Lighthearted Look at White House Candidates Past and Present Underscores Conflicted State of American Politics
BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Nov 5, 2012) - In a further sign of how tight and unpredictable this presidential race is, a survey of 1,062 people by Cheapflights.com1 finds that nearly equal numbers of people would choose Barack Obama to "fly their plane" as they would to "throw him off." From a list of 19 past and current candidates, he was selected most often as the choice to pilot the plane as well as to be jettisoned. Interestingly, he was also top choice for a seatmate on a long fight to boot.
How did this happen?
The just-for-fun survey shows that Obama clearly sparks strong opinions, both pro and con. It also found that the positive and negative feelings for the Republicans are much more widespread. Barack Obama received 20% of the vote for "which of these candidates you would most like to have fly your plane." Ronald Reagan swooped in to take the No. 2 spot at 12%, leaving Mitt Romney in third place with 10.9%. Bill Clinton grabbed the fourth spot with 10.3%, while George W. Bush took fifth with 9.9%.
When it came time to select which candidate respondents would "most like to toss off a plane," the Republicans did not split their vote, leading Obama to the top of the list with 22% of the votes. This time, the Democrats spread their passion around, with Mitt Romney at 16.6%, edging out Sarah Palin (15.7%) for second place in the line to be tossed. George W. Bush landed in the fourth spot with 9.6% of the votes.
In the likeability test of "which of these candidates would you most like to sit next to on a long flight?" Obama took top honors with 15.9%. Two icons for their parties grabbed the No. 2 and 3 spots when Bill Clinton scored 14.8% and Ronald Reagan claimed 12.4%. Steven Colbert was next on the list with 11.8%. Meanwhile Mitt Romney, who scored 5.6%, was bested by Sarah Palin (8.6%) and Hillary Clinton (7.9%).
Women v. men
Speaking of women, when you filter the results to just female respondents, a few key things change:
Meanwhile, if you slice the data to just include just men's responses, you find:
Regional read
Since politics is local, we also took a look at regional breakdowns and found the following:
Worth noting
A few additional fun facts we gleaned along the way:
"While we created this survey to be lighthearted, we've found that the results really are a compelling reflection of the state of U.S. politics heading into perhaps the closest election in modern times," said Emily Fisher of Cheapflights.com. "Leadership, likability and discord all factor into the voting process and, on our fictitious plane, we can see how would-be voters from across the country feel and where their loyalties lie. Our vote is that, in the end, we will all want a vacation from politics and candidates when the election is over."
About Cheapflights Media
Cheapflights Media is an international media network helping over 11 million visitors a month find top travel deals. Our Cheapflights brand was launched in 1996 and pioneered the online comparison of flight deals for users. Today, users compare a wide range of deals from hundreds of partners including online travel agents, consolidators and airlines to find the very best flight deals. With a mission to be the starting point for travel, Cheapflights works to deliver the industry's best airfare bargains, expert tips and inspiration. There are currently Cheapflights sites in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Germany, Australia & New Zealand, France, Italy and Spain. For more information, visit www.cheapflights.com. Our newest brand, momondo, is a leading travel search engine for finding comprehensive worldwide pricing and availability on airfares. Winner of several awards, the site is ideal for users on specific travel schedules. For more information, visit momondo.com.
1The poll of 1,062 adults, conducted at the end of October, asked US respondents to select from a politically representative list of high profile presidential and vice presidential candidates -- or to name their own candidate. The options were: Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Sara Palin, George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Herman Cain, Dan Quayle, Joe Biden, Paul Ryan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Stephen Colbert, Ross Perot, Ralph Nader, John Edwards, or 'other -- specify'.
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