NYT/CBS Poll Shows Clear Majority Sees Obama's Same-Sex Marriage Gambit As Political, Not Policy

By Susan Duclos

Barack Obama may have manipulated his far left base with his newly formed support for same-sex marriage but American voters were not quite as easily manipulated, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll, which finds that 67 percent of respondents found Obama's announcement was done for "political reasons" and only 24 believe his support is because "he thinks it is right."

The New York Times article on the poll is here.

The CBS News article on the poll is here.



Other findings from the NYT/CBS News poll:

• The race for president remains close, but Republican Mitt Romney now has a three-point lead over  Obama, despite positive movement on the economy. 46 percent for Romney, 43 percent for Obama.

• 32 percent say the economy is in good shape – the highest percentage since January 2008, but most (67 percent) still say it’s bad. 36 percent say the economy is improving.

• While most voters say the Obama's support of same-sex marriage will not impact their vote, 25 percent say they are less likely to vote for him because of it. 16 percent say they are more likely to vote for him because of it. A nine percent net loss for Obama.

• 23 percent of voters say they are more likely to support Romney because of his stance on the issue, while 17 percent are less likely to vote for him. A six percent net gain for Romney.

• Most Americans favor some type of legal recognition of same-sex relationships, including 38 percent who support marriage. When asked directly whether same-sex marriage should be legal or not, 42 percent say it should be, but 51 percent say it should not.

• Romney leads Obama among Independents while Obama leads Romney among moderates.

• Obama's support among female voters dropped five points over the last two months, from 49 percent to 44 percent. Romney is up 3 from 43 percent to 46 percent.

• 62 percent said the economy was the most important issue.

The sample used is 36 percent Democrat- 30 percent Republican -34 percent Independent

Team Obama is calling the NYT/CBS News poll biased.

Note- The  NYT/CBS News poll sampled registered voters, which according to recent polling shown at the RCP general election page, usually favor Obama. The polls using the likely voter model show Obama and Romney tied or Romney ahead. The majority of polling organizations that use registered voters as their samples change to the likely voter model when the general election gets closer because it has more predictive value.