Think Progress

19 percent:

By Amanda Terkel on Feb 20th, 2008 at 2:36 pm

19 percent:

President Bush’s latest approval rating, according to an American Research Group poll, down from 34 percent just one month ago. Seventy-seven percent of Americans disapprove of the job he is doing, and 79 percent disapprove of his handling of the economy. (HT: TP reader Jeff)

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131 Responses to “19 percent:”

  1. RUCerious Says:

    Wow! That's gotta hurt!

    gigi, r2, sm, you'll hang on till your in the last 3%, right?


  2. Bobwurst Says:

    Trolls don't need no polls. they just need to be afraid, very afraid.


  3. Styve Says:

    The artificial hover at the low 30's was such BS...finally a number that can be believed! Less than 20%...gotta love it!


  4. Buckie Boy Says:

    Which means in Seattle his approval rating is about -5%.

    Buck Fush


  5. RUCerious Says:

    There's only one way his approval rating could go up.

    Stay in Africa for 10 more months.


  6. ucsbclassics53 Says:

    Sweet! 77% of the country is whacked-out, Commie, hippie, LIBRULS! Not to forget, Un-American traitors...*sarcasm


  7. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    I guess this will sort out the hard-core 19 percenters from the merely brain-damaged 29 percenters.

    Incidentally, the poll results showed that, among Democrats, Bush has a job approval of ONE PERCENT.

    That sounds about right, for once.


  8. Jason M. Hendler Says:

    Polling report.com shows all the reputable surveyors have Bush in the 30's, with the lowest being 27% last month.

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

    Is American Research Group another one of Hill'reh's media watchdogs?


  9. zhoward Says:

    Does that include Barney?


  10. hellinabucket Says:

    I believe this is an all time low for any president. Can Gonzo point to a similar poll in which Lincoln hit such terribly low numbers?


  11. StratRat Says:

    Folks...I think the kool-aid is starting to wear off. Now if we can get the MSM to wake up, we might get our country back.

    Dems, can you read this: 19%. Nineteen Percent approval....

    Bush should get nothing from Congress, except a bus ticket out of town. At 19%, maybe the Dems can find a backbone.


  12. TheRadicalRightisRadicallyWrong Says:

    Hey Nancy, Yoo Hoo... Madame Speaker... Several of us here have made really nice tables, Can you PLEASE put IMPEACHMENT on one of them?


  13. Above the Clouds Says:

    . . . and Bush will leave with a legacy of an unpopular occupation of Iraq, a crushed economy, record debt, and an approval rating that he deserves. He and Rove will also be remembered as the comedy team that destroyed the Republican Party.


  14. joeldbloom Says:

    A Survey Researcher Explains How 34% Becomes 19%

    (I already posted a similar comment at Atrios and Kos, but it bears repeating here, since this 19% figure is getting a lot of play. I'm a survey researcher, by the way.)

    No doubt, Bush's job approval is low, but it's low-to-mid 30s low, not high teens low.

    Simply put, ARG is one of the worst polling operations in the country, for reasons that I will explain. Scroll down to the bottom of their page that you link to, and you'll see the actual wording of the questions, and the order in which they ask them. Notice that they have a whole battery of questions about the economy first, and then, right at the end of the survey they ask about Bush's job approval.

    This is the exact opposite of what a good public opinion poll does. You ask about the core "dependent variable" first (Bush approval) and THEN you ask about the independent variables (views of the economy).

    When it's done right, with the approval question first, you find out what people's views are of Bush. When it's done the way ARG does it, with approval last, you find out what people think about Bush after they've just been asked a whole bunch of questions about the economy. In other words, when you get people thinking about this crappy economy, it makes people even less likely to approve of Bush.

    So, OK, from pollsters who actually have some standards and know what the hell they're doing (i.e., pretty much everyone other than ARG) we know that Bush' actual job approval is in the low-to-mid 30% range. From ARG we know that if we get people thinking about the economy, it goes even lower.

    That's actually useful information, from a message-testing perspective. Democrats need to keep talking about the economy.

    Cheers!

    -- Joel


  15. specialist f Says:

    Comment by Jason M. Hendler
    Yep, 27% is something to be awfully proud of, huh man-handler. I take it you are in that minority of W humpers.


  16. Arn Gunnutes Says:

    Is American Research Group another one of Hill’reh’s media watchdogs?

    Comment by Jason M. Hendler — February 20, 2008 @ 2:46 pm

    No more than "Freedom Watch" is a "watchdog" for "freedom", or represents REAL Americans. Just TRAITORS like Bush and McCain.

    Thanks for asking...

    NRA Gun Nut(e)s


  17. RUCerious Says:

    Sorry, Jason, just because pollingreport.com doesn't include them doesn't discount the data.
    Here's the polling environment and questions, which of these is stacked/misleading/irrelevant??

    The American Research Group has been conducting national surveys of consumers since 1985.

    Sample Size: 1,100 completed telephone interviews among a random sample of all adults age 18 and older living in telephone households in the continental United States.

    Sample Dates: February 16-19, 2008

    Margin of Error: ± 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.

    Question Wording:

    How do you rate the condition of the national economy these days - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?

    Do you think the national economy is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

    Would you say that the national economy is in a recession, or not?

    A year from now, do you expect the national economy to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?

    How do you rate the condition of the financial situation in your household - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?

    Do you think the financial situation in your household is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

    A year from now, do you expect the financial situation in your household to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?

    Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?

    Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the economy?


  18. Leftside Annie Says:

    Hmmm. 19% approval, huh?

    Just wondering what percentage of Americans have IQ's below 90...


  19. blackolive Says:

    I submitted it to digg:

    http://www.digg.com/politics/Bush_19_approval

    If it's inappropriate to post digg links here just let me know. I'm new here.


