NBC's Todd Touts 'Likeability Gap' in Favor of Obama in New Poll He Admits is 'A Little Democratic Heavy'
Debuting the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll on Tuesday's NBC Nightly News, political director Chuck Todd concluded that campaign "hits seem to be taking a greater toll on Romney" and proclaimed:
"Call it a likeability gap. 46% of voters told us they didn't like
Romney personally. That compares to just 31% who said the same about the
President." [Listen to the audio]
However, on Wednesday's Morning Joe on MSNBC, Todd admitted the poll was skewed: "...our sample was a little Democratic heavy." Hot Air
examined the partisan breakdown of poll respondents and discovered just
how "Democratic heavy" the survey was, with Democrats having a 12-point
advantage over Republicans.
Todd quickly added to his admission: "...statistically it's unchanged
from last month, because if it were weighted with the same split we had
last month, the President's lead would be identical. So there was really
statistically no change."
While Todd acknowledged in his Nightly News report that the
negative tone of the campaign resulted in "mud is splattering on both
candidates" and that "The President is viewed negatively by 43% of
voters, his second worst rating since taking office," he still framed
the numbers as worse for Romney: "Romney's negative rating of 40% is the
worst that our poll has recorded for him yet. It's a rating that ranks
him lower than John McCain in 2008 at this time, John Kerry in 2004, and
Bob Dole in 1996."
Wrapping up the segment, Todd briefly noted Romney addressing the
Veterans of Foreign Wars ahead of an overseas trip and used the new poll
numbers to dismiss the Republican candidate's foreign policy
credentials: "But for what it's worth, in our new poll foreign policy is
one of the President's strengths. When matched up with Romney, he leads
him in every major foreign policy area."
Here is a full transcript of Todd's July 24 report:
7:00PM ET TEASE:
BRIAN WILLIAMS: The negative campaign is taking a toll. Tonight we're
debuting our new NBC News poll. And there's been a change in the race
for president.
7:06PM ET SEGMENT:
WILLIAMS: Now we turn to presidential politics. And our new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll
debuting here tonight has some eye-opening findings about the way this
campaign is being run and the effect it's having on both sides. Our
political director, chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd with us
from our D.C. newsroom with the numbers. Chuck, good evening.
CHUCK
TODD: Good evening, Brian. You know, as you know, this campaign in the
month of July has taken an especially nasty turn, and perhaps it was
only a matter of time that voters would express their frustration.
That's the biggest takeaway from our new NBC/Wall Street Journal
poll. While the fundamentals of the overall race haven't changed that
much, the President still leads 49-43 in this survey, it's the negative
campaign that has taken a toll on how voters view both the President and
Mitt Romney. From Columbus, Ohio to Orlando, Florida, Denver, Colorado
and Richmond, Virginia, Americans living in battleground states are
being subjected to an unusually early flurry of negative TV ads.
NARRATOR [ROMNEY AD]: When a president doesn't tell the truth, how can we trust him to lead?
MITT ROMNEY [SINGING IN OBAMA AD]: America, America.
TODD: And when President Obama and Mitt Romney have campaigned at live events, they've been just as negative and direct.
BARACK OBAMA: Governor Romney was at it again. Knowingly twisting my words around.
MITT ROMNEY: It's a very strange, and in some respects, foreign to the American experience type of philosophy.
TODD: And the mud is splattering on both candidates, according to our new NBC News/Wall Street Journal
poll. The President is viewed negatively by 43% of voters, his second
worst rating since taking office. Romney's negative rating of 40% is the
worst that our poll has recorded for him yet. It's a rating that ranks
him lower than John McCain in 2008 at this time, John Kerry in 2004, and
Bob Dole in 1996.
Yet it's the economy that continues to be the President's political
Achilles' heel, with a majority disapproving of how he's handled the
economy. Romney leads the President on who has better ideas for
improving the economy, 43-36. But it's by big margins that voters say
the bulk of information they've received from both campaigns in the last
few weeks has been overwhelmingly negative, with Mr. Obama's campaign
being viewed as slightly more negative than Romney's.
While
both campaigns are going on the attack, the hits seem to be taking a
greater toll on Romney. Call it a likeability gap. 46% of voters told us
they didn't like Romney personally. That compares to just 31% who said
the same about the President. Perhaps mindful of the toll this nasty
campaign is taking, both campaigns are out with much softer hits on each
other this week.
OBAMA: Sometimes politics can seem very small.
NARRATOR [RNC AD]: He tried, you tried. It's okay to make a change.
TODD: You know, today the focus of the back and forth was foreign
policy. Brian, Romney took his turn in front of the Veterans of Foreign
Wars convention in Reno, where he gave a fiery speech filled with some
tough criticism of the President's record. But for what it's worth, in
our new poll foreign policy is one of the President's strengths. When
matched up with Romney, he leads him in every major foreign policy area.
Brian.
WILLIAMS: Chuck Todd with the latest on this race from Washington. Chuck, thanks.
And a program note here, when we see you for tomorrow night's
broadcast, we'll be in London, where we will have an exclusive interview
with Governor Romney, as he starts the first overseas trip of the
campaign.
