Rasmussen: Obama 41%, Paul 37% (Paul wins 18-29 year olds, indies)

[AUH2O Libertarian]

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The poll is from last month so I don't know why they just released it yesterday.

I can't post the link because I don't have enough posts, so just go to rasmussen dot com and follow it with:
 
/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/obama_41_ron_paul_37


Rasmussen's Other Polls To-date for reference:

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Some interesting crosstaps:

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Paul would need to shore up conservatives and Republicans in the general.  He'd probably have to pick a Southern conservative (Governor Haley, possibly) to do so.

What I find most interesting though is that he actually BEATS Obama with the under 30 crowd.  Other than Romney, none of the other GOP contenders even come close.

[AUH2O Libertarian]

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I don't think either is too surprising, actually.

As a young person, I can confirm that Paul is VERY popular amongst kids my age (in college).  Young voters are his base.  He's kind of a cult icon amongst college students - even those that don't care at all about politics know about Ron Paul.  "Ron Paul 2012" is only graffitied on almost every bathroom stall and desk on my campus.  And Obama's novelty has wore off - he's seen as just another war President.  We still like him MUCH better than typical socially conservative Republicans, that's for sure.

As to the first point, I think people make the mistake in thinking that all independents fit in some nice little spectrum between center right Mitt Romney and center left Hillary Clinton.  In fact I think most independents are sick of both parties and attracted to candidates that aren't seen as being simply party shills.  That's why independents like everyone from Nader and Kucinich to Buchanan and Paul.  Indies I think are less looking for someone "moderate" and more looking for someone different and principled.

Some additional data:

Women: Paul loses women to Obama 31% to 46%

Paul's worst demographic is 'income under $20K' which Obama picks up 57% to 18%.

[AUH2O Libertarian]

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Oops - I thought you said Paul winning indies, not Palin.  That is surprising, actually.

As for Paul, most know darn well what he stands for - ending our overseas empire, tightening monetary policy significantly, raining in out of control entitlements which we have no hope of ever seeing anyways, and yes, ending the failed war on drugs.

"End the Fed" and "End the Failed Drug War" are definitely more substantive than "Hope and Change".