News Bush as bad as bin Laden according to Canada

[SOS2008]

Correct. A poll is only valid if it is conducted by FOX News -- everyone knows that. Not to go OT and rehash the topic of Bush and the media, but it has been well substantiated in this forum, from paid pundits to pressuring Newsweek to retrack, etc. If there was a poll [e.g., Gallup] about media manipulation, Bush would take first place by a long shot.

Likewise Bush's background prior to becoming president has been well established in this forum, and it isn't complimentary. Does anyone deny this? Come on! Moving on...

The purpose of discussing Bush is because he is the current president of the U.S. -- not for comparison to Kerry, who is no longer running against Bush in an election, so why is this an ongoing thing with you Bushies? Stop clouding the problems with your usual "he was bad, but so was he" arguments. Stick to the topic, which is about Bush and his poor performance across the board. If you have proof of good things he has accomplished, knock yourselves out and make your case.

 

[BobG]

So if CNN conduct a poll at the behest of the republican party it's scientific but if any other group commissions their services it is not. Yes that really makes a lot of sense Or do you just think CNN are incapable of organising a poll for anyone?
Also isn't your argument a little inconsistent? First you suggest the poll results are nonsense and then you argue that the same results would be found for any president.

I think the gist is that it was a poll of folks who watch Lou Dobbs, not a random poll of Americans. It would be hard to figure out the skew in that poll - Dobbs has been kind of a financial conservative most of his career, but his campaign against outsourcing jobs has probably attracted more Democratic viewers along the way. It's also kind of hard to weigh how many viewers watch a show because of the host's politics or because of a host's personality. In other words, it's not very scientific.

I don't know what a scientific, random poll would return, but it would seem like common sense that any smart political leader would try to influence the media into putting a positive spin in their reports to the public. After all:

Polling Report
"From time to time, high government officials deny reports in the national news media and say the reports are not accurate. In such cases, who do you tend to believe: the government, or the national news media?"

Government - 26%
News Media - 46%
Depends - 22%
Unsure - 6%

That has to be a little disheartening to government leaders, considering:

"In general, how much trust and confidence do you have in the news media -- such as newspapers, newsmagazines, TV and radio news -- when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately, and fairly: a great deal, a fair amount, not very much, or none at all?"

Great Deal - 11%
Fair Amount - 47%
Not Very Much - 29%
None At All - 13%
Unsure - 1%

 

[Informal Logic]

I think the gist is that it was a poll of folks who watch Lou Dobbs, not a random poll of Americans.

True. However, as you mention, Lou Dobbs tends to focus on certain topics, one of which is outsourcing of jobs and another related topic, illegal immigration. There are religious groups, conservatives (e.g., the Minutemen), etc. who are very much against outsourcing, illegal immigration, trade agreements like CAFTA, etc. I would hardly classify these folks as Democrats.

 

[Art]

And yes, i can see why you would htink leaving is the ultimate act of patriotism, pff! Thats like the ultimate act of law enforcement would to be evacuate a city and leave the criminals alone.

Good analogy Penqwuino I especially like the bit about "leaving the criminals alone".
Another own goal methinks.

 

[Art]

I think the gist is that it was a poll of folks who watch Lou Dobbs, not a random poll of Americans.

Does anybody have any references for this poll? If CNN conducted the poll I'd be surprised if they limited their sample to just Lou Dobbs viewers as a simple phone in would have sufficed.

 

[PerennialII]

Good analogy Penqwuino I especially like the bit about "leaving the criminals alone".
Another own goal methinks.

"cracker", something to really agree upon !

 

[SOS2008]

Does anybody have any references for this poll? If CNN conducted the poll I'd be surprised if they limited their sample to just Lou Dobbs viewers as a simple phone in would have sufficed.

They do polls daily, and it is advertised throughout the news broadcast--you can just go online and vote whenever, and see the results at that time.

 

[quantumcarl]

Canadians believe U.S. President George W. Bush is almost as great a threat...

When are people going to learn to speak for themselves? There's absolutely no way anyone can say what Canadians believe... there's 30,000,000 of us. Yeah yeah... really small number... you ¶©¢–¬¢ Americans got a 100 year long start on us, eh?!

 

[JamesU]

It's okay, America Jr.

 

[moose]

It's okay, America Jr.

Don't compliment them/my birthplace

 

[Amp1]

From the thread with Chomsky, who makes an interesting and factual observation,

The senior CIA analyst responsible for tracking Osama bin Laden from 1996, Michael Scheuer, writes that “bin Laden has been precise in telling America the reasons he is waging war on us. None of the reasons have anything to do with our freedom, liberty, and democracy, but have everything to do with U.S. policies and actions in the Muslim world.” Osama’s concern “is out to drastically alter U.S. and Western policies toward the Islamic world,” Scheuer writes: “He is a practical warrior, not an apocalyptic terrorist in search of Armageddon.” As Osama constantly repeats, “Al Qaeda supports no Islamic insurgency that seeks to conquer new lands.” Preferring comforting illusions, Washington ignores “the ideological power, lethality, and growth potential of the threat personified by Osama bin Laden, as well as the impetus that threat has been given by the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Muslim Iraq, [which is] icing on the cake for al Qaeda.” “U.S. forces and policies are completing the radicalization of the Islamic world, something Osama bin Laden has been trying to do with substantial but incomplete success since the early 1990s. As a result, [Scheuer adds,] it is fair to conclude that the United States of America remains bin Laden's only indispensable ally.”

Wouldn't that kind of support the contention of this thread?