Posted on 07/23/2002 1:21:04 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
Edited on 07/23/2002 1:41:37 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
July 22 — The economy and the accounting scandals surrounding large corporations appear to be taking a heavy toll on President Bush’s popularity, according to two opinion surveys released Monday. In one of the polls, fewer than half of the likely voters questioned said they believe he should be re-elected.
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What the folks at MSNBC don't want you to know
How is the hurly-burly public uproar prompted by the wave of corporate shenanigans impacting the President politically? When it comes to choosing which among the torrent of media lies to highlight, I feel like a mosquito at a nudist colony.
I hardly know where to begin.
Take MSNBC's internet homepage.
"Polls: Economy takes its toll on president", babbled the early Monday evening teaser, juxtaposed with a photo of a man, obviously distraught over the stock market, with his head buried in his hands.
Translation: This is all Bush's fault!
Inside, under the header, Bush re-election support falls: Scandals, stocks drag down president's popularity, writer Alex Johnson opens his piece with the following whooper:
"The economy and the accounting scandals surrounding large corporations appear to be taking a heavy toll on President Bush's popularity, according to two opinion surveys released released Monday."
In paragraph four, Mr. Johnson breathlessly lays it on even thicker and heavier:
"The president appeared to suffer significant damage from the plummeting stock market and the accounting scandals."
From this, you'd get the impression the President had suffered a catastrophic drop in popularity recently, prompted by the wave of corporate scandals rocking the market. Certainly, that's what the folks at MSNBC would like you to believe.
If you do, you've bought a pig in a poke.
First, Johnson's assertion that the stock market is "taking a heavy toll on" the President's popularity, is a bold-face lie.
Proof?
Mr Johnson himself, who carefully buries this golden nugget deep in the article:
"Bush's positive approval rating in the Zogby poll, 62 percent was unchanged from a similar Zogby poll last week, as was his negative rating, 38 percent."
Paragraphs 1 and 4 weren't just media spin, they were fabrications out of whole cloth -- lies spun but easily discredited by mounds of empirical evidence.
But those weren't the only whoopers. There was more, much more.
Mr. Johnson continues: "The Zogby America Poll, conducted Friday through Sunday, showed that 47 percent of likely voters believed Bush deserved re-election, compared to 32 percent who said it was time for someone new".
These numbers were drearily portrayed as ominous for Bush, a bleak portent of electoral defeat. In Johnson's eyes, Bush is toast -- a political has-been, fit for the dust hole.
Er, not so fast.
What Johnson fails to mention is that "re-elect" polls are typically 15-30% lower than presidential approval ratings.
To illustrate, back in early 1999, when Der Schlickmeister was riding high in the polls, his "re-elect" number stood at 35%.
But here's another thing Mr. Johnson won't tell you (for obvious reasons): In June of 2001, when surveys showed Bush-Gore tied (48-48) in polls of hypothetical re-matches, Bush's "re-elect" stood at 29%. That's according to Zogby, who surveyed 1,007 likely voters, June 8-11, 2001 -- five months after Bush was sworn in.
Ah, but that's not all.
Mr. Johnson portrays the President's 47% "re-elect" as disastrous, but here's what he really, really doesn't want you to know: A Zogby poll of 1,008 likely voters, conducted June 17-19, 2002 (one month ago), showed Bush's "re-elect" only marginally higher, at 51%. Forty-seven percent (47%) versus 51% -- that's barely outside the poll's margin of sampling error (+/-3%). In the June survey, 28% said it was time for someone new: Compare that with 32% in Zogby's latest poll.
Bottom line? After four weeks of sustained media attacks over the stock market, a measly 4% decline in Bush's "re-elect" is all the media has to show for its efforts.
A political disaster for Bush?
Hardly.
The fact that his popularity has withstood the brunt of the most unremitting, unrelenting raking fire his enemies could muster shows deeper and wider support than most "analysts" had expected.
And what of that other poll Mr. Johnson alluded to, the one showing the President suffering "significant damage from the plummeting stock market and and accounting scandals"?
"The NBC poll had better news for the president", Mr. Johnson painfully admits, adding that the survey showed a "somewhat higher approval for the president, at 67 percent, and a significantly lower level of disapproval, at 27 percent."
Hmmmmm.....67%, eh?
Mr. Johnson, is 67% approval "significantly" "lower" from NBC's previous, June survey?
Mr. Johnson's lips are sealed.
Well, I did some checking, and golly gee, lookie what I found: An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, conducted 6/8-10/02, showed Bush's approval rating a whopping -- a mindboggling -- 2% points higher, at 69%.
Yep, that's it folks -- a paltry 2% higher.
Yet, listening to Mr. Johnson you'd think Bush had dropped 20% points or more.
Moreover, 2% percent falls well within the poll's margin of sampling error.
So much for the media's much-anticipated Bush 'collapse'.
As for the race for control of Congress, Zogby has the Democrats and Republicans still locked in a dead-heat, 35%-34%, respectively -- unchanged from a week ago.
So much for all the chatter that corporate scandals was killing Republicans.
Anyway, that's...
My two cents...
"JohnHuang2"
Incidentally, FOX News/Opinion Dynamics and ABC News/Washington Post both had the Bush-Gore contest dead even just before election day.
If they are "America's News Channel," is it any wonder people in this country don't know which way is up?
Jerry Nachum, Phil Donahue, Pat Buchanan, Bill Press, Alan Keyes.
Any questions???
Thanks for going to the trouble to look up these figures, John.
Good morning to both of you!
The LIBERAL media and politicians are hell bent on driving the market down as far as their hysterical remarks can muster. There is no care on their part for our economic viability or our national security. They truly will do anything to take power. If they could, they would destroy our economy to do it.
Assessing the general trends, pollster John Zogby said, “Here is a
president who was elected with only 48 percent of the popular vote, and
more than 1½ years later, even in a time of war, remains stuck in that
position.”
Gasp! Do I detect a hint of joy and glee here by the Pollster? ONLY 48%? That's MORE than clintoon got in the 1992 election!
Great job (again) JH.
This morning on NewMax there is an article of the plans being fermented at Democrat.com to gain Democrat control of the House and Senate and to "expose" all of President Bush's scandals leading to a Dem push for Bush's impeachment. They are going to write the Bill of Impeachment themselves and submit it to the Congress. If they weren't so serious in their Revenge of the Rats efforts it would be nothing but funny.
Further, after 1996, when the major polling companies were horrible, being from 3% off (Zogby) to 15% off, all in Clinton's favor, they all seemed to get a reality bath and tighten up their polling methods. In 2000, all but Newsweak were pretty close. Zogby was on the money. Only POA was way off, unfortunately. However, since 2000, I sense that the pollsters are again starting to cook the books. My evidence? Note the recent poll (NY Times, I think) where it asked questions about not just Bush but "members of his administration." Huh? When in the HELL was the last time you ever saw a question about members of an administration? I don't recall anyone ever asking about Ron Brown, or Web Hubbell, or that moron Madame Not-so-Bright.
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