Results of a national focus group conducted among 334 Americans revealed that a majority of Republicans (65%), reported that they were disturbed, skeptical and angry after viewing a new ad by Senator McCain, which questions Barack Obama’s ability as a leader.
The study was conducted during August 5-6, among self-reported Democrats, Republicans and independents by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) to obtain Americans’ perceptions of a new ad which portrays Obama as a savior, with images featuring Charlton Heston as Moses.
While viewing the video, participants indicated their levels of believability by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves.
Among political parties, the emotions most felt by Republicans while watching the ad were "disturbing" (37%), "skepticism" (17%) and "anger" (11%), compared to Democrats, who reported "anger" (20%) and "disturbing" (19%) and "confusion" (17%) as the emotions most felt. Independents reported "disturbing" (28%), "skepticism" (17%) and "confusion" (13%) as the emotions most felt while watching the ad.