  20. TheRadicalRightisRadicallyWrong Says:

    Senator McInsane, just keep your wagon hitched to this train wreck and Obama won't have to spend any money in the general... you'll send everyone his way!


  21. Fred Says:

    Comment by Jason M. Hendler
    Comment by good_golly

    that poll is skewed.......try ours....it's honest.


  22. lefty Says:

    Folks…I think the kool-aid is starting to wear off. Now if we can get the MSM to wake up, we might get our country back.

    The MSM aren't drinking anything - you just don't criticize your employers in the corporate world. It's getting to the point where the press are almost in a major conflict of interest just covering Bush and the Republicans.

    The reason the Dems have no backbone is that they are bought off as well. And I suspect that on top of that the REAL reason for the domestic spying is to have the digital goods on congressmen. There are NO other logical explanations for their treachery.


  23. RUCerious Says:

    Joel D, would it matter if they asked the approval first, then the rest of the questions, then asked them again if they wanted to change their answer to the first two based on the rest?


  24. bilbobaggins Says:

    Ouch. And McCain wants to hitch his wagon to that star.

    I find it amazing that some of the sheeple who I thought would always worship their father figures are actually coming around to the side of reason and light. There may be hope for this country after all.


  25. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    Why does Jason find the spelling of "Hillary" so tricky?

    Why does Jason not do further research to discover that ARG had the following recent approval ratings for the President:

    Nov 07 -- 31%
    Dec 07 -- 32%
    Jan 08 -- 34%

    This information might lead Jason to conclude that ARG's results have been in line with most other polls, and thus may not de facto be one of "Hill'reh's media watchdogs".

    Then again, it might lead Jason to conclude that the whole world is biased against him and his values.


  26. missmolly Says:

    Even with a 3% margin of error, the upper edge of that would be 22%.

    Even Congress is ahead of that.


  27. katy Says:

    please! let's not gloat!

    it makes me verrry nervous!

    =:-))


  28. Namtillaku Says:

    And yet the Democrats still won't talk impeachment.


  29. 2MillionLightYearsToAndromeda Says:

    I posted last week that this is our Buster Douglas moment.

    Buster Douglas stood up to a bully, Mike Tyson, 18 years ago. And knocked him out.

    If we had a real opposition party they'd see that this is THE moment to eviscerate Bush and the entire cabal of neo-con cockroaches.

    This is THE moment to begin impeachment inquiry.

    The neo-cons must be destroyed. Every last one of them. They need to be jailed, placed in a mental facility or driven out of the country.

    Otherwise they'll come back. And be even more dangerous.

    The next President MUST pledge to continue prosecution of their crimes. Its essential for the survival of our country.

    Bill Clinton let the crimes of poppy Bush pass (Iran Contra). This was a terrible mistake. It gave us George Jr. It gave us another vice-president running a war in secret from his bunker.

    The next president must understand this. And put an end to it.

    Mr. Obama, is this part of the "change" you preach? Please tell me it is.


  30. bilbobaggins Says:

    Polling report.com shows all the reputable surveyors have Bush in the 30’s, with the lowest being 27% last month.
    Is American Research Group another one of Hill’reh’s media watchdogs?
    Comment by Jason M. Hendler

    This troll obviously can't read. The poll referenced here was taken this month, not last month. In this particular poll, Bush was at 34% last month.

    Is there a troll out there that has even an ounce of critical thinking skills? It sure doesn't look that way from their posts.


  31. robbez_92107 Says:

    The surge is working!!!!!


  32. republicans hate facts Says:

    Polling report.com shows all the reputable surveyors have Bush in the 30’s, with the lowest being 27% last month.
    http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm
    Is American Research Group another one of Hill’reh’s media watchdogs?
    Comment by Jason M. Hendler — February 20, 2008 @ 2:46 pm

    Ah, POOR TARD, It's bad enough that you didn't know your Alma Matter was NOT an Ivy League School, and were DUMB ENOUGH to brag that it was - now your READING COMPREHENSION IS SOOOO POOORRR you ignore that this poll COMPARES TO LAST MONTH, which you cite as though it invalidates the polls from THIS MONTH!! Wow, and you can tie your own shoe laces and wipe your own *ss? You are one DUMB BOY! Are you a LEGACY STUDENT or just a PITY CASE for Stanford? Or have their standards DROPPED SO LOW that they'll let ANY DESPERATE PARENT send their BRAIN DAMAGED CHILD to school there? POOR LITTLE TARD, your COMMUNITY has our sympathy for being BURDENED with such a VILLAGE IDIOT!


  33. Jason M. Hendler Says:

    Low 30's for the President looks great against the low 20's for Congress.


  34. Wayne Says:

    Comment by Jason M. Hendler — February 20, 2008 @ 2:46 pm
    Comment by good_golly — February 20, 2008 @ 2:48 pm

    Hahahahahahaha

    19%ers......

    Hahahahahahaha


  35. Fred Says:

    Joel D, would it matter if they asked the approval first, then the rest of the questions, then asked them again if they wanted to change their answer to the first two based on the rest?

    Comment by RUCerious

    probably works for the same outfit that helps bush get the unemployment figures down to 5%.....does anyone believe that is correct?


  36. Jason M. Hendler Says:

    #31, bulbousbubo, rhf,

    I stated that all recent polls have Bush in the 30's, with the lowest being a month ago at 27% - just look at the link. AP-Ipsos was this month, and is double digits over ARG's tripe.


