'$64,000 question': Policy or personality?

[babylonsister]

'$64,000 question': Policy or personality?

By Jim Tankersley | Washington Bureau
10:52 PM CDT, April 5, 2008


WASHINGTON — There's a reason Democrats are confident they'll win the White House this fall: On the issues that matter most, Americans seem to agree with their candidates.

There's also a reason Republicans believe their party will prevail: In several recent presidential elections, issues took a back seat to character.

Voters want government to do more to fix the economy. They also want U.S. troops out of Iraq. The presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, sides with a distinct minority on both counts.

On less tangible questions of leadership, strength and trustworthiness, however, polls show McCain beating Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the Democratic candidates. Obama and Clinton are attacking one another on a personal level, only boosting McCain's advantage.

A Gallup survey last week suggested Obama would be most vulnerable in a general election on experience; Clinton on trustworthiness; and McCain on Iraq and other issues. What the survey did not predict—what analysts say no data can at this point—is whether voters will care more about policy or personality.

"Therein," said Mark Blumenthal, editor and publisher of Pollster.com, "lies the $64,000 question of the whole campaign."

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