Bush approval rating rebounds in new poll

[Evo]

This is amazing, why has his approval rating suddenly jumped up?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush's approval rating has rebounded to 44 percent, the highest level in a year, in the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, the newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Bush's approval rating jumped five points from 39 percent in the previous poll conducted earlier this month.

The bounce comes with seven weeks before elections to decide control of Congress amid falling gas prices and a renewed campaign by Bush to boost support for the Iraq war and to portray Republicans as more competent than Democrats on security, the newspaper said.

Bush's approval rating edged up largely on the strength of Republicans coming back to the fold with 86 percent saying they support him now, compared to 70 percent in May, USA Today said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060919/pl_nm/bush_poll_dc

 

[Cyrus]

What can I say, people are idiots.

On the bright side, he is still below 50%...take that you mumble mumble mumble.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Well, why not? After all, Saddam attacked New York!

 

[ptabor]

ahaha, saddam attacked new york.

did GW actually state that hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks? Personally, I don't remember such a statement (doesn't mean he didn't say it). From what I remember of his speeches, we were going in there to disarm the WMD's, then he pulled the bait and switch - but I don't recall him making a claim of a direct link.

It's probably the case that I became hysterical with laughter at his bushisms and missed the quotation.

 

[K.J.Healey]

He never said that, but he did emphasize connections between AQ and Iraq.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/17/Bush.alqaeda/

 

[Daverz]

No rebound. His approval rating came right back down:

http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2006/sep/18/bushs_post_sept_11_bounce_evaporates

 

[Astronuc]

Well, it polls depend on the audience and how the poll is conducted.

New York is famous for Push polls in which the person conducting the poll leads the person being polled in the desired direction.

If one is given positive information painting a positive picture and then asks, so do you think So-and-so is doing a good job, then many (most) people would tend to accept a more positive view of So-and-so. Both dems and reps do it.

 

[Evo]

No rebound. His approval rating came right back down:

http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2006/sep/18/bushs_post_sept_11_bounce_evaporates

Daverz, that's worthless. They're not the same polls. Who did the poll on the 18th?

 

[russ_watters]

This is amazing, why has his approval rating suddenly jumped up?

Aw c'mon, that's an easy one: gas prices!

 

[Evo]

Aw c'mon, that's an easy one: gas prices!

I wasn't going to say it...

 

[franznietzsche]

I wasn't going to say it...

I was but he beat me to it.

 

[Kalimaa23]

This is amazing, why has his approval rating suddenly jumped up?

September 11th anniversary?

 

[edward]

Answer

All of the above.

Gas prices have magically fallen 50 cents per gallon in the last month even though it is still 30 cents more than last year.

We have short memories.

Because of the anniversary of 911 Bush has been able to work that emotional nightmare into every question he is asked about Iraq. And this time he is doing it while stating that Saddam did not order 911?? Did anyone ever think that Saddam did order 911.?? Very few, I hope, but now they will associate the two. Rove is earning his paycheck.

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/08/21/bush-on-911/

 

[Cyrus]

I LOVE THAT CLIP! Ahahahah that reporter should get an award!

 

[siddharth]

Well, it polls depend on the audience and how the poll is conducted.

New York is famous for Push polls in which the person conducting the poll leads the person being polled in the desired direction.

If one is given positive information painting a positive picture and then asks, so do you think So-and-so is doing a good job, then many (most) people would tend to accept a more positive view of So-and-so. Both dems and reps do it.

There's a classic dialogue between Sir Humphrey and Bernard from Yes Prime Minister which illustrates this point

Sir Humphrey (SH): "You know what happens: nice young lady comes up to you. Obviously you want to create a good impression, you don't want to look a fool, do you? So she starts asking you some questions: Mr. Woolley, are you worried about the number of young people without jobs?"
Bernard Woolley(BW): "Yes"
SH: "Are you worried about the rise in crime among teenagers?"
BW: "Yes"
SH: "Do you think there is a lack of discipline in our Comprehensive schools?"
BW: "Yes"
SH: "Do you think young people welcome some authority and leadership in their lives?"
BW: "Yes"
SH: "Do you think they respond to a challenge?"
BW: "Yes"
SH: "Would you be in favour of reintroducing National Service?"
BW: "Oh...well, I suppose I might be."
SH: "Yes or no?"
BW: "Yes"
SH: "Of course you would, Bernard. After all you told you can't say no to that. So they don't mention the first five questions and they publish the last one."
BW: "Is that really what they do?"
SH: "Well, not the reputable ones no, but there aren't many of those. So alternatively the young lady can get the opposite result."
BW: "How?"
SH: "Mr. Woolley, are you worried about the danger of war?"
BW: "Yes"
SH: "Are you worried about the growth of armaments?"
BW: "Yes"
SH: "Do you think there is a danger in giving young people guns and teaching them how to kill?"
BW: "Yes"
SH: "Do you think it is wrong to force people to take up arms against their will?"
BW: "Yes"
SH: "Would you oppose the reintroduction of National Service?"
BW: "Yes"
SH: "There you are, you see Bernard. The perfect balanced sample."