  37. katy Says:

    no... this is:

    'American Leadership Project’

    The new pro-Clinton 527, the American Leadership Project, incorporated with the IRS on Feb. 15, and lists as its chief a former Clinton White House deputy press secretary and former Gray Davis aide, Roger Salazar, according to its federal filing.
    […]
    http://www.politico.com/blogs/.....oject.html


  38. republicans hate facts Says:

    #31, bulbousbubo, rhf,
    I stated that all recent polls have Bush in the 30’s, with the lowest being a month ago at 27% - just look at the link. AP-Ipsos was this month, and is double digits over ARG’s tripe.
    Comment by Jason M. Hendler — February 20, 2008 @ 3:02 pm

    A lot happens in TWO WEEKS, it's called TIME - you STUPID BRAIN DAMAGED LITTLE WHINY POS!


  39. bilbobaggins Says:

    Low 30’s for the President looks great against the low 20’s for Congress.

    The silly troll with no critical thinking skills doesn't know that the reason why congress has low poll numbers IS BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT STAND UP TO BULLY BOY BUSH. I'm willing to bet that if someone took a poll today about Congress, that the numbers would be way up, because the Democrats finally took a stand and the American public are behind them. Perhaps this will encourage them to stand up to Bully Boy Bush more often.


  40. missmolly Says:

    Why does Jason find the spelling of “Hillary” so tricky?

    Comment by ralph the wonder llama — February 20, 2008 @ 2:56 pm

    Jason is under the misguided notion that spelling "Hillary" that way is insulting to us and will somehow bring us to our knees. Sort of like Rush Limbaugh saying "Democrat Party" instead of "Democratic Party".

    In reality, Jason isn't insulting us. First -- most of us don't even realize what the dig means. Is Jason channeling Col. Sanders for some unexplained reason? Second -- most of us aren't rabid Hillary fans, and we really don't care. Third (and probably most obvious) -- it just makes Jason look like a laughable fool, which is good for a little entertainment, but it gets old.


  41. Guido OBGYN Lover Says:

    If the senate or congress gives this traitor one more thing I'm gonna freak out.


  42. republicans hate facts Says:

    Oh, and Hendler AKA Assburgers boy, if you weren't so BRAIN DAMAGED you would notice that on the link YOU POSTED there was a significant trend downward in the last polls taken. They were all 10-20% off the previous polling period, so this precipitous drop is in fact in line with that trend.

    Did you take anything beyond remedial math? Assburgers child?


  43. Fred Says:

    funny to watch them try to hedge up from the low 20's....and 30's pretty sad guys.


  44. jpoke42 Says:

    Hey, maybe asking the approval rating question at the end is actually MORE accurate than in the begining. Making people think before answering a question sure makes sense to me.


  45. Shayne Says:

    Jason and GG are PROUD 19 percenters. No shame whatsoever.


  46. Leftside Annie Says:

    37 - Please, Jason, please keep defending Chimpy!

    It accurately points up exactly how stupid you truly are, and frankly, I enjoy watching you soil yourself. ;o)


  47. bilbobaggins Says:

    I stated that all recent polls have Bush in the 30’s, with the lowest being a month ago at 27% - just look at the link. AP-Ipsos was this month, and is double digits over ARG’s tripe.
    Comment by Jason M. Hendler

    Could this troll get any more stupid? It iss comparing a pool taken this month to a poll taken last month. And it fails to see that this particular polling outfit had Bush at 34% last month. I wonder what it is going to do when all the other polling outfits start coming in with similar numbers. Do you think it's head will explode (one can only wish).


  48. republicans hate facts Says:

    Low 30’s for the President looks great against the low 20’s for Congress.
    Comment by Jason M. Hendler — February 20, 2008 @ 3:00 pm

    Well considering that MOST of that disapproval is aimed at REPUBLICANS in congress for derailing their will, and not standing up to the 19% approval president, it's pretty consistent. You SAD PATHETIC little anti-social moron.


  49. bilbobaggins Says:

    #48 poll not pool...


  50. Guido OBGYN Lover Says:

    Ha! Jason you're no the first neocon scumbag to relish 30's approvals. The instant you open your mouth you showcase your idiocy. Like a switch.

    Congress is low because they haven't tied Bush to the rack.


  51. republicans hate facts Says:

    Could this troll get any more stupid? It iss comparing a pool taken this month to a poll taken last month. And it fails to see that this particular polling outfit had Bush at 34% last month. I wonder what it is going to do when all the other polling outfits start coming in with similar numbers. Do you think it’s head will explode (one can only wish).
    Comment by bilbobaggins — February 20, 2008 @ 3:08 pm

    ROTFL!! I know, and it's OWN RESOURCE actually showed this! Poor Hendler is clearly the child of a f**ked up genome!


  52. StratRat Says:

    Low 30’s for the President looks great against the low 20’s for Congress.

    Comment by Jason M. Hendler

    I guess you search for any port in a storm, huh Jason?

    You know as much as anybody that Congress's approval rating is directly tied to its inability to stand up to Bush and get done what the voters in November made clear they wanted done. The voters want their country back - and so should you.

    The people are speaking...Is you learning yet?


  53. republicans hate facts Says:

    Hendler was SO DUMB on the think fast he claimed that Harry Reid's mother was a brothel worker that had Harry as a result of her prostitution! The poor tard was TOO DUMB to realize she was a LAUNDRY LADY that did laundry for ALL OF THE TOWNS PEOPLE including the Brothel, and that Harry's Mom and Dad were poor hard working married folks! This is the sort of LAME INEXCUSABLE DISHONESTY that the IMMORAL RIGHT is only capable of! And the IRONIC PART is the TINY WHINY little Hendler is complaining that Reid is FEMININE!!! How's that for the ULTIMATE CASE OF PROJECTION!!!! Hendler, you are a WHINY LITTLE B**CH, get over yourself - GIRLFRIEND!


