Pirate's Cove

In case you hadn’t noticed, I rarely ever post national polls, because in my mind they mean very little when it comes to the presidential election. Yes, they can give a snapshot of the mood of the nation, but, while we may know the D/R/I samples, we do not know what states these people represent, and the state polls are the ones that matter, due to our Electoral College system. But, a little red meat for a Friday morning

(Fox News) Less than a week before the Republican convention begins, the race for the White House is a virtual tie. According to a Fox News poll of likely voters, the Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan ticket receives the backing of 45 percent, while the Barack Obama-Joe Biden ticket garners 44 percent.

The poll, released Thursday, is the first Fox has conducted among likely voters this year, which means an apples-to-apples comparison can’t be made to previous polls. Likely voters are eligible/registered voters who will most likely cast a ballot in this year’s presidential election.

Romney/Ryan beat out Obama/Biden on handling the economy 45/43 among likely voters. We also learn that among LVs

• 50% disapprove/46% approve of the job Obama has done.
• On the economy, the breakdown is 54% disapprove/42% approve of Obama.
• 46% say the country has been changed for the worse
• 57% say America is on the decline
• There’s not a lot of confidence that either candidate would improve a family’s financial situation, though Obama fares several points worse
• Paul Ryan beats out Joe Biden in every question asked about being VP.

It would be worthwhile digging into the poll and seeing the breakdowns, especially since the D/R/I sample in this poll of likely voters is 42/38/18, with 3% not identifying. We also learn

A Fox News poll asks which of two messages voters would send to the federal government. A 54-percent majority would tell Uncle Sam to “leave me alone,” while 35 percent would ask Washington to “lend me a hand.”

Democrats (59 percent) are nearly four times as likely as Republicans (15 percent) to say they would tell the government to “lend me a hand.”

Likewise, Republicans (80 percent) are about three times as likely as Democrats (27 percent) to say “leave me alone.”

Among independents, the message would be “leave me alone” for more than twice as many as it would be “lend me a hand” (63 percent and 25 percent respectively).

Is anyone particularly shocked that Democrats mostly suffer from needing Big Mommy Government to help them out? The danger for Obama is among independents, who mostly want government to leave them along, and what Obama is pushing is Big Mommy Government.