/anything. But you knew that, troll. GFY.
“Obummer’s color has nothing to do w/anything.”
Obummer’s SKIN color has nothing to do w/anything. His “ideals” are 100% RED & that bothers me a lot.
Talk about being in a cult, Steve-o. Try thinking for yourself. Now, if Thomas Sowell ran, I’d vote for him in a heartbeat.
You blew your chance to make a point. Had you said, “And all this spit and bile because an intelligent, charming, Harvard educated, legal professor, and community organizer won an election?” you may have made some points. But you went for the race card and it completely nullified your comment. And it shows your inherent racism to boot.
Tool.
The campaign should get fired up as soon as BO fires Axelrod and appoints (VA. Truth Team Leader) State Sen. Louise Lucas as campaign manager. The scourge of racists everywhere, Ole Louise is sure to flush out every bigot, bitter clinger & flyover country rube her active little mind get conjure up. For America during Term 2, “I have a dream” will become “I have a nightmare!”
Let’s see if I can get why people, in polls, like obozo more than Romney.
So many polls are now being reported to be skewed towards democrats. Might that be a reason
We have been told that obozo, is historic, so that creates a sense of obligation to like and reminds me of the
story of a black man that is hired by a company because of racial quotas, is a total failure and is fired.
He is so upset he runs into human resources and screams at the person that fired him that it is only because
he is black that he is being fired. The man responds. Nope, you were hired because you were black, you are fired
because you are incompetent.
So much has been written about Romney in the negative.
So we get it, the media don’t like rich white men, unless they are like Kerry, who married into wealth and tries to not by taxes by mooring his yacht in a tax free state.
So we get it the media doesn’t like military people unless they are dems, which is why they backed Kerry and his military record and discarded Dole, and McCain, in favor of a draft dodger and druggie that never served.
And we get stories about outsourcing regarding Romney, which for a private business is what business does, but that media fails to report on outsourcing by the president, when he should be looking to work with americans and keep jobs in America.
So $29 Billion get borrowed from the bank of China, which if you are a rep. is unpatriotic, but if you are the first White black incompetent in the White House is fine.
Then we have GE outsourcing, with GE president on obozo’s panel of economic experts
Then we have GM outsourcing, and using, nay ignorning, the laws of bankruptcy to dole out financial favors that should have been left to the bankruptcy laws
And does this get reported.
But the American people are wising up, and they do remember history, especially fool me once, shame on me, but it aint’ gonna happen twice.
Or was it Lincoln, telling us that you can fool all of the people some of the time, or some of the people all the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time. and the election tsunami is fast approaching, the media won’t tell us or see, because they have their heads so far up their anal sphincters trying to kiss obozo that they will just be washed out to sea, another casualty of their belief that they are too big to fail.
If pollsters have your home phone number, they’ve got your address…who knows how some lowlife might use it. Claiming to like Obama keeps ACORN types & SEIU Purple Shirts with their “RACISTS LIVE HERE” signs from showing up on your front lawn.
Who cares. I’m too old to go hunting. If they come to me, so much the better.
I think likeability matters a lot. Most people look at the economy and say man, that sucks, but they don’t look at the cause and effect. Then they add something along the lines of I’m sure glad that nice guy Obama is in their pulling for us he sure seems like he cares about us. Too bad those mean old Republicans refuse to work with him. I mean look at that old guy Romney, saying he’s gonna undo all the nice things Obama is trying to do for us. Look how mean he looks, bet he don’t care about us.
In other words, people go on perceptions, the MSM have been drumming it into our heads that Obama is great, he really cares, it’s the Republicans that are messing everything up. People are buying into it again, they didn’t learn the first time. If Romney doesn’t lighten up and convince the uninformed that he also cares about us and will do the right thing by us it will be a very close election. I just hope there are enough truly informed voters out there to swing us away from Mr. Likeable and get Romney elected.
Obama’s “likeability” is totally manufactured and sold by his PR team. It scares me when people can “feel in their heart” their connection to Obama. I imagine a lot of people had heart felt feelings about some of the most evil monstrous leaders this planet has produced though. Not many voters understand to the extent they are able to be manipulated by experienced psychological warfare experts. My evidence for all this, is that any prior president, that made the large number of serious gaffes that this president has made along with a tanking economy, would not be enjoying Obamas poll numbers. Lastly, I think the FED printing money has cushioned most folks exposure to how precarious the fiscal health of this country really is.