  54. republicans hate facts Says:

    The people are speaking…Is you learning yet?
    Comment by StratRat — February 20, 2008 @ 3:11 pm

    Didn't you know? Hendler disn't have to learning, he went to Stanford (an Ivy League *cough* *not*) school!! All he has to do is throw around his diploma, hire foreign workers, and CLAIM THEIR WORK for his own!!! ;)


  55. stewarjt Says:

    19% is like water off a duck's back for Dinkledork. He doesn't "see" it that way. In his own mind and no where else he is as good of a president as Lincoln.


  56. bilbobaggins Says:

    Among Republicans (29% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 45% approve of the way Bush is handling his job and 50% disapprove.

    This is what I find most telling about the survey and it doesn't bode well for McCain. Over half the Republicans surveyed disapprove of the job Bush is doing. Do you think they are going to vote for McCain?


  57. lefty Says:

    And yet the Democrats still won’t talk impeachment.

    They have the goods on them. Public corruption and personal embarassment. There is no other logical explanation.


  58. jpoke42 Says:

    If we are going to do anything about the impeachable offenses, we need to do it NOW. Once Obama gets elected, he will tell the country we just need to get past it, after all he is running on a unity platform. Although I will vote for him, he will leave the door open to future Republican corruption by not exposing all the illegalities of this current admin.

    2MLYTA - I agree with what you are saying, but Obama ain't gonna do it. Congress needs to act NOW before the moment is too late.


  59. missmolly Says:

    Comment by joeldbloom — February 20, 2008 @ 2:50 pm

    You have a valid point in that it's possible Bush does better in polls when those questioned don't have a chance to think about what their life is like during his administration.

    But how do you explain that November, December, and January had Bush approval ratings in the low 30's -- similar to other polls? Did ARG change their methodology overnight?


  60. specialist f Says:

    Is you learning yet?Comment by StratRat
    Nah! He's too busy putting food on his family and practicing love with his patients. Fool him once sha-shame on bush,fool him twice,won't get fooled again! ;)


  61. joeldbloom Says:

    Missmolly,

    Not sure -- in the past, they have alternated asking about different topics up front different months. I can't tell from their site when the last time they asked about the economy was, but you can see from their trend lines that their numbers jump around a lot.

    RUcerious,

    That would be an interesting experiment. I'm not sure what it would get you -- probably something interesting, but still not a true measure of presidential approval. It could actually be pretty useful for Democratic Party message testing, though.

    -- Joel


  62. republicans hate facts Says:

    And yet the Democrats still won’t talk impeachment.
    They have the goods on them. Public corruption and personal embarassment. There is no other logical explanation.
    Comment by lefty — February 20, 2008 @ 3:13 pm

    Without honest and willing Republican Senators that will prosecute the wrong doing, impeachment is political theater and nothing more. The Republicans have the press, and enough members in the Senate to block an impeachment. That's the logical explanation, that it's an exercise that won't produce a removal from office, but would be both highly divisive (even more than now) and would distract the work of both houses for a considerable part of an election year. The republicans have been WHINING about a do nothing congress, despite it's many accomplishments - this would feed right into that fervor, and they've made it clear they would use it as a weapon in the election.

    So in otherwords, you're facing an enemy that would rather poison the well, and even destroy the country than hold their own accountable. This means that if your goal is impeaching bush, it's not possible with this Congress. If your goal is doing political theater, that's a different matter.


  63. republicans hate facts Says:

    Left-leaning NPR has Bush’s approval rating at 38%.
    Comment by good_golly — February 20, 2008 @ 3:19 pm

    No that was HAD not HAS, the poll was from over a month ago, and as this thread CLEARLY STATES, Bush's numbers have plummeted in that time. You TARDS have a really difficult issue with TIME, don't you? Because Saddam HAD WMDs, doesn't mean he HAS WMDs - that's the problem you had when you invaded, it's STILL a problem. Do you have AssBurgers like Hendler, or are you TARDED in another way?


  64. missmolly Says:

    I guess you search for any port in a storm, huh Jason?

    You know as much as anybody that Congress’s approval rating is directly tied to its inability to stand up to Bush and get done what the voters in November made clear they wanted done.

    Comment by StratRat — February 20, 2008 @ 3:11 pm

    Jason also forgets that comparing presidential approval ratings to congressional approval ratings is comparing apples to oranges.

    Presidential ratings reflect the evaluation of one person. Congressional ratings reflect the evaluation of a body of 535 people, including a fair number that any given questionee will hate. For this reason, congressional approval ratings are almost always lower than presidential ratings -- just as they were even BEFORE the 2006 election (although right after the 2006 election and for several months into 2007, congress often had higher marks).

    When individual members of the House and Senate are rated by their constituents, the polling results are much higher.

    But this is all poor Jason has to fight back with. Why he backs a pathetically awful presidential administration is still unknown, but since "low congressional ratings" are about the only tool in his kit, he'll use it.


  65. Democrat Soldier Says:

    #8 - "Is American Research Group another one of Hill’reh’s media watchdogs?" Comment by Jason M. Hendler — February 20, 2008 @ 2:46 pm

    Wow, didja hurt yourself stretching that far?

    Latest Texas Poll (Feb 14th):

    Clinton - 42%
    Obama - 48%


  66. Democrat Soldier Says:

    #67 - "In other words, they stick their finger in the air and say whatever they think the public wants to hear." Comment by good_golly — February 20, 2008 @ 3:25 pm

    Thank you for implying that "your side" refuses to consider WHAT the people want!


  67. Democrat Soldier Says:

    #61 - "Left-leaning NPR has Bush’s approval rating at 38%." Comment by good_golly — February 20, 2008 @ 3:19 pm

    Which proves it's not as "left leaning" as you think!


