Lowest Poll Rating Ever?

Is it me or does it seem like every week or so this year there’s been a headline that announced Bush having his “lowest poll rating ever” and they’ve all been between 34 and 37%? This week’s is 37% and it’s the same headline. I don’t get it.

Let’s pick one and wake me up when we get into the 20’s.

Tags: poll, George W. Bush, politics

Had Enough Indeed

According to Editor & Publisher, a recent Gallup poll shows that more Americans consider themselves Democrats than Republicans. 33% of Americans now call themselves Democrats while only 32% call themselves Republicans. While this might seem too tight to matter, the 34% of the population that now make up Independents are the telltale sign of which way the nation will go in upcoming elections, it seems.

Independents, it appears, are leaning 49% Democrat and only 42% Republican this year, whereas last year, they were dead even at 46% each.

Not a good sign for the GOP in the 2006 elections.

The latest poll was taken from January to March 2006, with a national sample of about 1,000 adults. [“Gallup: In Shift, More Americans Now Call Themselves Democrats” (Editor & Publisher)]

Hat tip to Ron Beasley @ Middle Earth.

Tags: 2006 election, Republicans, Democrats, poll

Zogby Polls American Troops In Iraq

It seems like every time I turn around I’m told that the military is proud of what they are doing in Iraq and proud to be there. Mind you, I don’t hear that from the people I personally know in the military. I hear that from people on the internet who could be anyone really, but they usually claim to be a soldier, a soldier’s spouse or a soldier’s girlfriend.

And I’ve always said that I’m sure there are folks in both opinion camps regarding the war in Iraq.

However, Zogby International has actually taken a poll of 944 soldiers serving in Iraq and so now we don’t have to wonder. The results?

Le Moyne College/Zogby Poll shows just one in five troops want to heed Bush call to stay “as long as they are needed”

While 58% say mission is clear, 42% say U.S. role is hazy

Plurality believes Iraqi insurgents are mostly homegrown

Almost 90% think war is retaliation for Saddam’s role in 9/11, most don’t blame Iraqi public for insurgent attacks

Majority of troops oppose use of harsh prisoner interrogation

Plurality of troops pleased with their armor and equipment

An overwhelming majority of 72% of American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S. should exit the country within the next year, and nearly one in four say the troops should leave immediately, a new Le Moyne College/Zogby International survey shows.

The poll, conducted in conjunction with Le Moyne College’s Center for Peace and Global Studies, showed that 29% of the respondents, serving in various branches of the armed forces, said the U.S. should leave Iraq “immediately,” while another 22% said they should leave in the next six months. Another 21% said troops should be out between six and 12 months, while 23% said they should stay “as long as they are needed.”

Different branches had quite different sentiments on the question, the poll shows. While 89% of reserves and 82% of those in the National Guard said the U.S. should leave Iraq within a year, 58% of Marines think so. Seven in ten of those in the regular Army thought the U.S. should leave Iraq in the next year. Moreover, about three-quarters of those in National Guard and Reserve units favor withdrawal within six months, just 15% of Marines felt that way. About half of those in the regular Army favored withdrawal from Iraq in the next six months.

I was particularly interested in these results:

“Ninety-three percent said that removing weapons of mass destruction is not a reason for U.S. troops being there,” said Pollster John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International. “Instead, that initial rationale went by the wayside and, in the minds of 68% of the troops, the real mission became to remove Saddam Hussein.” Just 24% said that “establishing a democracy that can be a model for the Arab World” was the main or a major reason for the war. Only small percentages see the mission there as securing oil supplies (11%) or to provide long-term bases for US troops in the region (6%).

I’m sure someone on the extreme right will say that this poll is skewed for use by the “moonbats”. In the end, people believe what they want, regardless of facts.

Tags: Zogby Poll, Iraq, military, politics

What Are We Doing In Iraq Again?

Forty-five per cent of Iraqis believe attacks against British and American troops are justified.

Eighty-two percent of Iraqis are “strongly opposed” to the presence of coalition troops.

Less than one percent of the Iraqi population believes coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security and 67 percent of Iraqis feel less secure because of the occupation. In fact, 43 per cent of Iraqis believe conditions for peace and stability have worsened.

These are the results of a secret poll in August commissioned by Britian’s Ministry of Defense and conducted by an Iraqi university research team, who did not know the results would be used by coalition purposes.

More

Tags: Iraq, poll, politics

America’s Red, White, and Blue-colored Glasses Are Slipping

I know it’s wrong but a little Chinese food and this article on CNN.com cheered me up just a little.

A solid majority still see Bush as a strong and likable leader, though the poll indicates the president’s confidence is seen as arrogance by a growing number.

Approval of Bush’s handling of Iraq, which had been hovering in the low- to mid-40s most of the year, dipped to 38 percent. Midwesterners and young women and men with a high school education or less were most likely to disapprove of Bush on his handling of Iraq in the past six months.

If worries about Iraq continue, they could become a major issue in the 2006 midterm congressional races, and if the war is still going in 2008, they could be a factor in the presidential race.

Bush’s overall job approval was at 42 percent, with 55 percent disapproving. That is about where Bush’s approval has been all summer but slightly lower than at the beginning of the year.

The portion of respondents who consider Bush honest has dropped slightly from January, when 53 percent described him that way while 45 percent did not. Now, people are just about evenly split on that issue — with 48 percent saying he is honest and 50 percent saying he is not.

