Florida Exit Polls Indicate Several Things!
Some exit polls have come in from the Florida Republican primary, courtesy of Ronald Reagan and the National Review team: the "second wave numbers" from late afternoon have McCain at 34.3%, Romney at 32.6%, Giuliani at 15.3% and Huckabee in fourth with a golf penis . And only the National Review can provide us with a reader's update like this: "I also noticed the political trading markets pop a bit toward Romney right after 5 o'clock. Romney had been trading in the high 30s and now he's mid-40s." While we await further word from Wall Street, check out some quantitiveandqualitative exit poll trends from the Associated Press, after the jump!
When it comes to issues, what do Republicans care about? The AP was sweet enough to investigate this:
* "Given four choices, nearly half of Florida Republican primary voters said the economy is the most important issue facing the country." HORRIBLE NEWS FOR: McCain! He knows very little about the economy, which is why he voted against the sterling Bush tax cuts. He's a whiz when it comes to the Iraq economy, however, because the Iraq economy tortured him as a young man.
* "A third of Republicans but fewer than one in 10 Democrats rated the economy good. Half of Democrats called it poor, compared to only about one in seven Republican primary voters." GREAT NEWS FOR: Rudy! Take (Number of Republicans, rounded down, out of 10 that like the economy)^2, put it alongside (Number of Democrats out of 10 that like economy + this same number 10), and you'll be able to predict Rudy's concession spin tonight.
* "Both parties' electorates were older than in any other presidential contest this year. A third or more in each primary were at least 65 years old." HORRIFIC NEWS FOR: Hillary, because even her ghost of a whisper campaign only mobilizes the futureless, ineffectual old fogies in droves.
* "There were fewer late-deciding voters in both parties in Florida than in most earlier contests." GREAT NEWS FOR: Obama! It shows that nothing the candidates actually working Florida did could make people care about them. They were not inspired by Hope and its practical older sister Change!