Word: pollstering
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...first time in his presidency, Ronald Reagan will be dealing with a Democratic Senate. Will he become more confrontational or more compromising? "The President must go about things in a more conciliatory fashion," says White House Pollster Richard Wirthlin. "His proposals must be made in a focused, targeted way. It will be critical to take a few important goals and to drive them hard." Some observers doubt that the Reaganauts, except perhaps for the President himself, have any great gift for the art of political compromise. Indeed, just about the only aide left in Reagan's inner circle...
...clear reminder that the Reagan era is coming to its inevitable end, that the Great Communicator will not always carry the day, that U.S. voters are already casting around for new leaders. "The electorate is ready for some change, the country is ready to move," says Democratic Pollster Peter Hart. "What the voters seem to be saying is that they'd like to see some new faces, new times." Will this result in another turning of the political tide? That depends on whether the Democrats can present an alternative agenda that takes into account the huge changes Reagan has wrought...
...party strategists have watched the elections "close up," they have started hedging their earlier confident predictions. Democratic Pollster Harrison Hickman warned against complacent optimism, harking back to 1982, when "Republican money pulled the rug of success from under us." Said a G.O.P. honcho: "For us to hold on in the Senate, everything has to break perfectly in a lot of states." He added soberly, "I've never seen a midterm election in which everything breaks perfectly...
Despite party leaders' concern, political analysts have found that the American electorate has become anesthetized by ignorance and apathy. California Pollster Mervin Field estimates that less than 10% of the voting- age population are "attending": following the campaigns, informing themselves about world affairs or caring about public issues in any active way. Field tells the story of a door-to-door campaign worker who persuaded the head of one California household to register to vote. "What are the choices?" the gentleman asked. Democrat, Republican or Independent, he was told. "Which is Reagan?" the man said. "That's what I want...
...expected, pollsters for both candidates in South Carolina's gubernatorial contest claimed their guy had benefitted from the exchange on testing. What's interesting, though, is that for the first time in the campaign, Daniel's pollster found the Democrat to have a lower negative rating among likely voters than Campbell. If that isn't campaign malarkey, it would seem voters there are either impressed with Daniel's principled stand or disgusted with Campbell's slimy tactic. Or both...