NEWS AND OPINION:
“The conventional wisdom in American politics has long been that someone who is not religious cannot be elected president of the United States. Most Americans have consistently said that it is important to them that the president have strong religious beliefs,” says a Pew Research Center survey released Thursday. “Being an atheist remains one of the biggest liabilities that a presidential candidate can have; 51 percent of American adults say they would be less likely to vote for a hypothetical presidential candidate who does not believe in God, while just 6 percent say they would be more likely to vote for a nonbeliever.”
Another 42 percent said they would be less likely to support a Muslim, 41 percent felt the same about a candidate with personal financial troubles, 37 percent frowned on extramarital affairs, 31 percent say “longtime Washington experience” is a liability. About one fourth were uneasy about a candidate who was gay or lesbian, 23 percent objected to a Mormon and 20 percent were leery of a candidate who had used marijuana.
Among all presidential hopefuls, Ben Carson was seen as the strongest faith candidate by all U.S. voters; 68 percent said he is religious, followed closely by Sen. Ted Cruz at 65 percent and Sen. Marco Rubio at 61 percent. GOP front-runner Donald Trump was a distant 30 percent. Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton was seen as religious by 48 percent, Sen. Bernard Sanders by 40 percent.
But it’s complicated.
“Being seen as a religious person is generally an asset for candidates; people who think a candidate is a religious person tend to be more likely to see that candidate as a potentially good president. But many Republicans think Trump would be a good president despite his perceived lack of religiousness,” the poll says. Indeed. Of the 56 percent of GOP voters who think Trump would be a “good or great president,” only a third believe he’s religious.
WEEKEND CANDIDATE TRACKER
SEE ALSO: Jeb Bush tries flier campaign in New Hampshire to gain on Donald Trump
It’s only Iowa, Iowa, Iowa this weekend. All the candidates are racing to appear at town halls, meet-and-greets, rallies and house parties all weekend; most also are staging optimistic “victory celebrations” on Monday night following the Iowa caucuses. Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly join Hillary Clinton for multiple events; Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton will also be along to campaign. Martin O’Malley says he’s “barnstorming” the state with 17 events; Sen. Bernard Sanders has 15.
GOP hopefuls are also in a rush. Sen. Rand Paul has an astonishing 28 events planned through Monday; Sen. Marco Rubio has 15 as does Sen. Ted Cruz. Front-runner Donald Trump will stage six of his signature jumbo rallies while Jeb Bush puts in 11 appearances and Gov. John Kasich eight. Ben Carson, who is campaigning with Sen. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley, makes six appearances. Not to be outdone, Carly Fiorina has 10 events, Rick Santorum 15 and Mike Huckabee seven. Gov. Chris Christie has a dozen events over the weekend before staging a surprise exit to New Hampshire late Monday.
He’s the early bird. Every single hopeful does likewise, heading for the Granite State on Tuesday, pulled by the siren call of the state’s primary on Feb. 9.
ONE BILLIONAIRE TO ANOTHER
“Allegedly Bloomberg again considering running. If he does, may hurt Clinton more than Trump. Seems 2016 the year for populists.”
“This is Bloomberg’s last chance. You never know until your hat is in the ring! Events change everything, especially during elections.”
SEE ALSO: Dawn Laguens of Planned Parenthood fund wants Paul Ryan to stop Congress investigation
— Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, in back-to-back tweets on Thursday pondering noisy reports that former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg is seriously exploring a bid for the White House.
THE DOG ATE MY TIMECARD
There’s a poll for everything. CareerBuilder — a workplace research group — recently surveyed 2,600 human resource managers around the nation who revealed that a third of their employees typically come in late for one reason or another. Over half blamed traffic, a third overslept, 28 percent blamed weather, 23 percent were simply tired and 15 percent cited child care problems. Then there were the other reasons, these volunteered by the respondents. The following are excuses which the HR folks had heard in the last year, verbatim:
“I thought of quitting today, but then decided not to, so I came in late. My hair caught on fire from my blow dryer. I was detained by Homeland Security. I had to chase my cows back into the field. A black bear entered my carport. My lizard had to have emergency surgery in the morning. All of my clothes were stolen. I was confused by the time change and unsure if it was spring forward or fall back. A Vaseline truck overturned on the highway.”
WEEKEND REAL ESTATE
For sale: “Extraordinary Angles”, built on five acres in Cave Creek, Arizona. Three bedrooms, four baths, 3,100 square feet, minimalist design and decor, open floor plan, glass walls on all sides, desert and mountain vistas. Designer interior and exterior lighting, multiple decks, exterior plantings, cacti. Spans dry creek bed, earth-sheltered, guest house, full security system. Priced at $1.5 million through Sothebysrealty.com. Enter 5369171 in search function (scroll down, left hand side).
POLL DU JOUR
• 71 percent of Republican primary voters say they could still be persuaded to vote for a candidate other than their first choice; 27 percent say “their mind is made up.”
• 34 percent say their first choice at the moment is Donald Trump.
• 66 percent of that group say they favor him because “he tells the truths other people won’t say.”
• 53 percent say he is “the most authentic”, 37 percent say he has a strong business record.
• 35 percent say Mr. Trump is a strong leader, 31 percent agree with his positions on the issues.
• 18 percent share his “world view,” 11 percent say Mr. Trump is the best candidate to “beat the Democrats.”
Source: A Bloomberg Politics/Purple Strategies poll of 1,020 Republican primary voters conducted Jan. 22-26.
• Gnashing of teeth, applause to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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