A USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted Jan. 30-Feb.2, reported that Americans are unusually focused on this year’s election, more so than for any recent election at this time in the election-year cycle. The poll found that 71 percent of thus surveyed said they had given “quite a lot of thought” to the election, a number that Gallup called “extraordinarily high” for this time in the election cycle. The number compared to 58 percent for the same period in 2004.