Potomac Primary-a-Palooza

February 14, 2008

During Tuesday's "Potomac Primary," reason Associate Editors David Weigel and Michael C. Moynihan, accompanied by reason.tv videographer Dan Hayes, interrogated voters at a Washington, D.C. polling station about who they cast their ballots for and why.

Our unscientific reason.tv exit polling hewed pretty close to the actual results: An overwhelming majority of District voters have converted to the Church of Obama. Almost without exception, our interviewees cited the campaign's message of "hope" and "change" as a decisive factor in choosing Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) over Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).

Click above to view a quick-and-dirty compilation of voter perorations on the candidates,

Plus exclusive bonus footage, during which an impassioned Barack supporter reveals the identity of the two most lupine politicians since Romulus and Remus.

Comments

Russ 2000|2.14.08 @ 10:01AM|#

"Hope" and "Change" meaning "I hope we have no change."

|2.14.08 @ 10:16AM|#

"interviewees cited the campaign's message of "hope" and "change""

...meaning they, too, have absolutely no idea what Obama plans to do.

|2.14.08 @ 10:24AM|#

Beltway results are in:

[ ]Devil you know
[x]Devil you don't

|2.14.08 @ 10:26AM|#

"I am most certainly lazy."

Best. Interview. Evar.

|2.14.08 @ 10:35AM|#

Meh, if I voted democrat, I would take Obama over Hillary anytime. Its not for any logical reason, its just that I KNOW I hate Hillary, Im undecided against Obama.

Lets take a poll here: If/when you vote Democrat who would/will you pick? Obama or Hillary?

Episiarch|2.14.08 @ 10:45AM|#

I can't wait until Jesus-Obama gets into the real election and starts getting hammered by the GOP. We'll soon see if the Barack has no clothes, and since I don't think he does, it should be fun.

It's kind of disturbing how similar the Democrats for Obama seem to cult members or evangelicals.

|2.14.08 @ 10:49AM|#

McCain's recent statement hammering Obama for being all platitudes and no substance came right to the edge of a great anti-Obama campaign message.

"Hope is Not a Plan"

I don't know how he missed it.

stuartl|2.14.08 @ 10:57AM|#

[x]Devil you don't

I can't watch the video at work, but part of the conventional wisdom seems to be that the democrats are much more energized than the republicans. We are supposed to know this because so many more people are voting democrat in the primary.

I'm not sure that these numbers aren't really stop Hillary voters. From radio interviews, coworkers, and friends, it seems a lot of red, blue, and independent voters in VA voted Obama strictly as a stop Hillary vote. It was my first ever primary vote.

|2.14.08 @ 11:01AM|#

Lets take a poll here: If/when you vote Democrat who would/will you pick? Obama or Hillary?

I would have voted for Obama, but Congreeman Paul got my primary vote.

|2.14.08 @ 11:08AM|#

It's kind of disturbing how similar the Democrats for Obama seem to cult members or evangelicals.

Can you say that with a straight face when the #2 GOPer is that ignorant, hillbilly, whack-job preacher?

Yeah, his most fervent supporters don't really know crap about the issues. That is hardly a new phenomenom in electoral politics,

|2.14.08 @ 11:21AM|#

The thing about Obama vs McCain in the general, should it come to that, is that while McCain has all this wonderful experience the GOP will tell us about, he's still an old warmonger who knows dick about the economy which will be issue #1 in November. Obama may not know dick about the economy either, but that just turns it into a charisma event and we know McCain ain't winning any of those. His jaw would have to unclench for that to happen.

lunchstealer|2.14.08 @ 11:56AM|#

I'm not sure that these numbers aren't really stop Hillary voters.

If I vote in the Primary next month, it will be a little from column A, and a little from Column B. Ron Paul would be a "Stop all the other GOP candidates" vote, but I think at this stage it would be ineffective. On the D side of the street, I do think that there are levels of damage that each candidate poses, and that Obama is probably at the low end of that scale. Clinton is at the high end.

And seriously, my biggest issue is Iraq and WOT hijinks, and I think that the Obama administration would be the least offensive of the frontrunners on those scores.

Episiarch|2.14.08 @ 11:58AM|#

Can you say that with a straight face when the #2 GOPer is that ignorant, hillbilly, whack-job preacher?

Considering I made no mention of this as compared to Huck-sters, your statement is stupid. I merely pointed out that this love for Obama is creepy.

However, if you wish to become joe, go right ahead, but I think two of him is a little much.

|2.15.08 @ 2:06PM|#

It's kind of disturbing how similar the Democrats for Obama seem to cult members or evangelicals.

What, did they buy him a blimp or something?