Professor Voices » polls

Campaign 2012: The Rick Perry surge

Jo Breiner — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:38:29 +0000

Texas Gov. Rick Perry continues to lead in the polls since entering the GOP field of presidential candidates. Boston University social science professor Tom Whalen, an expert in American politics and the American presidency, gives his view on what Perry’s surge means:

“I think the Perry surge is more about Mitt Romney dropping the ball politically. He was the front runner and now, all of a sudden, Rick Perry occupies that space in the Republican Party. And the reason is that GOP voters are not satisfied with Romney as an alternative or Michele Bachmann. Rick Perry, by default, is the front runner because conservatives in the party feel familiar with him, comfortable with him as a candidate.”

Contact Whalen at 978-888-3131; tjw64@comcast.net

Campaign 2012: Tobe Berkovitz on polls

Jo Breiner — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:37:55 +0000

In today’s installment of our “Campaign 2012″ series, Tobe Berkovitz, an associate professor of advertising at Boston University’s College of Communication, gives his analysis on whether or not people should be paying attention to polls at this time.

Contact Tobe at 617-353-7742, tobetv@bu.edu, Twitter: @tobetv

Campaign 2012: Is it too early to start paying attention to polls?

Jo Breiner — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:55:39 +0000

With a new political poll coming out every day, we decided to ask some of our “Campaign 2012″ experts if people should pay attention to polls at this stage of the election cycle. Cornelius Hurley, director of the Center for Finance, Law & Policy at Boston University’s School of Law, gives his view in the following video.

Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu, Twitter: @ckhurley

Tomorrow: Tobe Berkovitz weighs in on this issue

Latest Washington Post/ABC News poll: Obama, Romney tied

Jo Breiner — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:33:57 +0000

The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll shows former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney leading all GOP contenders for the nomination in 2012. Romney is in a dead heat with President Obama with each showing 47%. Those surveyed in the poll gave President Obama low marks for his handling of the economy and the deficit. Boston University professor Graham Wilson is chair of BU’s political science department and the author of “Only in America? American Politics in Comparative Perspective.” He offers the following comment on the latest poll numbers:

“Romney is the most serious challenger to Obama because he is not extreme. But note that the headline ‘Romney leads’ is based on support among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. That still leaves Romney the problem of getting past primaries and caucuses in which independents may not participate, depending on state rules.”

Contact Graham Wilson, 617-353-2540, gkwilson@bu.edu