These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
What's In A Name? Favorables for Krugman, Fund, Alice Cooper and Springsteen
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Most voters (55%) don't know enough about Paul Krugman to venture even a soft opinion about him. Those with an opinion are fairly evenly divided--22% favorable and 22% unfavorable. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just one-in-10 voters has a strong opinion about Krugman, with four percent (4%) voicing a Very Favorable opinion and six percent (6%) a Very Unfavorable view.
But if people are asked about New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, the numbers shift significantly. Once he is identified with that publication, his unfavorable ratings jump 15 points to 37%. The number with a Very Unfavorable view more than triples to 20%. However, Krugman's favorable ratings show little improvement, inching up only three points to 25%.
These results highlight the importance of question wording, especially for lesser known people such as Krugman.
On Tuesday, November 24, 2009, Rasmussen Reports asked two separate samples of 800 Likely Voters a question about a variety of people. On one survey, they were mentioned by name only. On the other, they were mentioned with some other affiliation. Survey, sampling and weighting techniques were identical for both.
In one sample, John Fund was viewed favorably by 12% of voters and unfavorably by 22%. Just one percent (1%) had a Very Favorable opinion of him, and six percent (6%) offered a Very Unfavorable view. However, when Fund was identified with the Wall Street Journal, his numbers jumped to 34% favorable and 20% unfavorable.
In the case of both Krugman and Fund, the change in perceptions between the two surveys says more about public perceptions of their newspapers than it does about the columnists themselves. A February 2008 survey found that just 24% had a favorable opinion of the New York Times.
Shock-rocker Alice Cooper is viewed favorably by 20% of Americans and unfavorably by 26%. His ratings are roughly the same between Republicans and Democrats. However, when Cooper is identified as a Republican, his numbers shift to 27% favorable and 45% unfavorable. GOP voters are evenly split between favorable and unfavorable views. Sixty percent (60%) of Democrats offer an unfavorable opinion of the Republican rock star, while only 22% retain a favorable opinion of him.
Bruce Springsteen is better known than Cooper, and his numbers a bit more stable. But when the Boss is identified as a Democrat, his numbers decline. When we asked about Springsteen without any identification, 55% gave a favorable reaction, and just 29% said the opposite. When we asked about the Jersey Shore rock star as a Democrat, his numbers slipped to 46% favorable and 40% unfavorable. The numbers of those with a strong opinion flipped from mostly positive (23% to 15%) to mostly negative (23% to 20%).
It should be noted that Springsteen has sometimes embraced the role of political activist while Cooper has generally considered mixing music and politics as treason against music. Cooper wrote and recorded "Elected" in the 1970s, a cynical look at politics and politicians. Springsteen wrote and recorded "Born in the USA" and became troubled when it was embraced by President Ronald Reagan. He also gave highly-publicized support to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004 and to Barack Obama last year.
Earlier, Rasmussen Reports released data showing how slight changes in question wording can have an impact on the reported level of presidential job approval .
This information is provided to help consumers of polling data. It's important for political activists to realize that the names they love or hate like Krugman and Fund are little known to people with a life outside of government and politics. It's important for all consumers of polling data to pay attention to the details of question wording that can have a substantial influence on results for lesser understood concepts.
This is not to suggest that there's a right way or a wrong way to ask every question. Often, there is something to be learned from the differences between poll questions. In the data presented here, it seems clear that suggesting someone works for the Wall Street Journal elicits a better response than saying they work for the New York Times. It's also interesting to note that unfavorable ratings rise for both Cooper and Springsteen when they are identified with a political affiliation.
Sometimes, terms from inside-the-Washington-beltway don't translate well to the rest of the country. Earlier this year, Rasmussen Reports released data showing that few Americans had an understanding of what "cap-and-trade" legislation was about . More recently, the wide disparity in results about the "public option" in the health care debate suggests that the concept is not well established outside the halls of Congress.