I just received these focus group results in my inbox from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner/Democracy Corps & thought it showed some very positive reaction straight away to Obama's speech. Some of the text of the email:
Denver, CO. August 29, 2008. On this historic evening, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner/Democracy Corps conducted qualitative research in the swing state of Nevada among 39 undecided voters or weak supporters of either candidate who watched Obama's speech. Participants answered a series of questions about the election, the candidates, and the major issues in this campaign. They then watched Barack Obama’s acceptance speech live, followed by another series of questions on many of the same topics. Two follow-up focus group discussions with 21 of the participants allowed for significant exploration of reactions to the speech. While this was clearly a qualitative exercise and not a representative survey, the movement we saw in attitudes toward the election and Barack Obama was dramatic:
After viewing the speech, more than 1-in-4 of these swing voters moved from undecided to supporting Barack Obama or from supporting John McCain to undecided.
On a thermometer scale of 0 to 100, Obama’s mean score rose 9 degrees (from 57 to 66 degrees) after voters saw his speech.
Obama achieved gains on every personal attribute tested in this exercise, with the most dramatic movement coming on some of the most important measures in our polling – ‘on your side,’ ‘has what it takes to be President,’ and ‘will keep America strong.’
In a head-to-head match-up with John McCain on which candidate would better handle a series of issues, Obama again gained ground on every measure, with the most significant movement coming on ‘national security,’ ‘strengthening America’s relationships with other countries,’ and ‘sharing my values.’
Personally, I was most impressed that he was willing to "go there" in respect to the hot button issues of Abortion, Gun Control, Gay Marriage, etc. & at least try to reach out to common sensibilities of the average American in order to build a bridge to the middle ground. Far more of an impact that throw away lines like "I will reach across the aisle" or of course the "uniter not a divider." Clearly the country needs a new direction & the McCain campaign has only the fear card to play, but the combination of sharing his background, his story, vision & genuinely reaching out in clear ways, not backing down from his beliefs, but speaking truth to the fact that we have more in common than we think.
Speaking of the fear card during the speech I received a few texts from conservative friends stating that they're beginning to believe in Obama, he's not as scary as they'd expected & the like. I think this speech will move all but the hardest hearts in our direction, at least somewhat.
If anyone wants the full email, just email me & I'll forward it.