  68. Keith H. Says:

    Ha Ha Ha Ha, serves the pig-sh!t right.

    LOUUU - - ZERRRRRRRR


  69. robbez_92107 Says:

    That’s not my definition of leadership though.

    Comment by goon_goony — February 20, 2008 @ 3:25 pm

    Not fascist enough for you, right?


  70. Wayne Says:

    That’s not my definition of leadership though.
    Comment by good_golly — February 20, 2008 @ 3:25 pm

    Your definition of leadership is someone who ignores Rule of Law.
    We already know that.

    19%er.....

    Hahahahaha


  71. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    Thank you for admitting that Democrats base their “message” on “the polls.” In other words, they stick their finger in the air and say whatever they think the public wants to hear. That’s not my definition of leadership though.

    Comment by good_golly — February 20, 2008 @ 3:25 pm

    I wonder exactly what "message" Gigi thinks is based on this poll?

    Oh, that's right -- Gigi is standing naked in an intersection, so she reaches for any scrap of any material that she thinks will cover her hideous Chimp-humping nakedness. Even if she has to rely on poor reading comprehension to get there.


  72. muzz Says:

    .. and the wing nuts are trying to make a big deal out of Michelle Obama's comment about finally feeling proud - gee, ya think maybe most of the country has finally had it with the scum bags that are ruining this country


  73. Tired of being lied to Says:

    OK, so how much worse does it have to get before Bush is the undisputed "Worst President Ever?"

    Kind of boggles the mind to think that the Republipukes good ol' days were when his approval rating was in the 30's, and only 60-70% of the US thought him poor...

    Impeach them all.


  74. republicans hate facts Says:

    Thank you for admitting that Democrats base their “message” on “the polls.” In other words, they stick their finger in the air and say whatever they think the public wants to hear. That’s not my definition of leadership though.
    Comment by good_golly — February 20, 2008 @ 3:25 pm

    Oh, POOR TARD, we live in a DEMOCRACY (well actually a Republic), and the WILL OF THE PEOPLE is reflected in ELECTION and POLLING between the ELECTION! That's called a REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT - something you FASCISTS don't TRUST, and why you're UNAMERICAN and a DANGER TO CIVLIZED SOCIETY!


  75. republicans hate facts Says:

    65. Check your facts Mr. “republicans hate facts.” The NPR poll was not “from over a month ago” as you falsely claim. The poll was taken from 1/29 - 1/31 — clearlly LESS than a month ago.
    Comment by good_golly — February 20, 2008 @ 3:27 pm

    OK, it was taken LAST MONTH, how about that, TARD? Make you FEEL BETTER? And guess what this thread is about, how polls taken LAST MONTH look very different from this one taken THIS MONTH!!! Wow, you look like a MORON - YET AGAIN - something you CLEARLY NEVER TIRE OF DOING!!! ;)


  76. republicans hate facts Says:

    What do we know about Republicans?

    They don't believe in Democracy or the will of the people.

    They don't believe in free enterprise, only fascist corporatism.

    They don't believe in the constitution or civil liberties.

    They don't believe in small government, just big corporate welfare.

    They don't believe in facts, science or reason.

    They don't believe in government, and use that to excuse why they are so bad at running it!

    Just another set of modern fascist radicals, and unamerican traitors!


  77. Buckie Boy Says:

    Jason M. Hindkisser has a poster of Bush and Cheney on the ceiling above his bed....ok, sheet stain you can defend the low 30ers all you want, but face the facts, you are backing a war criminal loser.

    Buck Fush


  78. katy Says:

    OT - sorry, but, whatthehell is THIS about... i just heard this on randi...
    W T F ???

    A Clinton surrogate, Tom Buffenbarger went off on an anti-OBAMA DIATRIBE when he learned that Obama won Wisconsin.
    http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/02/20/684411.aspx

    REALLY!!! WHAT IS GOING ON?

    WAY TO HELP UNITE THE COUNTRY, HILLARY!


  79. republicans hate facts Says:

    Looking at the individual parties, there is little difference in your beloved “polls.” Just under three quarters (22%) of Americans view Republicans job performance in a positive manner while 72 percent view it negatively (almost unchanged from 23% positive and 73% negative in December). For Democrats the news is only slightly better as one-quarter (26%) view their job in a positive light, up from 23 percent in December, and seven in ten (70%) view it negatively (down from 73 percent in December). Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has seen her job performance steadily decrease since she took the gavel last year. Just one-quarter (25%) view her job in a positive light while over half (57%) view it negatively. This is down from October when 29 percent viewed her positively and 57 percent negatively.
    http://www.centredaily.com/business/story/402675.html
    Comment by good_golly — February 20, 2008 @ 3:34 pm

    That's true, but most of the reasons in the polls for disapproval of Democrats by the MAJORITY of Americans stems from them not being willing to go nuclear on your traiterous *sses!


  80. TheToonGuy Says:

    It didn't take long for the neocons to "blame the messenger." Just like their beloved leader, they prefer to ignore any unpleasant facts.

    Newsflash, folks - the majority of Americans are sick and tired with the gang that has been running things since 2000. Is that clear enough for you?


  81. shoeless Says:

    Hmmm. 19% approval, huh?

    Just wondering what percentage of Americans have IQ’s below 90…

    Comment by Leftside Annie

    18%.

    The other 1% are those who benefit from Bush's tax cuts.


  82. Dave von Ebers Says:

    Joel, I don't doubt your expertise on the subject. But, I have to say I'm not persuaded by the oder-of-the-questions argument. Why are the results more valid if the general question (do you approve or disapprove of the job Bush is doing) is asked first? Maybe that only means that folks answer the general question without giving it much thought.

