Posted on 06/11/2004 8:25:53 AM PDT by Libertarian444
AP Survey: Bush Gets Little Credit on Jobs By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 11:02 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy has gained about 1.2 million jobs in the last six months, but most voters haven't gotten the word.
They're too focused on the war in Iraq and other news -- and too busy trying to make ends meet -- to notice the upbeat economic development. Few voters seem to be giving President Bush credit for the new jobs or other signs of recovery.
``I don't think he's created anything,'' said Lonnie Steele, 57, an undecided voter from East Flat Rock, N.C. ``I know a number of people who are educated people, and they are working two or three minimum-wage jobs just trying to put groceries on the table and keep their families alive.''
An Associated Press survey of 788 registered voters conducted Monday through Wednesday shows that while they may be gaining confidence in the economy and Bush's performance, 57 percent said the nation has lost jobs in the last six months. The Labor Department has reported just the opposite -- nearly 1.2 million jobs gained in half a year.
``The message hasn't gotten out,'' said Andy Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center. ``It takes a while for national changes to get down to the people level.''
The Nov. 2 election may hinge on whether the economy continues to improve and whether voters notice. The race is a dead heat, with Bush at 46 percent, Democrat John Kerry at 45 percent and independent candidate Ralph Nader at 6 percent, according to the AP poll conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs.
Kerry's advisers say they're not surprised that many voters don't know about the new jobs. ``It's because the quality of jobs that have been created are inferior to the jobs that have been lost,'' said one, Tad Devine.
Retorted Bush spokeswoman Nicolle Devenish: ``That's just not true. Two-thirds of the jobs that have been created are in sectors with higher-paying salaries than the national average.'' She pointed to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures showing the average salary for non-supervisory workers at $15.64 an hour.
But the BLS also reports that a bulk of the new jobs -- 978,000 -- come from the private services sector, where the average hourly salary is $15.24. Of the sector's professional and businesses services jobs created in May, nearly half are temporary help, the bureau said.
``The jobs are being created for college students at McDonald's,'' said Barbara Mulkey, a Democratic voter from rural Floyd County, Ky. She said jobs had been lost, then didn't budge on her opinion of Bush when told she was wrong.
Michelle Blundy initially said U.S. jobs had been lost and called herself a ``probable'' Bush voter. Informed about the jobs gain, the Grand Rapids, Mich., woman said she would vote for Bush -- and chalked up her original skepticism to Michigan's poor economy.
``They're going to say all the jobs in Michigan are going here or there, whereas there may be jobs created in Colorado that of course we don't know about because we're not there,'' she said.
But many voters were like Steele, unswayed by the positive jobs figures. Though he had read about the gains in his local paper, the retired contractor still feels bad about the economy and the country, partly because of Iraq.
``There was a time when I would be proud to tell people I'm an American,'' Steele said. ``Right now, in Iraq or anywhere, I'd be scared to tell people I'm an American.''
Even a staunch Bush backer such as James Floyd said he thought jobs were lost in the last six months. ``Jobs are moving overseas,'' said the Conroe, Texas, trucking firm owner.
Bush is not the first president to suffer from a disconnect between job figures and voter perceptions. His father had poor ratings on the economy and lost re-election in 1992, though an economic recovery was under way.
Bush campaign aides said the positive job news has been overshadowed by other events -- from Martha Stewart's legal troubles to the Iraqi prison abuse scandal. Even Ronald Reagan's death.
``There's been a lot of news to compete with the economic news,'' Devenish said.
Less than half of registered voters approve of Bush's job performance, believe the nation is headed in the right direction and back his efforts on domestic affairs, the AP-Ipsos poll showed. Disapproval of his efforts in Iraq increased -- to 55 percent from 51 percent last month.
About 47 percent of the respondents said they approve of the president's performance on the economy, a slight improvement from last month when 43 percent held that view.
Kerry will try to keep voters focused on the most dismal economic data while fueling their anxieties about interest rates, health care premiums, tuition bills and other costs of living.
Bush plans to continue using domestic travel to highlight workers who have taken higher-paying jobs and companies that are hiring. His latest television ad tries to turn the tables on Kerry.
``After recession, 9-11 and war, now our economy has been growing for 10 straight months,'' the ad says. ``John Kerry's response? He's talking about the Great Depression. One thing's sure: Pessimism never created a job.''