Dear Mr. Poll Taker,
Obama is AWESOME!
P.S. I lie to pollsters.
Barack Obama is the kindest, gentlest, warmest human being I have ever known.
“Why Do Americans Like President Obama”
Because he all the right enemies…
ooops.
Thats: Because he HAS all the right enemies…
“Why Do Americans Like President Obama More than Mitt Romney?”
I’m not buying into your headline.
I have a theory on this “likeable” polling nonsense.
1)The Propaganda and Lies Ministry is in a perpetual puff campaign for leftist politicians an a perpetual slander campaign against anyone who dares to oppose them.
This has an erosion effect over time. It erodes the will to be antagonistic against leftists and leftism. It erodes the will to continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with opponents of leftism. The easily peer pressured, the low information poll responder, the “get my news from the alphabet networks and Jon Stewart, David Letterman crowd, the “wanna be liked and accepted” crowd…will answer the poll like a Pavlovian dog.
2)Romney isn’t yet terribly “popular” even on his own side, yet. Maybe never will be. Having to overcome the despicable “journOlista” fraud above his hard enough. If the questions are phrased in a way to tap into the hesitation and reserve on the side of the resistance…this widens a gap that is meaningless. Obama is loved by the small c communists, the near entirety of the black community, the prey of ethnicity hucksters and pasty “liberal” snivelers. That won’t change. He could stand over a busload of orphans with blood dripping from his teeth and they would say they love him.
Romney has no such base. If Romney committed a misdemeanor, much of his base would fade. If Obama went on a serial rape, maim and killing spree, his base would blame George Bush.
3)Romney is a bit of a political oaf. He often has a tin ear and does not engender warmth naturally. Reagan and Ford were naturally likeable guys. Romney will tell you the truth…if you are fat and need to lose weight, he won’t call you “husky”. Just ask the Brits.
Now, it might be refreshing to watch someone else telling it like it is to those who live in a bubble or cocoon …protective coating installed to prevent truth, accountability and integrity to seep into their slimy Fabian world of lies and distortion. But…it won’t make you likeable if you do it with everyone and everything.
We may have a candidate for President who doesn’t know any better when asked a question, he just tells the truth. That would certainly be a different experience from the one we are suffering now.
Obama isn’t likeable. Obama’s persona is not Obama. If Stanley Kurtz ever gets it out into the open who he really is, that poll would be rendered meaningless.
“Having to overcome the despicable “journOlista” fraud above his hard enough.”
–
What did you actually mean to say here? I’m guessing that the last five words should be removed and replaced with “fraud is hard enough”. Am I close?
LOL. Depends on what the meaning of “his” is???
Typo, of course.
Where do they get the idea that Obama is more ‘likeable’? The man is arrogant and condescending. He displays a total contempt for anyone who disagrees with him. He mocks his opponents. There is nothing remotely likeable about him.
“Why Do Americans Like President Obama More than Mitt Romney?”
Well, why believe it?
If there’s any truth in the assertion, it’s likely because of who takes those kinds of polls in the first place, who answers those kinds of polls in the second place, and what the latter has to gain by admitting they don’t like the president in the 3rd place. Most pollsters use coeds to collect the data. Most college girls are Democrats. Republicans are notoriously reluctant to talk to pollsters, while Democrats love to talk about themselves endlessly. So if you figure bias in the polltakers, bias in the poll respondents, and the Chatty-Cathy-ness of those willing to respond, you end up with a class of people who like Obama because he’s one of them. You aren’t going to get a 70 year old white male Republican telling a 20 year old coed he can’t stand Obama. He knows she’ll dismiss him as racist.
The presidency must not be a popularity contest as opposed to a competency contest for the job of running the nation. I believe Obama has proven his incompetency and Romney has proven his competency, plus Romney is a moderate Republican, which trumps everything else.
We do need some serious leadership to wrest the nation from the clutches of liberals and their whacky and communistic compatriots–the progressives. We need someone willing to torch just about every Obama Executive Order, and fire or otherwise neutralize every appointed leftist in government, while turning over and making sense out of Obamacare, taxation, foreign policy, environmentalism, defense, homeland security, the CIA, the attorney general position and a clump of hangers-on, and whatever else Obama has tainted with his incompetency. All of it has to go.
Your second paragraph is right about what needs to be done but I don’t see Mittens actually doing any large percentage of that. He’s a RINO after all. He’s only a milder form of Obama, not the antidote.
