Obama’s ‘honest and trustworthy’ advantage — and what it means for the second debate

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/10/15/obamas-honest-and-trustworthy-advantage-and-what-it-means-for-the-second-debate/


"President Obama is regarded as significantly more honest and trustworthy than Mitt Romney in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll — a finding that could inform the incumbent’s strategy heading into the second debate of the general election Tuesday night.

Fifty-five percent of likely voters said that Obama is “honest and trustworthy,” while 41 percent said he was not. For Romney, on the other hand, 47 percent said he could be described as honest and trustworthy, while an equal 47 percent said that he could not.

Not surprisingly, the question of trustworthiness drew heavily partisan reactions. Among registered voters, nearly nine in 10 (88 percent) of self-identified Democrats said the incumbent was honest and trustworthy while just 22 percent of Republicans said the same. More than eight in 10 (82 percent) of Republicans said Romney was honest and trustworthy; 19 percent of Democrats agreed.

Among electorally critical independents, Obama’s margin was slightly smaller than with the overall electorate. Fifty-one percent of independents viewed Obama as honest and trustworthy, as compared to 44 percent who don’t see him that way. Forty-five percent of independents called Romney honest and trustworthy, while 43 percent said he wasn’t.

But in the handful of swing states identified by the Post (along with Democratic-leaning Ohio), Obama’s lead is even more pronounced on the question. Fifty-six percent of swing-state voters said the incumbent is honest and trustworthy, while just 44 percent said the same of Romney."