 

[ptabor]

the funny thing about gas prices affecting people's opinion of the job our president doing, is that our president has no control over the free market price for gasoline and/or crude.

In my opinion, it just highlights how ridiculous our system is. Widening trade gap, an abyss of a national debt that only gets deeper and deeper... but hey, what do we care? As long as we have our cheap gasoline, we don't care about the economic consequences of this administration's fiscal actions 20 years down the line.

America, and the rest of the world, will be paying for his mistakes for decades to come. But hey, at least the gays can't get married - that's what's important, right?

 

[Daverz]

Daverz, that's worthless. They're not the same polls. Who did the poll on the 18th?

Where do you get that those are not the same polls? They're the last 10 Rasmussen polls as of the 18th. Here are the latest numbers from Rasmussen:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/Bush_Job_Approval.htm

Here are some more poll numbers:

http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm

I just googled for this stuff. The idea of a rebound is just media spin, it's not backed up by the numbers. George Bush is still a very unpopular president.

I don't know where Asronuc get's the idea that these non-partisan polls are all push polls. That's really grasping at straws.

Here's some historical perspective:

"According to Gallup, on the eve of President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination, he was suffering the worst job-approval ratings of his presidency -- 58 percent.

In 1968, when the war in Vietnam was claiming hundreds of U.S. casualties each week, President Lyndon Johnson was considered so unpopular that he didn't even run for re-election. Johnson's average Gallup approval rating for that year was 43 percent.

When Reagan's second term was rocked by the Iran-Contra scandal, his ratings plummeted, all the way down to 43 percent.

This year, according to the Gallup numbers, Bush has averaged an approval rating of 37 percent."

From http://mediamatters.org/columns/200609190002

 

[edward]

The political agenda presented by the Bush Administration is supposedly to help the Republicans keep a majority in the House and Senate. I am not sure that he is helping at all.

So far he has only continued to push the fear of terrorism deeper into the psyche of the American people. For the Middle East, especially Iran, he has offered to give their people the same freedom and democracy that he has given Iraq.

If all of this has gotten his numbers up we are in deep trouble. Americans have been so paralysed with fear that they are not thinking.

 

[russ_watters]

Apropos: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-20-bush-gas-prices_x.htm

 

[McGyver]

Bush Looking Real Bad in Wolf Blitzer Interview

On Sept. 20th, CNN's Wolf Blitzer interviewed President Bush in the White House about his views on not meeting with Iran's president. The interview was aired that evening (total 18 min video). In the interview, President Bush looks as poorly as he ever has, and jokes inapporpriately in response to serious questions in the Middle East. Link below - then click on Video link in top middle of page:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/20/bush.intv/index.html

One could make an observation that either the President is ill, very very tired, or anebriated. No matter what the cause, such interviews reveal a character weakness and lack of statemanship demeanor that cannot help his poll numbers, or further his efforts to win the support of the American people as to his policies in the Middle East.

 

[McGyver]

On Sept. 20th, CNN's Wolf Blitzer interviewed President Bush in the White House about his views on not meeting with Iran's president. The interview was aired that evening (total 18 min video). In the interview, President Bush looks as poorly as he ever has, and jokes inapporpriately in response to serious questions in the Middle East. Link below - then click on Video link in top middle of page:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/20/bush.intv/index.html

One could make an observation that either the President is ill, very very tired, or anebriated. No matter what the cause, such interviews reveal a character weakness and lack of statemanship demeanor that cannot help his poll numbers, or further his efforts to win the support of the American people as to his policies in the Middle East.

In watching the enire video per the above link, I have discovered it is NOT the television interview I saw aired on CNN on Sept. 20th. Perhaps someone else knows of the recent Wolf Blitzer interview where President Bush appeared not to be himself.

 

[Skyhunter]

In watching the enire video per the above link, I have discovered it is NOT the television interview I saw aired on CNN on Sept. 20th. Perhaps someone else knows of the recent Wolf Blitzer interview where President Bush appeared not to be himself.

Is it [MEDIA=youtube[/URL]

:smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:

 

[edward]

It is really hard for me to believe that Bush's Texican dialect has actually helped him. Dam that Rove is a genius.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/

Bush explains how interrogation should work. Odd that he hadn't even mentioned the treatment of prisoners in the previous five years.
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/41785/

Here is another Bush Blitzer inteview
http://mediamatters.org/items/200609200010