McCain viewed as more Patriotic than Obama

Independents View McCain as more Patriotic than Obama after Watching Speeches

Flemington, NJ, August 25, 2008 – Results of a national focus group among 200 self- reported independent voters revealed that they believe John McCain is more patriotic than Barack Obama after viewing video segments of their speeches.

The study was conducted during August 22-25, by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) to obtain Americans’ perceptions of video segments of speeches by Barack Obama and John McCain that focus on national security and patriotism.

Among the study findings:

The McCain speech segment received a Political Communications Impact Score of 12.5, and the Obama speech segment received a score of 10.0, indicating that McCain’s speech segment was slightly more effective than Obama’s. The scores can be compared to a mean of 10.9 for previously tested Obama ads and 7.9 for previously tested McCain ads. The total mean score for all previously tested ads is 9.3.

The PCIS is a metric scoring system designed to gauge the effectiveness of political communications by generating a score for each candidate to monitor changes in voter perceptions. The PCIS score is derived from the change in voters’ support and the extent that the support shifts. To view scores and results of recent studies go to:
http://www.mediacurves.com/PCIS/

Which candidate do you believe is more patriotic?
Prior to Viewing the Video
Independents
Barack Obama 19%
John McCain 49%
Not Sure 33%

After Viewing the Video
Independents
Barack Obama 23%
John McCain 47%
Not Sure 31%

While viewing the video, participants indicated their levels of believability by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. The participants’ emotions were measured using the Ayer Emotion Battery. Participants were also asked pre- and post-viewing questions. To view believability curves and detailed results go to: www.mediacurves.com.

The Media Curves web site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.

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HCD Research is a communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include traditional and web-based communications research. For additional information on HCD Research, access the company’s web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393. Headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, MCIPO is a respected source of public opinion data on local, state and national issues. For additional information on Muhlenberg College, go to For additional information on Muhlenberg College, go to www.muhlenberg.edu

ENDS

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