    If the specific issue questions are asked first, the respondents' answers to the "approval" question may well be more honest because those answers are given after they've had to think about specific issues like the economy, the war and so on. It seems to me the favored method, in which you ask whether the respondent approves or disapproves of Bush first, tends to give results that are skewed in Bush's favor.

    Having said that, I recognize that the methodology is more complicated than that ... but I'm still unconvinced.


  83. shoeless Says:

    That’s not my definition of leadership though.

    Comment by good_golly

    Yeah, your definition of leadership has 19% of the people following him.


  84. LividLib Says:

    Low 30’s for the President looks great against the low 20’s for Congress.

    Comment by Jason M. Hendler — February 20, 2008 @ 3:00 pm

    you're a desperate fool.
    try again.


  85. shoeless Says:

    Low 30’s for the President looks great against the low 20’s for Congress.

    Comment by Jason M. Hendler

    There are obviously way too many Republicans in Congress.


  86. RUCerious Says:

    The Trolltools tiny little dhow is leaking big time, and they're just standing up, holding onto the mast, singing for God and Country!
    Off key, I might add.


  87. StratRat Says:

    In other words, they stick their finger in the air and say whatever they think the public wants to hear. That’s not my definition of leadership though.

    Comment by good_golly

    We are the employers, they are the employees - it is that simple. They better listen to what the public wants, or they will be GONE! Bush's philosophy is what brought about the 19% approval rating. He doesn't listen to his employers, and his employers do not like the direction Bush is taking us, hence the dismal rating.

    Leadership takes on many forms. Leadership does not mean poke your electorate in the eye with a stick - or piss off the entire planet. Leadership sometimes means you need to adjust your course to better serve your country - not only the businesses of that country.


  88. republicans hate facts Says:

    In other words, they stick their finger in the air and say whatever they think the public wants to hear. That’s not my definition of leadership though.
    Comment by good_golly

    You mean like Cheney did with the Energy Task Force? Or like Bush did with the Religious Right Extremists when it came to their getting their cut of federal policy dollars? The Republicans do this much more than Democrats, the difference is that Democrats where what the PEOPLE think, and Republicans only care with Big Business (and Religious Businesses) think - they don't care about the COUNTRY, just their BIG MONIED FRIENDS! That makes them/you HYPOCRITES and UNAMERICAN FASCIST PIGS!


  89. rmwarnick Says:

    Nixon's worst approval rating = 23%
    Truman's all-time low approval (until now) = 22%

    Bush deserves credit for this accomplishment. In October 2001, he was the most popular president since polling began, with 92% approval. Now he's the least popular ever.


  90. gummitch Says:

    63. Thank you for admitting that Democrats base their “message” on “the polls.” In other words, they stick their finger in the air and say whatever they think the public wants to hear. That’s not my definition of leadership though.

    Comment by good_golly — February 20, 2008 @ 3:25 pm

    God forbid a political party should inform people on the subject they're clearly most interested in discussing. Much better, in goonland, to tell them what they should be interested in--or afraid of.


  91. joe cantwell Says:

    gg and jas are really theirs asses kicked today aren't they?

    how much do they get paid for this?


  92. republicans hate facts Says:

    Thank you for admitting that Democrats base their “message” on “the polls.” In other words, they stick their finger in the air and say whatever they think the public wants to hear. That’s not my definition of leadership though.
    Comment by good_golly — February 20, 2008 @ 3:25 pm

    So you believe we should ignore what the people want, and do whatever the LEADER wants? Dear TARD, that's called a DICTATORSHIP, and if THAT is you and your REPUBLICANTARD view of where this country should be, then get the hell out of here, and move to a dictatorship WHERE YOU BELONG - YOU UNAMERICAN POS!


  93. Fred Says:

    gg and jas are really theirs asses kicked today aren’t they?

    how much do they get paid for this?

    Comment by joe cantwell

    I heard somewhere that they get 10 cents a response.......so on a long day they might make 20 bucks on a thread........that's probably why they like to try to work 2 or more threads at a time.


  94. zuch Says:

    #4 Buckie Boy:

    Which means in Seattle his approval rating is about -5%.

    I suggested one way that a below-zero approval rating could be wangled here. Kind of a "carbon credit trading" thing with "approval credits" might work too, allowing some people to go over (or under, in this case) the limit in return for cash payments....

    Cheers,


  95. RUCerious Says:

    Shorter trollspeak: Fu(k up everything U touch = Leadership.


  96. dictatortot Says:

    There's a compilation of hundreds of polls right here that calculates Bush's +/-

    The last time his positives were higher than his negatives was December of 2005...and that was a small poll by a little-known pollster at that.

    http://www.newsprism.com


  97. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    Comment by Jason M. Hendler — February 20, 2008 @ 3:00 pm

    you’re a desperate fool.
    try again.

    Comment by LividLib — February 20, 2008 @ 3:39 pm

    On second thought, Jason, just stop trying.

    Maybe take up needlepoint. Or model airplanes.


  98. dictatortot Says:

    Oops, here's the link to the compilation of polls:
    http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm


  99. zuch Says:

    #15 Joel:

    When it’s done right, with the approval question first, you find out what people’s views are of Bush. When it’s done the way ARG does it, with approval last, you find out what people think about Bush after they’ve just been asked a whole bunch of questions about the economy. In other words, when you get people thinking about this crappy economy, it makes people even less likely to approve of Bush.

    So what's the problem here exactly? Should they also have put in some questions on Iraq?

    Cheers,


  100. RUCerious Says:

    zuch, it would be kinda like asking someone how's your day going?
    Then telling them their kid got hit my a car, the dog peed on the couch and your neighbor is banging your spouse.

