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more ... http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/05/13/politics/horserace/entry4094128.shtmlPosted by Vaughn Ververs
The polls close at 7:30pm ET in West Virginia but we have our first peek at some of the exit polling results. Most voters made up their minds at some time before last week a period which has been dominated by talk of Hillary Clintons ability to continue in the race. Seventy eight percent of voters in the early CBS News exit polls said they had decided who they would be supporting before the past week.
As it has been throughout the primary season, the economy was once again the top issue on the minds of voters, with 64 percent saying so. Eighty eight percent said they had been directly affected by the economic slowdown and 63 percent said they were in favor of proposals to temporarily suspend the gas tax.
Change was the quality voters were looking for most in a candidate, with 48 percent saying so compared to 23 percent who said experience was. Just eight percent said the ability to win in November was the most important quality for them.
There are more signs of a split within the Democratic Party. Just 23 percent of Hillary Clinton voters in West Virginia said they would be satisfied if Barack Obama was the Democratic nominee while 75 percent said they would be dissatisfied the highest number recorded in exit polls yet. In Indiana, 62 percent of Clinton voters said they would be dissatisfied with Obama as the nominee. Sixty one percent of Obama voters said they would be dissatisfied with Clinton as the nominee while 33 percent said they would be satisfied.
Looking ahead to the general election, 59 percent of Clinton voters say they would either vote for Republican John McCain or not vote at all if Obama is the Democratic nominee. Thirty six percent of Clinton voters said they would vote for Obama while 35 percent said they would vote for McCain and 24 percent said they would sit the election out. Fifty one percent of Obamas voters said they would support Clinton in the general election while 31 percent said they would support McCain and 14 percent would not vote.
Other indicators: Over half, 51 percent, of West Virginia voters said they think Obama shares the views of his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Sixty two percent said that Bill Clintons campaigning in the state was an important factor in their vote. And 70 percent of Clinton voters said they think the race should continue.
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I also am leaving the Democratic Party because of the party leadership that has shown no leadership in dealing with MI and FL, who have allowed the media to control the nominating process, and who have shown no respect.
I also am stunned at the vitriol expressed toward Hillary by the liberal media.
If O''Bama is nominated I will either vote Green or write in Hillary.
I am a white woman, 50''s, three figures, college degree, live in the midwest.
I''''m stunned that so many upscale, well-educated members of Obama''''s base would stoop to negatively stereotyping the entire population of West Virginia and casting slurs against those who support Hillary Clinton. It just seems in poor taste.
By the way, I''''m a long-time resident of Minn., but my parents and grandparents were originally from rural Appalachia. They were FDR Democrats who brought me up to respect the rights of all people regardless of race, gender, ethnic origin or any other category.
I have been deeply offended by the comments of Obama and his supporters about rural people and as a result, I''''m one lifetime Democrat who has decided to withdraw my membership from the Democratic party and register as an independent this time around. The behavior of some Obama supporters has made me ashamed to identify myself as a Democrat.
Oh, and incidentally, I have a master''''s degree.