Weekly Reader Poll Results

[jillian]

Released: October 29, 2008
THE NATION'S STUDENTS PICK BARACK OBAMA IN THE JUST COMPLETED WEEKLY READER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION POLL

America's most trusted and accurate student survey has predicted the winner in 12 of the past 13 elections.

Pleasantville, N.Y. - October 29, 2008 - Just days before Americans choose our next president, voting has concluded in the Weekly Reader Student Presidential Election Poll. And the nation's students resoundingly say that Barack Obama will be the country's next leader. In the 14th Weekly Reader election survey, with more than 125,000 votes cast from kindergarten through 12th grade, the result was Obama 54.7% and John McCain 42.9% (with "other" candidates receiving 2.5% of the student vote). The Obama victory in the classroom electoral vote was even more resounding: The Democrat won 33 states and the District of Columbia, garnering 420 electoral votes, while McCain took 17 states and 118 electoral votes.

For the past 52 years, the results of the Weekly Reader poll have been consistently on target, with the student vote correctly predicting the next president in 12 out of 13 elections. (The only time the kids were wrong was 1992, when they chose George H.W. Bush over Bill Clinton.) This year, as in 2000 and 2004, the student election was conducted in conjunction with noted polling organization Zogby International.

Below are more thought-provoking, and perhaps prescient, results from the Weekly Reader Student Presidential Election Poll:

While the election results may appear one-sided, they actually were extraordinarily close in many places. In three states, less than a tenth of a percentage point separated the winning ticket from the losing one. Iowa and Missouri were the states where Obama barely squeaked by, while in North Dakota, McCain won by the same slim margin.
Most, but not all, swing states went to Obama. The Democrat took Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. McCain won Minnesota and New Hampshire, each by a surprisingly wide 8 points, as well as North Carolina in a 4.6% victory over Obama.
McCain took Republican strongholds Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming. Obama romped in the deep blue states of California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Washington, and the District of Columbia.
The Democratic candidate had a few startling triumphs-such as sweeping the vote in the Republican slate's two home states of Alaska and Arizona, registering a big win in Georgia, receiving 82% of the student vote in Nevada, gaining a 34-point win in Mississippi, and logging a 10% victory over McCain in George W. Bush's home state of Texas.
Obama was the victor in every grade-except grade 10, which chose McCain. The results were the tightest in the 11th grade, where Obama slid by with a 1.5% victory, followed by second grade, where Obama won by a margin of 1.8%. The widest spread appeared in the ninth grade, where Obama's gigantic 85.6% beat McCain's 12.4% - a whopping 73.2% margin!

Zogby International

 

[Jon]

Gee whiz, I'm glad to know children support Obama. That really tells me something right there.

 

[jillian]

Did you actually read the article?

Kids parrot what their parents say. I know being a child, you don't know that yet. But THAT'S why they've been right 12 out of 13 times. D'uh!

weirdo.

 

[Jon]

Did you actually read the article?

Kids parrot what their parents say. I know being a child, you don't know that yet. But THAT'S why they've been right 12 out of 13 times. D'uh!

weirdo.

What's interesting is that it seems the older the kids were (the more likely they were to actually know what was going on), the less likely they seemed to be to choose Obama.

And, considering the teachers in America have been resoundingly campaigning for Obama (even in classrooms), the results of this poll are not a surprise.

But I'm glad you put so much faith in a poll of kindergarteners.

 

[jillian]

What's interesting is that it seems the older the kids were (the more likely they were to actually know what was going on), the less likely they seemed to be to choose Obama.

And, considering the teachers in America have been resoundingly campaigning for Obama (even in classrooms), the results of this poll are not a surprise.

But I'm glad you put so much faith in a poll of kindergarteners.

Like I said... you didn't even bother reading. Because, of course, they couldn't have been right for the past 52 years because YOU said so.

Thanks as usual for adding nothing.
But you did troll the thread. good on ya!

 

[DavidS]

Quick! Tell drudge to remove the zogby link on his website!

 

[Andrew2382]

i didn't read it, but were the same kids polled from the video with the children of the corn singing the pro obama song?

 

[Jon]

Like I said... you didn't even bother reading. Because, of course, they couldn't have been right for the past 52 years because YOU said so.

Thanks as usual for adding nothing.
But you did troll the thread. good on ya!

I read every word of it. Did I say the poll was wrong? No. Did I say that I think Obama will lose in spite of this poll? No.

As for trolling, to be a moderator, you sure as shit don't know what the word means.

 

[glockmail]

When I was a kid growing up in Massachusetts we had a mock election between Humphrey and Nixon, 1968, and every kid except one voted for H, and we all made fun of her, including the teacher.