    Now how's your day?


  101. Bubs Says:

    This poll does look like it has problems. Priming questions that are going to make people think negatively about government in general are likely to make the presidential approval rating be lower than it would be in a simple question regarding whether or not the respondent approves of how well the president is doing. When asking about the economy before approval of Bill Clinton, pollsters were able to get higher approval ratings than through other polls. A different set of questions, say concerning adultery, would likely hurt his Presidential approval.

    But... I challenge anyone to come up with a set of priming questions that give Clinton a 19% approval rating. How about a set of priming questions that get GWB above 50%. This poll may not be perfect, but it still exhibits a problem that Bush has. Evaluating the President based on how well he or she handles the economy is not the worst idea in the world.

    Rather than focus on minor problems with the polls, perhaps defenders of GWB should be thinking about the major problems that get an approval rating this low in the first place.


  102. McWars Says:

    The administration will likely spin this as the 19% pre-approval rating. "It's liekly to geet highery," shrub said.


  103. Keith Says:

    Comment by rmwarnick — February 20, 2008 @ 3:49 pm

    Just before 9/11, Bush was at 50%. Just after, he was at 92%. And the only thing he did before those two dates was LET 9/11 HAPPEN.


  104. joeldbloom Says:

    This is a fun discussion. Just to respond to a few folks, the idea is that if you want to know people's opinion about a subject you want to ask them about it in an unbiased information environment. With or without questions asked beforehand, when people are asked about any given topic, most people make a quick attempt to access the information that is most readily at hand and process it efficiently.

    Now, presidential job approval isn't a typical topic. Most people have pretty clear opinions regardless of how you ask the question. But for a substantial number of people, their responses can change depending on what information is closest at hand when the question is asked. This is the same reason approval went up immediately after 9/11 and went down in the aftermath of Katrina et al.

    But in the context of a survey, you want to be sure that you're not feeding your respondents information that can bias their responses one way or another. For Bush now, almost anything you put in there before would make his numbers go down. But there was a time (in 2003) when it mattered a lot what you put first. At that time, ARG went every other month preceding the job approval question with either banks of questions about Iraq or the economy. In months when they led with the questions on Iraq, Bush's approval looked several points higher than other pollsters' polls. When they led on the economy, their results were several points lower. The difference from month to month was typically 10-20 points. You'd think this would have clued them in that they were doing something wrong, but it looks like the folks at ARG are pretty stupid.

    Anyway, my main point is that if you really want to know raw public opinion on any topic, and especially in this case, presidential job approval, ask that question first. If you want to know what people think after they've been given other topics to think about then by all means ask about other stuff first. But these are fundamentally different polls. The former is a public opinion poll; the latter is a message testing poll.

    The fact that, as low as Bush's approval is right now across a spectrum of polling organizations, there is still so much room for it to go down even further once you get people thinking about the economy, is awfully good news for the democrats. If they can actually run a good campaign instead of a stupid one (yes, Mark Penn, I'm talking to you!) they can really bring Republicans' numbers down.

    -- Joel


  105. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    Just before 9/11, Bush was at 50%. Just after, he was at 92%. And the only thing he did before those two dates was LET 9/11 HAPPEN.

    Comment by Keith — February 20, 2008 @ 4:21 pm

    Actually, Keith, I believe Bush was in the 40s in most polls the summer before 9/11.


  106. GSD Says:

    Poor Hendler and the Troll Brigades are reduced to arguing that Bush is REALLY AT 27% in the pols.

    I can't stop laughing.

    Pretty soon they'll be bragging that Bob Geldoff spoke well of George W. McCainBush.

    -GSD


  107. GSD Says:

    Suddenly the GOP-ers who thought that their 'Redstate" mandate(Nothing to do with Larry Craig) in the polls was so important!

    Everyone loves us!

    Now that they are in the gutter with Captain Monkey Nuts, polls don't matter.

    Funny stuff.

    -GSD


  108. RUCerious Says:

    joel #109.
    I agree with you. I've developed lots of surveys and it is really easy to lead folks into the conclusion you want with the order and tenor of the questions. But 19%? Wow, that's still pretty low. Cheers!


  109. Dreary Urbanite Says:

    How many of these losers are so stupid they didn't even understand the question? My guess is about half so the Decider's real approval rating may be as low as 9.5%.


  110. katy Says:

    Now how’s your day?
    Comment by RUCerious @ 4:06 pm

    L O L ...


  111. Keith Says:

    Just before 9/11, Bush was at 50%. Just after, he was at 92%. And the only thing he did before those two dates was LET 9/11 HAPPEN.

    Comment by Keith — February 20, 2008 @ 4:21 pm

    Actually, Keith, I believe Bush was in the 40s in most polls the summer before 9/11.

    Comment by ralph the wonder llama — February 20, 2008 @ 4:26 pm

    Au contraire, Ralph. Just looked at pollingreport.com They had nine organizations that went back that far. His approval ranged from 50% to 55%.

    He hadn't had enough time by then to really screw things up after his wonderful inheritance from Clinton. Except he allowed 9/11 to happen. But people's psychology is really screwy and they saw that as a time to give him high marks. Range of 72%-88% immediately after. Later into the 90's.


  112. Uncle Ho Says:

    Limbo lower now,

    limbo lower now,

    how low can you go?


  113. hellinabucket Says:

    JK smoking crack again.

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

    a steady decline. But you keep believing that fearspreader. You deserve eachother.


  114. hellinabucket Says:

    That's funny, "Climbed to 34% from 31%..." Similar to a doctor telling you he first thought you had 8 broken ribs but you only have 7.

    That "climb" is still within the margin of error and could even possibly had dropped.

