This new poll was a waste of time. I would think that everybody knows that Fox News viewers are mostly rightwingers who still wouldn't vote for a Democrat if he/she was the only choice. They are ideologues who are spoonfed inaccurate "news" stories from "Fox & Friends" and other fake Fox News shows.

The immortal words of Stephen Colbert certainly apply here. CNN and MSNBC are more accurate in reporting than FOX (although still laughingly biased), so therefore their viewers support Obama by a wide margin.

Considering FOX is a right republican talking machine it's not surprising that 87% would say they are going to vote for McCain.

I think that Obama's remark "they seem to take pride in Ignorance" could easily be applied to FOX. We only turn to FOX occasionally to see what the rabid right fanatics are discussing. I expected Hannity and O'Reiely to start wearing White hoods during the primaries. There is no fair and balanced presentations in the FOX news or commentary. Even Pat Buchanan appears on MSNBC instead of FOX these days.

Interestingly, John Zogby (yes, we all know his polls aren't always accurate) has just released a new book "The Way We'll Be" in which he points to trends indicating that Americans are becoming less materialistic, less tolerant of political divisions (and the politicians who pander to them), and more concerned about the rest of the world.

“To put it crudely,” he argues, “the bullshit era is over.”

My God, I sure hope so. Still, this transition is not likely without a a final shitstorm- hence the fox poll results. Of course we are obsessed with even the smallest flaws of the candidates- the only alternative is to hold a mirror to ourselves.

Sociologists call this type of period "reaction formation," and the signs are all around that it is in full swing even as we speak. Welcome the beginnings of a world that is shaping up to be vastly different from what either libs or conservatives have grown up with.

These times they are a changin'...

This just in, McCain is supported by 87% of the ignorant masses who prefer to hear their news shouted by blowhards and other ignoramuses. What's really surprising is that Obama managed to break double digits in the idiot rightwing crowd.

Or that 13% of intelligent Americans still prefer Fox News.

Are the others masochists, tied to their chairs in front of the T.V. by their dominants? Or maybe they're voting for the Aryan Brotherhood candidate or something...

could simply be the non-whackjobs who occasionally watch Faux to see what the loons are up to. I and a few others here seem to do that, albeit rarely.

Or maybe that's just the loofah fetish crowd. :)

What is up with that 13% of Fox viewers who don't say that they are going to vote for McCain?

Are they lying? And if so, are they lying to the pollsters or to themselves?

Or are their TVs stuck?

Really, what is going through their minds when they tune in to Fox for cable news, if they are not lock-steppers for the Republican Party?

for every post in War Room that supports the old guy?

Are you one of these guys they're talking about in the Washington Post today, in "Win Points for McCain?"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/06/AR2008080603589.html

is that the other networks' figures seem to jive with the general sentiment towards Obama. That is, viewers of CNN and MSNBC tend to be an average cross-section of the US public. Only rabidly conservative people could tolerate teh kind of coverage FOX news presents on a regular basis.

I'm shocked.

What. An. Important. Datapoint.

Thanks for sharing, Koppleman.

I think this is more the interesting part of the survey:

How voters rate the importance of issues is also reflected in the cable news programming they prefer. For 36% of Fox viewers, national security is the most important issue in the campaign, followed by 32% who say economic issues are number one. By contrast, those who watch CNN rate economic issues over national security 56% to 13%, and MSNBC viewers agree 50% to 12%.

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Nationally voters in this election cycle rank economic issues as their primary concern versus national security which was the leading issue in the 2004 election. Those who get their campaign information from local television mirror this view, with nearly half rating economic issues most important versus around one-quarter who put national security first.

Fox News viewers aren't the "average joes," Fox claims to appeal to because average joes are more concerned about their economic situation than national security. Looks like the "liberal media" is what actually reflects the mainstream.

I imagine that 87% of the readers here at Salon will vote for Obama. Hell I am. However, this polarization and the ability of people to read or watch only similar voices is the greater evil. No one can make start decisions if they do not also consider and listen seriously to the other wise.

if the "other wise" posesses a shred of credibility.

"No one can make start decisions if they do not also consider and listen seriously to the other wise."

A poll is only as valid as the design of the poll itself, the nature of the questions asked, and the often dubious honesty of the people being polled. [For example, potential voters in eastern Kentucky, mostly in families of workers in the coal mining districts, claimed they would never admit to racist reasons for rejecting Barack Obama - - and even admitted to lying to pollsters earlier. The poll data were skewed as a result, but accepted as valid by the pollsters all the same.]

Lately too many polls have been glaringly unconvincing, some even contradictory, while a short time ago during the primary campaigns some were demonstrably wrong.

Reason ? Too many polls and not enough energy put into solid design, vague or poorly designed questions, and false premises. Same problem with medical testing programs which prove to be invalid or results denied because of poor or inadequate design. The medical profession generally catches its mistakes, but political pollsters rarely do.