The drop in the number of people who see Bush as honest was largest among middle-aged Americans as well as suburban women, a key voting group in the 2004 election. A further erosion of trust could make it tougher for Bush to win support for his policies in Congress and internationally.

“The reason that trust is so important has to do with the long-standing belief that you could trust him, even if you don’t always agree with him and don’t understand what he’s doing,” said Bruce Buchanan, a political scientist at the University of Texas. “The honesty dip is partly caused by a loss of faith in his credibility on Iraq.”

Well, I certainly stopped trusting him the minute I didn’t understand with what he was doing in regards to what I didn’t agree with. I don’t understand why people kept clinging to these beliefs so blindly all this time.

But the portion of respondents who view his confidence as arrogance has increased from 49 percent in January to 56 percent now.

“This country is a monarchy,” said Charles Nuutinen, a 62-year-old independent from Greenville, Wisconsin. “He’s turning this country into Saudi Arabia. He does what he wants. He doesn’t care what the people want.”

Six in 10 surveyed said they think the country is headed down the wrong track, despite some encouraging economic news in recent weeks.

I feel like Harlan in Eight-Legged Freaks when frustrated, he asks if people have been paying attention to what he’s been saying all this time, warning them of impending danger. Hello?! President Bush is trying his very best to make this country a dictatorship, built on his own personal religious views or at least the religious views he claims to have. He doesn’t give a rats ass how he does it, he turns his nose up at the judicial system, he ignores requests from Congress. He’s a spoilled-rotton little boy who thinks he rules the world and won’t stop until women are secondary citizens and the homosexual community is rounded up into concentration camps.

Hmmmm…I’m all riled up now and my migraine’s coming back…but at least I feel like I got something off my chest.

Tags: CNN, poll, George W. Bush, Iraq, dictatorship

The Tide Is Changing

According to The Washington Post’s new poll, “for the first time since the war in Iraq began, more than half of the American public believes the fight there has not made the United States safer.”

Other interesting statistics:

• 75% of Americans say the number of casualties in Iraq is unacceptable.
• Nearly 6 in 10 say the war isn’t worth fighting.
• More than 4 in 10 are finding the Iraq Experience similar to that of Vietnam.
• 52% said the war in Iraq has not contributed to the long-term security of the United States.
• 52% disapprove of how Bush is handling his job, the highest of his presidency.
• 56% disapproved of Republicans in Congress, and an identical proportion disapproved of Democrats.
• “Six in 10 respondents said Bush and GOP leaders are not making good progress on the nation’s problems; of those, 67 percent blamed the president and Republicans while 13 percent blamed congressional Democrats.”
• 55% said Bush has done more to divide the country than to unite it.
• “By 50 percent to 49 percent, Americans approved of the way Bush is handling the campaign against terrorism, down from 56 percent approval in April, equaling the lowest rating he has earned on the issue that has consistently been his core strength with the public.”
• “Three in four Republicans said the Iraq invasion has boosted domestic security, while three in four Democrats said it has not. Political independents lean negative on the issue: About six in 10 said the war has not made Americans safer.”
• 44% believe the economy is doing well.
• “For the first time since April 2001, Democrats (46 percent) were trusted more than Republicans (41 percent) to cope with the nation’s problems.”
• “While six in 10 were confident that the United States was not violating the rights of detainees at the military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Americans were more skeptical that the government is protecting the rights of U.S. citizens at home. Only half said Americans’ rights were being adequately protected, down from 69 percent in September 2003.”

Tags: poll, Iraq, George W. Bush, Republicans, Democrats, terrorism, detainees, Guantanamo Bay

Have Your Own Opinion

I was examining the polls on CNN’s website today. I find it interesting that 50% of Americans still think it was worth it to go to Iraq and 47% say no. Usually polls aren’t that close either with only 3% not having an opinion.

Also to note, something like 62% don’t think Bush is doing a good job handling Iraq.

I remember a year ago, watching in horror as over a few months time the polls changed drastically from few people thinking we should go to war with Iraq to the majority thinking it was a grand idea. I remember how it seemed that everyone got on the bandwagon and cursed the French for not agreeing with the high-and-mighty U.S. popular opinion that Iraq needed a beating. I remeber the stupidity of boycotting French wine and French imports — even more stupid were the people who bought the expensive French wines to make public spectacles of themselves pouring it out in the streets. I remember that having an opinion that wasn’t popular could get you verbally abused, even from people who are supposed to be your friends. In fact, only a few months ago, I made an offhand observation about the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq (one of which I agreed with for the most part) and was verbally battered by someone who is supposed to be a close friend.

We are a fickle lot, we Americans. We are proud and stubborn, but we do tend to form our opinions based on what the media, our parents, our friends, and the people we respect as leaders tell us should be our opinions. Many of us vote the way our parents vote (I haven’t), are in the same political party as our parents (I’m not), have the same beliefs as our parents. (My father and I agree on many political things but this may be the first year we’ve voted the same in a decade.) Many people vote the way their spouses vote too.

So many of us don’t really have opinions of our own and that’s such a sad thing, because when we allow ourselves to get caught up in the rhetoric, in the propoganda, in the popular opinion, we cheat ourselves and we lose our identities. Indeed, there’s a truth that mob intelligence isn’t the brightest — in fact, mob intelligence usually means that the least intelligent is the influencing member. Stupidity usually comes out of such things — like rioting, looting, hysteria.

It’s one thing to stand up for what you believe in; it’s something entirely when you’re just standing up to be part of the crowd, whichever crowd it is that you want to be a part of.

Tags: poll, CNN, Iraq, politics, stupidity