October 2, 1996

The Mother Jones Poll Results

There were more than 300 respondents to last week’s poll. Here’s what they had to say. Be sure to participate in our latest poll. Also, check out the <a href="/news/feature/1996/10/poll_archive.html">results</a> of our previous polls.

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1. The first presidential debate is Sunday, October 6. But if another round of soundbites and plastic smiles leaves you reaching for the remote, the MoJo Wire has picked out some of the evening’s highlights. What will you be watching?

40% The Debate

10% Baseball

10% (no answer)

10% Bullwinkle

9% Ancient Mysteries

8% Ren & Stimpy

2. Who is your favorite choice to moderate the debates?

23% Jim Lehrer

15% Cokie Roberts

12% Kelsey Grammer

7% (no answer)

5% Katie Couric

Our favorite write-ins:

Wink Martindale

Big Bird

RuPaul

Hunter S. Thompson

Jello Biafra

3. If all these candidates had an equal chance of winning, who would you vote for?

37% Harry Browne

32% Ralph Nader

19% Bill Clinton

5% Bob Dole

2% John Hagelin

2% Ross Perot

1% (no answer)

0.7% Lyndon LaRouche

0.3% Howard Phillips

4. If you were restricted to just these two candidates, which one would you vote for?

59% Bill Clinton

26% No answer

15% Bob Dole

5. What’s your favorite reason why Perot should or shouldn’t be included in the debate?

Our favorite responses for:

“USA should be reminded that even an idiot can become a billionaire.”

“He should, but only if he’s included in the calf-roping competition.”

“Someone should represent Disney.”

And against:

“His ears remind me of Ferengi sexual organs and shouldn’t be shown on prime time TV.”

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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