Under the headline Obama Catholic Outreach Failing, God-o-Meter asserted yesterday that, for all his impressive efforts, Barack Obama had nothing to show for his Catholic outreach, given that a Sunday poll put Clinton ahead of Obama among Pennsylvania Catholics by 63-percent to 30-percent.
But a Barack Obama supporter contacted God-o-Meter to argue that there was evidence of Obama improving among Keystone State Catholics: a Quinnipiac Poll released yesterday found that Hillary was leading among white Pennsylvania Catholics 66 to 29 percent, an improvement over a Quinnipiac poll from mid-March, which showed Clinton with a 72 to 22 percent lead among the same voters. Quinnipiac didn’t formally release those numbers from the March poll, but they were mentioned in an Associated Press story at the time. God-o-Meter contacted Quinnipiac today and Manager of Data Analysis Pankaj Prakash confirmed those numbers.
Prakash also pointed out that the March poll had a margin of error of +/- 4.6%, while yesterday’s poll had a margin of error of +/- 5.1%, which means that Obama’s apparent progress among white Catholics could be a mirage.
An Obama advisor argued that, taken together with other polls, the Quinnipiac numbers painted a more hopeful picture for Obama among Catholics than God-o-Meter has given him credit for. “Senator Obama has been gaining among Catholics, and our robust outreach efforts are laying the groundwork to go toe-to-toe with John McCain in the fall,” the advisor, who requested anonymity, said. “In fact, a recent poll showed Senator Obama virtually tied with Senator Clinton in terms of the Catholic vote in the General election.”
God-o-Meter admits that saying Obama’s Catholic outreach is failing was going too far. There’s not definite evidence of that. But given the caveats on the Quinnipiac numbers, it would also be premature to say that Obama’s Catholic outreach is succeeding. God-o-Meter will keep following the polls for evidence of either trend.
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posted April 22, 2008 at 8:05 pm
In the months to come, I wouldn’t be surprised if Obama continues to gain the support of more and more Catholics as they get to know him. This is man who turned down lucrative job offers out of college to be organize communities of faith, working largely with Catholic parishes on Chicago’s South Side. That spirit clearly lives on in his vision for the common good, calling us all to work for peace and justice.
posted April 23, 2008 at 8:45 am
It wouldn’t be realistic to expect Catholics to depart with Hillary en masse. She had a sizable advantage going in. The feat of the Obama campaign was to make inroads, to make progress toward closing the gap. Simply by getting his name and his ideas out there, introducing himself to voters previously unfamiliar with his record and his philosophy, he’s achieved a small, low-key victory. Hillary won the Catholic vote, but not by the margins she was supposed to.
It is worth noting that Obama’s decision to assemble a National Catholic Advisory Council of lay and religious figures (renowned by both the left and right) speaks to his deep commitment to honoring Catholic values; no other candidate has made such an overture.
posted April 28, 2008 at 4:04 pm
d by: Gus | March 26, 2008 2:28 PM
I appreciate the endorsement. I particularly appreciate the line, “As Republicans, we are first Americans.”
Posted by: Eddy E | March 26, 2008 2:33 PM
Agree with Gus. There is anger but not viciousness in the negative responses shown. When I saw this link at Andrew’s blog I thought “Oh boy”, and steeled myself. But it wasn’t as bad as I feared.
There are probably some doozies that are not shown here.
For the record, as a pro-life Lutheran, I disagree with Dr. Kmiec. But I understand the attraction to Obama, who seems to be a good and decent man.
Posted by: Larry | March 26, 2008 2:40 PM
Senator Obama might actually get somewhere with Catholics by joining Senator Casey in co-sponsoring the Pregnant Women’s Support Act
introduced in the Senate by Senator Casey as S.2410 and in the House by Rep. Lincoln Davis and more than 30 other Democrats. This Initiative developed by the Democrats for Life is intended to reduce abortions by 95 % within ten years by helping eliminate the pressures that force pregnant women to consider abortion. Since it doesn’t impose legal restrictions, no sincere pro-choice person should oppose it.
(The fact that Casey is the only member of Congress on Obama’s Catholic Committee who has co-sponsored the bill shows that the advice of the others on how to reach out to Catholic and other pro-life Democrats will be of little value. Maybe Obama should show his leadership ability by getting these officials to join him as sponsors of the bill.)
Brian Yates
http://www.democratsforlife.org/Massachusetts