    But you keep on believing in the shadows instead of the real world.


  115. tombaker Says:

    screw the polls - outside of the righty hardliners that annoy everyone here, i do not know of a person who has anything but contempt left for the Cheerleader Prince.

    It's unanimous - America knows Bush sucks/sucked/will suck.

    end o'story. - yes, john kerry - the end - bottom line - final analysis.


  116. Keith Says:

    Comment by John Kerry — February 20, 2008 @ 4:56 pm

    Nice try, JK. As ALWAYS, Bush only looks good compared to the depths of Bush---never compared to Bill Clinton. Compare Bush's consumer confidence to Clinton's. Compare Bush's job growth to Clinton's. Compare Bush's job approval to Clinton's. Compare Bush's unemployment to Clinton's. Compare Bush's record deficits to Clinton's record surpluses. Compare Bush's stock market to Clinton's. Compare Bush's middle-class wages to Clinton's. Compare Bush's % below poverty to Clinton's. Compare Bush's numbers without healthcare to Clinton's. Etc., Etc., Etc.


  117. Lefty Patriot Says:

    Bush isn't even at 19%. The rightwing media and polling organizations have been adding 8 to 10 points to his numbers since 9/11. He's at 10%, no more than that.


  118. pete Says:

    ROTFLMAO!!!


  119. Fred Says:

    The usual lib spin!
    Now for the truth:
    signed John Kerry

    then proceeds to spin it to the right.........no proof, no link, just the usual lies. The really sad part is that this guy expects to be taken seriously.

    I find it offensive that a right wing troll would take an honorable veterans name and besmirtch it in such a way.....it's just un-American.

    So you see JK. No matter what you say.....because of your dishonesty which has been proven repeatedly.....you will never be taken seriously.

    Because I feel so sorry for you I am throwing you this 10 cents which is what I understand that trolls get for each response.......enjoy.


  120. Jason M. Hendler Says:

    #111, GSD,

    When Reps are 10+ points above the approval rating of Congress, then yes, we can brag.


  121. tombaker Says:

    k, jmh, we'll just go ahead and pretend no one knows that the congressional numbers reflect the cynically unwise tactical plays R's have been into since last fall, then it will make pretend-sense to us, like it does for you.

    we're all really deflated now, from getting beaned with your mighty wiffleball of truth.


  122. republicans hate facts Says:

    #111, GSD,
    When Reps are 10+ points above the approval rating of Congress, then yes, we can brag.
    Comment by Jason M. Hendler — February 20, 2008 @ 6:52 pm

    ROTFL!!! Sorry, but the 28%ers have NOTHING to brag about - you poor pathetic little brain damaged TARD!


  123. republicans hate facts Says:

    For some reason that doesn’t sound bad at all!
    Nice try libbies!!!
    Comment by John Kerry — February 20, 2008 @ 4:56 pm

    ROTFL!!! Posting something from LAST MONTH just makes you look like an EVEN BIGGER MORON!! ROTFL!! What a bunch of BRAIN DAMAGED LITTLE CHILDREN you WINGNUTS ARE!


  124. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    Keith, at pollingreport.com, the CBS News/NY Times favorability poll for Aug 31 '01 had Bush at a 40% favorable.

    True, the majority of job approval polls had Bush hovering around or just above 50% approval, several of them had him in the 40s in August of '01, during his six-week long vacation, during which he responded to a PDB entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US" with a snide "Okay, now you've covered your ass."


  125. Bluestocking Says:

    I think it's time for another chorus of the Lame Duck Limbo....

    HOW LOW CAN HE GO?
    HOW LOW CAN HE GO?
    HOW LOW CAN HE GO?
    HOW LOW CAN HE GO?


  126. azwazzy2 Says:

    I thought those questions seemed familiar! I was one of the registered voters who was polled. Yes, these were the questions.. no. they were not asked in that particular order. I was able to give my opinion of Bush about 5 minutes into the poll which took about 15 minutes to complete. Does that make a difference? Not in my book as my opinion of Dubya could get no lower, no matter what questions were asked or in what order.


  127. DaTruth Says:

    Disaster In Chief


  128. ctcadguy Says:

    If you think 19% is low, wait until America realizes 911 was an inside job or False Flag incident. 51% want Cheney/Bush investigated by Congress as of last September. http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1354. I bet those numbers are much higher today.

    Too much video evidence of the Towers being exploded. Google 911 squibs and few the multitude of premature cutting charges going off on Towers 1,2 & 7.

    The rest of the world realizes whats going on. America is only now waking up to the facts.


  129. Parrotlover77 Says:

    If we are going to do anything about the impeachable offenses, we need to do it NOW. Once Obama gets elected, he will tell the country we just need to get past it, after all he is running on a unity platform. Although I will vote for him, he will leave the door open to future Republican corruption by not exposing all the illegalities of this current admin.

    Bush ran on a unity platform too. And you saw how long that lasted. Maybe Obama will end up being very liberal and Attorney General John Edwards (**dream**) could start the prosecutions of this adminsitration's criminal acts.


  130. aceiii222 Says:

    If you on the left think that Bushy Bush has it bad, take a look at our Democratic Congress!
    http://www.digg.com/politics/Gallup_Poll_Congress_Approval_Rating_at_All_Time_Low


  131. batteries Says:

    then proceeds to spin it to the right………no proof, no link, just the usual lies. The really sad part is that this guy expects to be taken seriously.

    I find it offensive that a right wing troll would take an honorable veterans name and besmirtch it in such a way…..it’s just un-American.

    So you see JK. No matter apple ma348 battery,apple a1022 battery what you say…..because of your dishonesty which has been proven repeatedly…..you will never be taken seriously.



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