Taking a first class beating.
Posted on 03/15/2006 10:25:20 PM PST by jmc1969
In the aftermath of the Dubai ports deal, President Bush's approval rating has hit a new low and his image for honesty and effectiveness has been damaged. Yet the public uncharacteristically has good things to say about the role that Congress played in this high-profile controversy.
Most Americans (58%) believe Congress acted appropriately in strenuously opposing the deal, while just 24% say lawmakers made too much of the situation.
The new Pew survey underscores the public's alarm over the prospect that an Arab-owned company could have operated U.S. ports. There was broad opposition to the proposed deal from across the political spectrum, including two-to-one disapproval among conservative Republicans (56%-27%).
Bush's overall approval measure stands at 33%, the lowest rating of his presidency.
The president's ratings for handling of several specific issues, particularly terrorism, have also declined sharply. Just 42% now approve of Bush's job in handling terrorist threats, an 11-point drop since February. In January 2005, as Bush was starting his second term, 62% approved of his handling of terrorist threats.
Bush's personal image also has weakened noticeably, which is reflected in people's one-word descriptions of the president. Honesty had been the single trait most closely associated with Bush, but in the current survey "incompetent" is the descriptor used most frequently.
Congress has drawn bipartisan praise from the American public for its response to the possible transfer of U.S. port operations to a United Arab Emirates company. Nearly two-thirds of Democrats (68%), and roughly half each of independents (53%) and Republicans (49%) said Congress acted appropriately, though a third of Republicans felt too much was made of the issue.
(Excerpt) Read more at people-press.org ...
Bush has lost his political touch. That is not good for the nation. I hope he realizes it.
Taking a first class beating.
He never had it.
Bush is a former cheerleader from Connecticut. He's a simple man thrust into politics by the Bush name.
He's not a bad guy at all, but he's a small man trying to do a big job. Not a bad man, but just not right for the part.
You don't actually believe this poll from Pew .. do you ..??
For months the liberals have been over-sampling democrat ADULTS - not LIKELY VOTERS. When dems and reps are equally sampled, the President's approval number was 46 PERCENT.
These people are dreaming - they have used more than 12% more dems than reps (and I'm confident of that because that's the number CBS used to get 34%), and they also pretend to use 25% independents - and that is not a legitimate number.
Bush has not lost his political touch - you have not been paying attention. Check out the posts of DrDeb - she does the real analysis and I'll tell you her numbers are right on. This poll is another attempt by the old media to demean our President.
I'm shocked that 73% of Republicans still support him!
He needs to get his base supporters back.
*YAWNS*
Well .. if you use +12% more dems than reps you tend to get the numbers you want. CBS and AP have been having a contest of sorts as to who can use the most dems to get the lowest number.
Obviously, you have not been paying attention.
Bush is the right man for the nation.
It's just that his staff is exhausted, which has caused him to make some political missteps since 2005.
His entire staff needs to go as does several other cabinet members.
Oh yes he has and he belives the polls 100% because he wants them to be true.
Yawns is a recent problem with Bush's speeches. He needs to get more specific, particularly about Iraq, as to what is changing, and what is not, and the risks and rewards and costs of plan A or plan B. Broad brush Bush soaring generalities now turn folks off. He really needs new speech writers, and those that help compose the texts. I really mean that.
The staff and the state of the staff are the responsibility of the president. They aren't assistant presidents that need time off. If there's a problem, Bush needs to do something about it.
I totally agree the president needs new speech writers. He keeps giving just about the same speech over and over again with minor tweeks and that has turned people off.
WELL .. EVERYBODY NEEDS TO PAY ATTENTION TO THIS:
34% (CBSNews -- Democrats +13)
37% (AP/Ipsos -- Democrats +12)
39% (FoxNews/OD -- Democrats +10)
41% (ABCNews/WP -- Democrats +8)
46% (Battleground -- Democrats even)
AMAZING THE DIFFERENCE A SAMPLE MAKES!!!!
But to "adjust" to make equal numbers of democrats and republicans would be cheating. If the president's approval is high, more people identify as Republican. If more people disapprove, more people identify as Democratic.
If your sample is large enough and random enough, it shouldn't matter at all what party people belong to.
Also, Adults vs. Registered Voters vs. Likely Voters is irrelevant to an opinion poll. Non-voters have opinions, too, and that's what they're measuring. It's not an electoral poll.
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