Kerry will try to keep voters focused on the most dismal economic data while fueling their anxieties about interest rates, health care premiums, tuition bills and other costs of living.How expansive, this John F. Kerry. How generous of spirit. How tall and strong of stature. How--dare I say it?--Reaganesque.
It's the paper of record all right: It records the Dem talking points to the very dots on i's.
Translation: "Our propaganda is working ... we're successfully diverting a significant portion of the electorate from information that might dispose them to re-elect President Bush."
Commentary: Further evidence that most voters are twits.
I would bet my entire fortune (very small though it is) that this women could not produce a single person she knows who has a family, is educated (beyond high school), and is working 2 or 3 minimum wage jobs.
A couple years ago, when the economy and job situation was not the best (and a minimum wage hike was being pushed by dems) a local businessman went on the local talk station and put out a challenge. He said he keeps hearing stories of someone working a 1, 2, or 3 minimum wage jobs to support their family of 4.
His challenge... He would hire the first person who had a family of 4 and was supporting them with minimum wage jobs. He would pay this person $60,000 a year.
Not a single person came forward to get the job.
And why the hell is perception the way it is? Its because the media wants it that way to help Kerry out in the November election. Now then, whose job is it to inform the American people that things are turning around like a freight train? Its Dubya's, and so far, he and his election team get a big fat "F" for the campaign.
Need to worry about a man that needs American to fail to get elected and is actively trying to make it happen.
It really takes a while if the media is trying to keep secrets.
Meaning, "They're too focused on the news that we spoon-feed them; we've successfully made many Americans our robots."
Well, not THIS American - not THESE FR Americans!
Scum.
Why in the hell do people think the illegal aliens come to America? If we didn't have jobs for them, they wouldn't make the struggle!
All Bush can do is adjust economic and tax policy on the business and consumer markets to make more or less money available to which group and at what cost, along with increase or decrease government regulation and associated direct and indirect costs.
Backdrop Hides `Made in China' Labels
Was the Photo-Op, (Made in China) Cover Up Involving Bush Intentional?
Building Blue-Collar … Burgers? [Should burger-flipping be considered a manufacturing job?]
Well, lets hear it once again for "outsourcing" and how good it is for the economy, as we send American jobs to 3rd world countries .
Polling numbers on the economy are wacked out.
More people think the economy is getting worse now than they did in January after months of good news. I don't know where this comes from, maybe stock prices or something. But the people polled are idiots.
Why isn't making hamburgers at McDonald's a manufacturing job?
We can't stick our heads in the sand. The jobs being created aren't as good as they once were. It's not Bush's fault but he is getting the blame. He needs to address this and say this is just a start and because of my tax cuts the good jobs are just aroung the courner. 200,000 a month must be created to stay even because of immigration. Anyone want to guess what kind of jobs the majority of these are.
Add the escalation of outsoucing and we do have a problem. Bush is doing exactly what needs to be done to solve it though but to pretend there isn' a problem is foolish.
"It depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is."
Bush, Zoellick, Snow, Mankiw, et al have spent 3½ destroying their own credibility on this issue. Now Rove is embarking on a 6-month talking point campaign of insults against Americans who are disatisfied with the administration's Corporate Globalization First! policies.
"Few voters seem to be giving President Bush credit for the new jobs or other signs of recovery."
HELLO....MR. BUSH....TIME TO SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!!!
You're right, and I think the Republicans are as responsible as the Democrats for the perception that the President is like a national fairy godmother, "creating" jobs and "giving" everyone education, medical care, and other handouts.
The late President Reagan seemed to have a much better sense than current politicians, that the people produce and pay for all these things themselves, if the government will stay out of the way.
From my point of view, the media is able to manipulate international news, but voters don't depend on the media for economic news. They look around at the price of gas, the number rung up at the grocery store, and the amount on their paycheck. They consider how many call-backs they got after sending out their resume or filling out job applications. They look around at work and see cubicles full of co-workers or half empty offices where co-workers who were laid off used to sit. They drive by factories that are busy or closed down. They consider whether their parents are able to get by on their pensions and Medicare, or whether they have to contribute extra money to their parent's income rather than being able to save for their children's college educations.
I believe this is where voters get their economic news. When they look around in October and see good things, they will re-elect President Bush. I don't think the media has the power to overcome their direct experience.
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