Then again, Mitt is all we’ve got so deserves to be elected as the lesser of two evils….
Actually Tampa hasn’t happened yet, so Mitt has yet to win a damn thing. Besides, if you are trying to get rid of one guy because he has shown himself to be aligned with evil, why would you vote for someone whom in his business life has shown himself to be just as evil? Just trying to change the skin color of the devil you know? How about vote for Good this time around? You never know, we might have as much success voting for good as we have had in trying to elect EVIL!!!
-Oz
Romney couldn’t win the likability contest if he was Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelley locked in an embrace.
It isn’t about who is most likable, it’s about who the 24×7 media chooses to elevate and who to destroy.
Don’t think for a second that if Romney remains in the hunt that they won’t do a Palin on him.
Actually, they will do a Palin times a hundred on him.
On the other side, obama might as well be a movie star being fluffed by a studio of 50,000 heavy breathing groupies….who just happen to contol 80% of the communication channels.
Romney needs to stick with the competancy thing, gradually escalate the description of the marxist until people who care begin to understand just how dangerous the guy is, and find a few more Sonnunu’s to do the dirty work.
He should never ever appear on TV without mentioning 6 trillion in new debt, 1 trillion in new annual spending, obamacarethemostunpopularlaweverpassed, reminding people that obama doesn’t think they built that, and reminding them that in his (obama’s) mind the private sector is doing just fine.
If enough adults get a brain, Romney could win.
If they don’t, investigate other options, because the United States is toast.
Since any criticism of Obama now potentially subjects a person to charges of racism I believe that the favorable likeability ratings are just a defense mechanism.
If you have just told the pollster that Obama’s presidency is an unmitigated disaster you follow up with “but I personally find him likeable” to ward off the criticism.
Nah, Newhouse is correct, the question is what to do about it.
As many say, forget likeable; Romney looks and acts like a dork the moment he’s outside familiar turf. Smooth he ain’t, somewhat startling given his silver-spoon background, but there it is. To be blunt, trying to make him ‘likeable’ is a lipstick-on-the-pig effort that will surely fail since it requires spontaneity and a bunch of other qualities he doesn’t have. Even Obama, repulsive and slippery and reptilian though he is, can often assume a sloppy, finger-lickin’ aw-shucks faux charm, almost on cue, up and down the social ladder, that works for some.
Mr. Chairman has to be packaged as clear, precise, trustworthy, serious, patriotic, experienced, kind to animals and plants, etc., etc. It’s an uphill struggle.
Example from Bloomberg today of the kind of crap that has to stop immediately: ‘Romney foreign policy adviser Dan Senor told reporters that “if Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing the capability, the governor would respect that decision.” ‘ Respect? Affirmative-action drivel has no place in foreign policy. If you mean support, say support. Yet Mr. Chairman and his handlers even have to think about this, as if deliberating about a proposal for a corporate outreach initiative or, heaven help us, the world of a community organizer.
Is a waffler better than a liar? Of course, but it’s a pitiful basis for deciding where to place your vote. Good enough for the GOP, it seems. Meanwhile the clock ticks.
Don’t you remember the other day when MItt said to Brian Williams, “You told me you were not available” ? That was a masterful comeback delivered with a deadpan straight face.
That’s just one example of what I’ve been saying: There is a lot there under the hood that we don’t know.
“Why Do Americans Like President Obama More than Mitt Romney?”
They don’t!
Americans don’t like mean, lying SOB’s whose “friends” are all also mean, lying SOB’s.
Criminals might admire him, Psychopaths might want to emulate him, Parasites might need him. His personal Enemies may fear him, his Associates don’t trust him. Nobody likes him or loves him especially since he hates every living thing he does not control, including his psychopathic, self-loathing, guilt-ridden self.
One can’t spout the ideologies of Satan (Marxism, Communism, Socialism, and Islamism that hates the God of the Christians and the Jews) twenty four seven like the President and his cronies do and have have a respectable or likeable bone in your body.
Wow, you described my feelings for BOTH MEN in one shot!
-Oz
Even Adolf Hitler had Friends, an adoring public, his likeabiiity factor was very high, that was early on of course..Some of the British royality was gaga over him.. (That created some problems)…And don’t forget, the Devil is a beautiful angel…
So don’t tell me likeable..And our current President reminds me of Benito Mussollini, the “loveable” Il Duce!
This ‘likability’ issue is another false canard promoted by the legacy media.
I am a die-hard conservative Republican, but Bill Clinton was likable. There is nothing likable about Obama.
