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== Romney's Acceptance Speech ==

== Romney's Acceptance Speech ==

Polls are surveys of voters, which provide details about '''''which groups''''' support a candidate and which ones do not.  In most elections, there is a "gender gap" between men and women, such that men tend to prefer one candidate while women tend to prefer the other.  In Romney v. Obama, Romney has a lead among male voters, but Obama has a lead among women voters.

Romney's speech accepting his nomination for president, like any speech by a political candidate, was designed to improve his standing in the polls.  Polls are surveys of a representative sample of voters,<ref>A surprisingly small sample size can give an accurate measure of the views of a large group of people: a survey of only 600 persons can predict what 300 million Americans think.</ref> which not only tell who is ahead but also provide details about '''''which groups''''' support a candidate and which ones do not.  In most elections, there is a "gender gap" between men and women, such that men tend to prefer one candidate while women tend to prefer the other.  In Romney versus Obama, Romney has a lead among male voters, while Obama has a lead among women voters.

Polling also reveals that while most disapprove of the job performance by Obama, he is more "likable" than Romney is.  In fact, Romney has a particularly low "likability" rating:  only 26% of likely voters considered Romney to be likable prior to the Republican National Convention in August 2012.

Polling also reveals that while most disapprove of the job performance by Obama, he is more "likable" than Romney is.  In fact, Romney has a particularly low "likability" rating:  only 26% of likely voters considered Romney to be likable prior to the Republican National Convention held in August 2012.

In light of the polling information, Romney's acceptance speech attempted to make himself more "likable" and to try to increase his popularity by women voters.  Here are some examples from his speech:<ref>http://www.marketwatch.com/story/text-of-mitt-romneys-convention-speech-2012-08-30?pagenumber=1</ref>

In light of the polling information, Romney's acceptance speech attempted to make himself more "likable" and to try to increase his popularity by women voters.  Here are some examples from his speech:<ref>http://www.marketwatch.com/story/text-of-mitt-romneys-convention-speech-2012-08-30?pagenumber=1</ref>

{{cquote|I knew that her [Mitt Romney's wife Ann's] job as a mom was harder than mine. And I knew without question, that her job as a mom was a lot more important than mine.}}

{{cquote|I knew that her [Mitt Romney's wife Ann's] job as a mom was harder than mine. And I knew without question, that her job as a mom was a lot more important than mine.}}

{{cquote|[A friend and Mitt Romney] started a new business called Bain Capital. The only problem was, while WE believed in ourselves, nobody else did. We were young and had never done this before and we almost didn’t get off the ground. In those days, sometimes I wondered if I had made a really big mistake.}}

{{cquote|[A friend and Mitt Romney] started a new business called Bain Capital. The only problem was, while WE believed in ourselves, nobody else did. We were young and had never done this before and we almost didn’t get off the ground. In those days, sometimes I wondered if I had made a really big mistake.}}

 

The text of Obama's acceptance speech will be posted on the internet Thursday night, September 7.  Can you find statements in his speech that were probably intended to boost his poll numbers with a particular group?

The text of Obama's acceptance speech will be posted online Thursday night, September 7.  Can you find statements in it designed to boost his poll numbers with any particular group?

== Politics as an Iceberg ==

== Politics as an Iceberg ==