My parents and grandparents were all Republicans, by the way, so that kills Jillie's theory about kids being parrots right there.

Although it took many more years to realize the truth, I look back on that experience as the first time that I was manipulated and lied to by Democrats. Hopefully most of these kids will eventually come to the same level of understanding.

 

[jillian]

When I was a kid growing up in Massachusetts we had a mock election between Humphrey and Nixon, 1968, and every kid except one voted for H, and we all made fun of her, including the teacher.

My parents and grandparents were all Republicans, by the way, so that kills Jillie's theory about kids being parrots right there.

Although it took many more years to realize the truth, I look back on that experience as the first time that I was manipulated and lied to by Democrats. Hopefully most of these kids will eventually come to the same level of understanding.

You do realize that was one school in the state, right?

 

[jillian]

I read every word of it. Did I say the poll was wrong? No. Did I say that I think Obama will lose in spite of this poll? No.

As for trolling, to be a moderator, you sure as shit don't know what the word means.

I'm sorry, dearie...did I comment as a "moderator"? Nope... I commented as a poster. And, of course you intentionally tried to derail the thread, and are still intentionally derailing it rather than actually discussing the issue.

And if you agree with the premise... why are you commenting other than to stir up garbage.

 

[Jon]

I'm sorry, dearie...did I comment as a "moderator"? Nope... I commented as a poster. And, of course you intentionally tried to derail the thread, and are still intentionally derailing it rather than actually discussing the issue.

And if you agree with the premise... why are you commenting other than to stir up garbage.

It doesn't matter what you posted as, you still don't know what a troll is. How did I derail the thread? I was still talking about the poll. Am I to understand that you only want me to post if I agree with everything you post?

Actually, don't answer that, you've been answering it with every post you've ever made.

 

[elvis]

i didn't read it, but were the same kids polled from the video with the children of the corn singing the pro obama song?

that's an excellent question. that was downright sick.

 

[glockmail]

You do realize that was one school in the state, right?

Actually, it was one classroom in one school. And your point?

 

[jillian]

Actually, it was one classroom in one school. And your point?

The point, genius, is it wasn't a representative sampling.

Again, there's a reason these polls have been correct 12 out of 13 times.

 

[glockmail]

.... it wasn't a representative sampling.

....

Perhaps you could point out where I claimed that it was. Genius.

Besides, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts went for the Democrat then, just like it always has.

 

[jillian]

Perhaps you could point out where I claimed that it was. Genius.

Besides, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts went for the Democrat then, just like it always has.

Are you even saying anything?

 

[Andrew2382]

how many close races have their been in the past 13 elections?

And which one did they get wrong?

Bush- 2 terms- The closest ones, beat gore by 6 EV and Kerry by 35 EV
Clinton- 2 terms- Destroyed Bush and Dole
Bush sr.- 1 term- destroyed dukakis 400+ EV
Reagen- 2 terms- destroyed both opponents
Carter- 1 term- beat ford (semi close election 297-240
Nixon- 1.25 term- Destroyed McGovern 500+ EV
LBJ- 1 term- Destroyed Goldwater 400+ EV
JFK- 1 term killed nixon 303-219 electoral


So out of the past 13 or so elections, anyone could ahve predicted who was going to win except for the last 2 really because the rest for the majority were blow outs.

So saying we are 12/13 isn't that much of an accomplishment, being that the one they got wrong was prob bush/gore or bush/kerry

 

[glockmail]

Are you even saying anything?

Only to those with an IQ over 90. My apologies to you and all the others.

 

[jillian]

how many close races have their been in the past 13 elections?

And which one did they get wrong?

Bush- 2 terms- The closest ones, beat gore by 6 EV and Kerry by 35 EV
Clinton- 2 terms- Destroyed Bush and Dole
Bush sr.- 1 term- destroyed dukakis 400+ EV
Reagen- 2 terms- destroyed both opponents
Carter- 1 term- beat ford (semi close election 297-240
Nixon- 1.25 term- Destroyed McGovern 500+ EV
LBJ- 1 term- Destroyed Goldwater 400+ EV
JFK- 1 term killed nixon 303-219 electoral


So out of the past 13 or so elections, anyone could ahve predicted who was going to win except for the last 2 really because the rest for the majority were blow outs.

So saying we are 12/13 isn't that much of an accomplishment, being that the one they got wrong was prob bush/gore or bush/kerry

the one they got wrong was Clinton 1992 vs Daddy Bush.
And Clinton won that one by a plurality, not a majority.