There is no justification for having 32% ind. That number just does not exist. There is no GREAT independent voter that's anywhere near the numbers of repubs or dems. If you think there is .. you're deceived.
That's another of the illusions the left has been perpetrating for years - the great "middle" - the only thing the "middle" does is sit on the fence - hold their finger in the wind and go with the flow .. that's some indepndence.
In many states, it's quite common to not be affiliated with a particular party. It doesn't mean they vote for Independent candidates - they're just not Republicans OR Democrats. That number doesn't seem out of line with other polls I've seen.
Well, raising the GOP & DEM percentages to 40% each and dropping the IND percentage to 20% will give you 38% approval. Do you feel better now?
The sampling method used for polling is valid. It is completely invalid to adjust the numbers after the fact. The question about party affiliation is telling and troubling for those who hold to a conservative agenda.
The fact of the matter is that as poll numbers drop, the number of people who say they are Republican is dropping. This doesn’t mean that the number of registered Republicans is dropping. Nor is it a reflection of adherence to a conservative agenda. Party affiliation responses have a mushy component to them and it swings both ways for both parties. The question is always asked at the end of the survey and that is alarming.
This is not a poll of the agenda of the American mindset. This is a poll of the measure of success of the president and his execution of the agenda. Bush is dragging the conservative agenda down. The public perception that things are not going well in Iraq is probably the primary factor in people’s minds. Whether it is going well or is not is immaterial. It doesn’t look good. The president might have better support if he was capable of communicating better about the war. But his speeches are not effective.
Part of what makes him seem ineffective on the war is the general lackluster perception from other issues: Harriet Meirs, his preemptive veto threat on Dubai, his prescription benefits sessions that look like 3AM infomercials, his standoffish attitude towards congress, etc. etc. etc.
The polls are really very accurate reflections of the public view; not of the conservative agenda but of the man charged to lead the country. Even if the polls are wrong (and they are not) he is hurting the conservative agenda.
Conservatives need to ask themselves what is more important, the agenda or Bush? That is why congress is distancing itself from the president. That is why people are suggesting staff changes. That is why more people are telling pollsters they are Democrats. This last point is the most alarming thing about the poll numbers.
Look, is it just that you don't get it or that you are fighting for dear life not to get it?
This is about how the voter self identifies as his or her status. It's not that 32% are supporting an independent candidate. It's that 32% don;t identify as either dems or pubbies, that's all.
I have been a registered republican since 1986, age 18. If I were polled today, I would self identify as an independent. That doesn't mean I am backing an independent candidate for any office - it means I don't identify myself as a dem or a GOPer, that's all. This is not a difficult concept, though you are having a remarkably difficult time with it.