After last night's debate, which candidate would you eat a burger with?

Foreign policy and tax cuts aside, would you rather grab a hamburger with Barack Obama or Mitt Romney? New survey results tell all.

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Gerald Herbert/AP/File
President Barack Obama orders a fast food hamburger in Washington, May 29, 2009.
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Courtesy of Smashburger
An All-American Smashburger. The Smashburger restaurant sponsored a recent poll that revealed a majority of its respondents favored having a burger meal with President Obama over Gov. Mitt Romney.

The presidential debate on foreign policy held last night in Boca Raton, Fla., has been largely declared a tie. In other words, no glaring gaffes, a congeniality that was missing from the second debate, and well articulated debate agendas. There's nothing like a good race that comes down to a dead-heat tie on the homestretch. So for the undecideds in this country, who will surely once again decide the 2012 election, set aside your comparative analysis for a moment and ask yourself this question: Which candidate would you rather have a hamburger with?

A recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Smashburger, a "better burger" restaurant, polled 2,094 US adults and found that nearly 3 in 5, or 59 percent, would most like to eat a hamburger with President Barack Obama.

We can assume that vegetarians were automatically disqualified from the poll, or perhaps they politely hung up on the pollster. And we'll try not to deduce that Mitt Romney's choice of a veggie burger before the last debate had any bearings on the results of this hamburger poll.

More scrutiny of the results reveals that of the 59 percent who favor sharing a meal with President Obama:

  • 64 percent hail from the Midwest, 55 percent from the South, 61 percent from the Northeast and 59 percent from the West. 
  • Younger adults chose President Obama over their older counterparts, 64 percent of 18-to-34 year olds vs. 54 percent of those 55 years and older. 
  • 66 percent of women 18 to 34 years old and 45 to 54 years old, respectively, would most want to have a hamburger with President Obama over 51 percent of women ages 55 and older. 

Two in 5, or 41 percent, want to grab a burger with Governor Mitt Romney.

  • Of the 41 percent36 percent are from the Midwest, 45 percent from the South, 39 percent from the Northeast and 41 percent from the West. 
  • 46 percent of adults 55 and older selected presidential candidate Governor Romney over 36 percent of younger adults ages 18 to 34. 
  • Similarly, 49 percent of women 55 and older most want to have a hamburger with presidential candidate Governor Romney over 34 percent of women 18 to 34 years old and 45 to 54 year olds, respectively. 

The survey also found that Bill Clinton is the former US President Americans would most want to have a hamburger with, at 22 percent. Other desirable burger buddies from the past include Abraham Lincoln (15 percent), John F. Kennedy (14 percent), Ronald Reagan (14 percent), Thomas Jefferson (5 percent), George Washington (5 percent), and Theodore Roosevelt (5 percent), George W. Bush (4 percent) and Jimmy Carter (4 percent).

What does this hamburger poll reveal about America's next president? Absolutely nothing. But it tells you that President Obama is the preferred date for women voters at the local burger bar.

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