Most Voters Say Election 2008 is Annoying and a Waste of Time

Rasmussen Reports
Sep. 19, 2007

A young girl holds a sign as Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and her husband former President Bill Clinton speak to supporters during a Labor Day campaign stop in Des Moines, Iowa, September 3, 2007. (Joshua Lott/Reuters)

While political junkies have enjoyed the extended pre-season for Election 2008, most voters say that the debates and other campaign activities so far have been annoying and a waste of time. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 56% of Likely Voters hold that view while only 29% say the campaign so far has been interesting and informative.

In fact, 72% of voters would favor a proposal to shorten the Presidential campaign season so that no one could begin campaigning more than a year before election day. Just 14% of Likely Voters are opposed and another 14% are not sure.

Consistent with this view, just 25% of voters nationwide believe that Fred Thompson hurt his campaign by skipping a New Hampshire debate and appearing on the Tonight Show to formally announce his candidacy. Twenty-one percent (21%) believed he helped his campaign while 47% say it will have no impact.

Among Republicans nationally, 24% believe Thompson helped his campaign by skipping the debate. Twenty-one percent (21%) had the opposite view and 50% say it has no impact. Results of the daily Presidential Tracking Poll support the notion Thompson's decision helped at least in the short term. His campaign has received a nice bounce to take the lead among those seeking the GOP nomination.

A Rasmussen Reports survey of Republican Primary voters in New Hampshire found that 77% believe that voters will ultimately determine their view of Thompson based upon issues rather than on whether he should have skipped the debate.

An earlier survey by Rasmussen Reports found that voters were not impressed with the early season Presidential debates. Most voters consider the debates boring.

The survey was conducted in partnership with Fox Television Stations, Inc.

Overall, Democrats are a bit less annoyed with the campaign so far than Republicans. Thirty-seven percent (37%) of Democrats say that Election 2008 events so far have been interesting and informative. Only 19% of Republicans agree. That's partly because Republicans are less optimistic than Democrats.

This telephone survey of 800 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports September 12-13, 2007. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.