Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Obama and the Olympics

North Carolina isn't the whole country but if polling there is any indication most Americans didn't give a rat about Chicago's bid to host the Olympics and think that Barack Obama's campaigning for it was a waste of time.

Only 23% of voters in the state say they're disappointed the US wasn't selected to host the 2016 Olympics while 65% say they were not. Those numbers didn't skew too heavily along party lines, with 29% of Democrats, 20% of Republicans, and 17% of independents regretting that the country was not chosen.

When it comes to the issue of whether it was appropriate for Obama to go to Denmark and directly appeal for the Olympics to come to Chicago there is a heavy partisan fissure though, with 63% of Democrats but only 8% of Republicans saying it was a good use of Obama's time. The overall numbers come out to 55% of voters thinking the trip was inappropriate with only 38% supporting it.

I guess hosting the Olympics is not seen as an important opportunity for national prestige. I wonder if that's always been the case, if it's a reaction to the tough economic times, or if it's just changing priorities of the American public. Certainly most of the sentiment that Obama shouldn't have gone to Denmark is being driven by partisan opposition, but even the President's backers are largely indifferent to whether the Olympics are here in 2016 or not.

This whole episode will ultimately be a small blip in the history of Obama's presidency.

Full results here

1 comment:

thisniss said...

I'm with you on NC for 2020! Now, as a follow up question in your next round of NC polling, you should ask about support for "the President" (generic) promoting an Olympics sited here. :-)

Can't wait to see your CH Mayor's race polling. I know there's a more limited audience for that, but I just wanted you to know that we're eager, if meager.

 
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