Candidates fall short, AARP members say

The presidential candidates have come repeatedly to Nevada. They've seen voters up close and spoken to groups large and small.

But according to an AARP poll, Republican and Democratic candidates alike are having a hard time informing Silver State voters about their stances on retirement and health care issues.

With Nevada's presidential caucuses less than five months away, two-thirds of potential Republican caucus attendees who are AARP members still do not know enough about candidates' positions to say who best addresses health care issues.

And more than two-thirds of potential Democratic caucus attendees, when asked which candidate best addressed retirement issues, said they did not know enough about candidates' positions to make a judgment.

Yet, according to the AARP poll, about nine in 10 potential caucus participants of both parties say they're following the candidate coverage in the media at least "somewhat closely."

"People need more than what they're hearing," said Carla Sloan, director of AARP's Nevada office. "They're looking for specific information on how a candidate's plan can help their family. What people have told us is, enough is enough. It's time for solutions."

For the first time, Sloan said, AARP's members are saying that "they're afraid their children and grandchildren could end up worse off than they are."

"For far too many," she said, "the American Dream seems to be coming apart at the seams."

AARP, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that lobbies on behalf of people 50 and older, released similar polls Thursday in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina and Florida, states that like Nevada are early in the presidential nominating calendar.

The organization is pointed in its statements on health care, saying in its literature that "the health care system is broken" and that "affordable, quality health care is a fundamental right for all Americans."

"Many of us are just one major illness or injury away from financial ruin due to the skyrocketing costs of the current system," according to an AARP position paper. "Businesses are also struggling to stay competitive due to the enormous expense of health care. Instead of bringing solutions to this problem, politicians in Washington have been content to stall, to argue, to criticize and to blame each other. While they play politics, we are left with huge health care bills, health care premiums and deductibles that are climbing through the roof."

In addition to health care, AARP's poll looked at the retirement-related issues of Social Security, incentives for savings and investment and pension protection, and candidate preference and mood of the country.

Among AARP Democrats, two candidates were named by 5 percent or more as best addressing the health care issue: New York Sen. Hillary Clinton with 35 percent and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards with 12 percent. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who's running second behind Clinton among Nevada voters overall, garnered only 4 percent.

Among Republican AARP members surveyed in the Nevada poll, only two candidates were named by 5 percent or more as best addressing health care issues: former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 9 percent and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani with 7 percent.

AARP, with more than 38 million members nationwide and 320,000 members in Nevada, is taken seriously by politicians because of the number of people 50 and older who turn out at the polls.

In the 2004 presidential election, for example, the U.S. Census Bureau found that more than 68 percent of people 50 and older who were registered to vote did so, compared with 51.8 percent of registered voters ages 18 to 49.

The "people who we surveyed are looking for leadership," said Barry Gold, head of government relations for AARP Nevada.

On Social Security, incentives for savings and investment, and pension protection, the poll found that few of the Democrats and Republicans polled knew enough about the candidates' positions to make a judgment.

When potential Republican caucus participants in Nevada were asked, 71 percent said they did not know enough about candidates' positions to make a judgment. That was 5 percentage points more than the figure for the Democrats polled.

Those Republican candidates named by more than 5 percent regarding the financial security issues were Giuliani, with 9 percent, and Romney, with 7 percent. Among Democrats, only Clinton, with 16 percent, was named by more than 5 percent of respondents.

Thirty-one percent of Democrats polled by AARP are "very likely" to change their candidate preference as they learn more about the issues. The figure is higher among Republicans, with 44 percent saying they're "very likely" to change their preference.

When it comes to the mood of the country, 92 percent of potential Democratic caucus participants believe the country is on the wrong track. Potential Republican participants were divided: 45 percent believe the country is headed in the right direction, while 43 percent believe the nation is going down the wrong road.

The AARP elections issues poll surveyed 501 AARP Nevada members who say they might attend the Democratic caucuses and 502 who might attend the Republican caucuses. Woelfel Research Inc. conducted the survey July 24 to Aug. 16. The margin for error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.