Rating Politicians

I was drunk during the debate, just like in '08. It helps you pay much less attention to what's being said, but notice how it's being said. Mitt Romney said everything better; Obama seemed like he forgot he had the debate that night. Also the format was terrible.

Anyway, to help judge the candidates by what they actually say and do, The Economist has (un-scientifically but whatever) polled hundreds of professional economists in the United States.

Overall Obama seems to have a lead over Romney when it comes to economic policy. Though Romney is slightly favored by business economists. The results are typically much closer on the specifics, though Obama opens up wide leads on certain issues.

The best part of these polls however, is how the economists identify themselves politically. The largest group, at 50%, is independents, followed by Democrats, with 43%, and only 7% of economists polled are Republicans. This result is nearly identical to when the same polling was done four years ago. It warms my heart to know that half of economists are independents and only 7% Republicans.