As for the question about who I’d rather sit down with over burger and fries: Mitt Romney with no question.
in the world who likes obama, except maybe his daughters I guess, and I’m only guessing . . .
he is kind of repulsive, isn’t he . . .
used to look real purty, too . . .
that’s a matter of opinion, I’d say . . .
he looks just like his father . . .
and just who is that?
because farrakhan sez he’s the messiah . . .
I hope the respondents are lying when they say they find Barry likable. Well, some are surely telling the truth. Ouch.
“Why Do Americans Like President Obama More than Mitt Romney?”
Americans who live off the fruit of their neighbor’s labor love and will vote for Obama because he is the man, along with his party, who will rob one man for the benefit of another. Karl Marx called it economic class struggle – from each according to his ability – to each according to his need. The non-disabled lazy man has unlimited needs, so the laboring man may be taxed without limit. Under Marxist class struggle one man’s likable savior is another man’s despised tyrant. When will the American middle class wake up and face the truth – the government of the United States is engaged in Marxist class struggle.
“Americans who live off the fruit of their neighbor’s labor love and will vote for Obama because he is the man, along with his party, who will rob one man for the benefit of another”
It’s funny that you should put it this way. The fact is that Romney lives by the same code. Only the people he helps with the fruit of our labor are usually already millionaires and billionaires so it is a bit harder to feel that there is a compassionate motive…
-Oz
Bullcrap.
If I were going to sit down with one of the candidates to a beer … well, Mitt Romney doesn’t drink beer, or whiskey, or even coffee. But if I were going to sit down with one of them to a plate of ribs it would be Mitt Romney, because I have no evidence that he is a hateful man, and because I could learn things from him, things that it is good to know. Barack Obama, on the other hand, is a hateful and bitter man, and the things he knows or believes are not good for man to know. They shrivel the soul and lead to evil.
The notion of ‘like’ and Obama is such a pathetic joke it’s not worth my trouble to respond. They guy is lower than lead in a scum pond. What in hell is wrong with all of you?
…and Romney isn’t any better! What is wrong with you?
-Oz
Why do people mostly ‘like’ Obama in the polls? It’s easier for most people to tell the pollster they ‘like’ Obama because to do otherwise may brand them as being RACIST. The left has deliberately promoted that perception and it works, except in the privacy of the voting booth. Then watch his likeability numbers plunge.
If Obama was so likeable, if he was so influential? Then, why was Obama MIA during the Scott Walker Recall and North Carolina DOMA? Don’t answer this, you already no the answer! Media canard!
Sorry, Don’t answer this, you already know the answer! Media canard! Damn android phone!
Why is BO more “likeable” than Mitt? Let’s make this a multiple choice question:
a)Significant numbers of voters aren’t yet paying attention.
b)Voters would rather lie to a pollster than be deemed “racist.”
c)In an age of celebrity, a Cheshire cat grin always beats competence.
d)Many voters believe they are more likely to receive a check from BO than Mitt.
e)They already drank long and deep from the trough of Obama Kool-aid.
NOTE: Any answer other than (a) or (b) means we are doomed.
Makes me wonder who you like more, the guy who continues to sign FTAs despite the ruinous effect NAFTA and other FTAs have had on our jobs, or the guy who buys up American companies, crashes them with massive debt, files chapter 11, evaluates the remaining assets, and sells them off to countries we have Free Trade Agreements with?
-Oz
There are two kinds of Americans,those that get money from the government (the takers) and those that pay taxes to the government (the givers)
Guess who likes Obama and the Liberal providers of the mothers milk ,Guess?????
Ted Bundy was a likable guy
All the points above that are made by Haxelrod should be used in the form of questions to the American public in advertisements. They should be asked with incredulity pointing out what Obama has actually done during his term.
Americans are waiting on Mitt to define himself ?, he is doing that every day.
Obama on the other hand has taken the last 3 1/2 years to show us all what a incompetant, narrcisstic apathectic person he is. He has a “your with me or against me ” atitude in spite of his collossal arrogence and when he faces issuse that are way over his head. Obama turns people off then calls them racists when he does not get his own way.
He will not take responsibility for any thing but success, failure is not in his vocabulary even when his finger prints are all over it.
America can not stand 4 more years of this upsurper.
Mormons are an evil, man-made cult. I don’t trust people that don’t drink.
When in Chicago, come to my restaurant!!
http://www.franksndawgs.com