This article is from the archive of our partner .
President Obama's reelection team was quick to conjure the horror of a Mitt Romney victory in November in an email to supporters Tuesday, but maybe they jumped the gun. A majority of Americans want Rush Limbaugh fired, but, surprise surprise, more women than men want him off the air. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
Findings: Most Americans -- 53 percent -- think Rush Limbaugh should be fired for calling Sandra Fluke a "slut." Only 30 percent of Republicans agree.
Pollster: Bloomberg
Methodology: Survey of 1,002 adults from March 8 to March 11.
Why it matters: Democrats usually enjoy a gender gap -- more women voting for them than men -- but that disappeared in the 2010 midterms. They want it back. As Politico points out, it still hasn't reached the level Democrats enjoyed in 2008, when Obama beat McCain among women by 13 points. He's only beating Romney by 4 points against Romney, and 9 points against Santorum. So these poll numbers help explain why President Obama called Fluke. The poll finds 56 percent of women want Rush fired, while 49 percent of men do. More important, 77 percent think the debate over whether some religious institutions should offer insurance plans that cover birth control is about the pill itself -- not religious liberty, as Republicans say.
Caveat: Rush Limbaugh is a radio host, and his actions are not going to be the thing that swings voters from one candidate to another.