Toplines - South Carolina Presidential Election - October 20, 2008

South Carolina Survey of 500 Likely Voters

By Rasmussen Reports

October 20, 2008

1* How do you rate the way that George W. Bush is performing his role as President? Excellent, good, fair, or poor?

12% Excellent

26% Good

16% Fair

45% Poor

0% Not sure

3* If the Presidential Election were held today, would you vote for Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama?

McCain	54%
Obama	43%
Other	1%
Not sure	2%

4* Favorable Ratings

	Obama	McCain
Very Favorable	35%	31%
Somewhat Favorable	11%	31%
Somewhat Unfavorable	16%	19%
Very Unfavorable	36%	19%
Not sure	2%	0%

5* In terms of how you will vote for President, are you primarily interested in National Security issues such as the War with Iraq and the War on Terror, Economic issues such as jobs and economic growth, Domestic Issues like Social Security and Health Care, Cultural issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion, or Fiscal issues such as taxes and government spending?

24% National Security Issues

48% Economic Issues

8% Domestic Issues

5% Cultural Issues

10% Fiscal Issues

5% Not sure

6* Do you agree or disagree with the Economic Rescue Plan passed by Congress recently?

24% Agree

58% Disagree

19% Not sure

7* Will the rescue plan help the economy, hurt the economy or have no impact on the economy?

38% Help

22% Hurt

24% No impact

16% Not sure

8* Given current economic conditions, would tax policy would be best to help spur economic growth? Would it be better to have higher taxes, lower taxes, or the same level of taxes?

10% Higher

53% Lower

30% Keep the same

7% Not sure

9* Suppose taxes were increased on people who make more than $250,000 a year. Would raising taxes for people who make more than $250,000 a year be good for the economy, bad for the economy, or have no impact on the economy?

50% Good for the economy

38% Bad

8% No impact

5% Not sure

10* When people sell stocks, bonds, and other assets for a profit, they pay a capital gains tax. Would raising the capital gains tax be good for the economy, bad for the economy, or have no impact on the economy?

24% Good for the economy

51% Bad

14% No impact

11% Not sure

11* Is this year’s Presidential election more positive than most, more negative than most, or about the same as most recent elections?

18% More positive

38% More negative

43% About the same

1% Not sure

12* Is it possible for a candidate to win an election without criticizing his opponent?

41% Yes
45% No
14% Not sure

13* Has Barack Obama’s campaign been generally positive, generally negative, or somewhere in between?

36% Generally positive
31% Generally negative

33% Somewhere in between

0% Not sure

14* Has John McCain’s campaign been generally positive, generally negative, or somewhere in between?

20% Generally positive
47% Generally negative

33% Somewhere in between

0% Not sure

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence