This political season will no doubt be recorded as one of the most historic in American history. The United States elected its first African-American president, Barack Obama, who defeated Republican nominee John McCain.

If McCain would have defeated Obama, the year of political firsts would still have been in play, as the Arizona Senator would have been the oldest first-term president and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, would have been the first female vice president.

With the election now in the rearview mirror, pundits and the public will break down every facet of the 2008 race, including the political polling and survey landscape. Were Americans truthful about their answers prior to the election? What did the numbers mean? Were they right on target or way off base?

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Have you ever worn a “one size fits all” garment? Perhaps you have and know from personal experience that they do not really “fit” all. Or perhaps you have avoided such garments all together because you knew they would not provide the kind of fit you prefer. For some individuals such garments merely hang on them with what seems to be yards of excess fabric, making the occupant look lost. For others such garments are too tight and do not provide adequate room for movement. I assume this is why some have modified these tags to say “one size fits most.”

A recent political research study by the National Business Research Institute, Inc. (“NBRI”) shows that post-debate opinions of the 2008 Presidential Candidates changed when compared to pre-debate opinions. The initial survey was distributed to a random sample of 61,018 individuals in September, 2008, prior to the Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates. NBRI received 2,571 completed surveys. The post-debate survey was distributed to a random sample of 56,386 individuals in October, 2008, just after the final Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates. NBRI received 2,138 completed surveys. A confidence level of 99% and a 3% sampling error was achieved. Independent Sample T-Tests were conducted to compare pre-debate and post-debate opinions. All statistics reported are significant at the .05 alpha level.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - A recent political research study by the National Business Research Institute, Inc. (“NBRI”) shows that pre-debate opinions of the 2008 Presidential Candidates vary significantly by Age, Gender, Annual Income, Level of Education, and Marital Status. The survey was distributed to a random sample of 61,000 individuals in September, 2008, just prior to the first round of Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates.

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In the past few weeks, the nation has been in the grip of a financial crisis that has shaken once mighty Wall Street institutions to the core, while Americans on Main Street nervously bite their nails.

“People are waking up from a gigantic hangover, trying to figure out what’s next,” John Schloegel, vice president of investment strategies for Austin-based Capital Cities Asset Management, told Reuters recently.

Frankly, the entire year has been one giant hangover for many Americans who have watched food and fuel prices elevate and their 401k’s and home values deflate. They’ve been whipsawed by fear that achieving affluence and a better world for their children has been derailed. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a Washington, D.C. think tank, the current financial stall marked the first time since World War II that the typical family was worse off at the end of an economic expansion than at the start.

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