From: erics@infoserv.com (Eric S. Smith)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dan-quayle
Subject: AP reports poll results (Was: The most important poll, and Quayle wins)
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 92 15:14:26 PDT
Organization: Reigning Cats and Dogs
Reply-To: erics@infoserv.com
X-Mailer: uAccess - Macintosh Release: 1.6v1


sl930@cc.usu.edu writes:

> Another thing, I have heard one poll say Gore won, another called it even
> between the two, but they all say that Bush gained three points immediatley
> after, and Clinton either gained one, stayed the same, or lost one, depending
> on who you talked to.  I think that says it best, and much more importantly,
> who won.

That hardly tells the whole story. For one thing, that 3 percentage
points is within the poll's margin of error, so it may not mean anything
at all. All other reactions to the debate favor Gore, mostly by a decided
margin. The following is reprinted without permission:

Copyright 1992. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Vice President Dan Quayle's duel with Democratic Sen.
Al Gore doesn't seem to have cost Gore any support, according to instant
post-debate polls by two television networks. 

Gore was called a winner by 38 percent of viewers and Quayle by 35 percent,
with 17 percent calling it a tie in a poll taken by ABC just after Tuesday's
vice presidential debate in Atlanta. Gore's three-point advantage was
within the poll's margin of error.

A poll for "Dateline NBC" found 50 percent of debate viewers thought
Gore "did the best job," compared with 32 percent for Quayle. Adm. James
Stockdale, the independent candidate, trailed with 7 percent in NBC's poll.
Only 2 percent called him a winner in ABC's poll. 

About 10 percent of viewers in both polls said they were uncertain about
the debate's outcome. ABC surveyed 624 registered voters who already had
been polled Sunday and Monday on their presidential preference. Fewer
were undecided after the debate, but the standings did not change much:
47 percent for Bill Clinton, up one point, 38 percent for President Bush,
up three points and 12 percent for Ross Perot, unchanged.

Quayle not only helped his ticket slightly more than Gore did, but the
35 percent who thought he won compared favorably with the 18 percent who
thought Bush won after Sunday's leadoff debate. The 38 percent who thought
Gore won could be interpreted as a disappointment because it fell well below
Clinton's share of the presidential preference, said ABC polling director
Jeff Alderman. 
   
In the NBC poll of 623 adult debate viewers, 38 percent said they thought
more favorably of Quayle, 37 percent less favorably and 21 percent had no
change of mind. Gore's ratio was better: 46 percent more favorable, 26
percent less favorable. 
   
Most of those polled by NBC said the debate had some effect on their
likelihood of voting for each of the three tickets, although many analysts
doubt that a vice presidential debate has that power. 
   
Those saying they were more likely to vote for Bush-Quayle were 29 percent,
to 49 percent less likely. The Clinton-Gore split was 46 percent more likely,
33 percent less likely. For Perot-Stockdale it was 14 percent more likely,
56 percent less likely. The positive responses were similar to presidential
preference in recent polls. 
   
Both polls had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage
points. 

-----
Eric Smith
erics@infoserv.com
CI$: 70262,3610


Newsgroups: alt.fan.dan-quayle