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73 percent of Americans say we're headed in the wrong direction

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dick Whitman, Sep 6, 2011.

  1. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    Less specific. Also the other partner in commissioning the poll.

    It's about the legs. It's about the narrative.

    When I worked in politics, people would freak out about any negative press. My take on things is that there's no such thing as a bad one day story. If it's a one day story, it's irrelevant. I don't care where it was reported.

    Unless there are follow up stories, unless other outlets pick up on it, unless they keep digging, unless it becomes part of the narrative, it's all irrelevant.

    George W. Bush's poll numbers were the story of his second term. Polls were built up in advance of their release. They here hyped.

    And, just as a Heisman Trophy winner will always be introduced as, "Heisman Trophy winner, Doug Flutie..."

    Stories referencing President Bush began, "President Bush, who's approval rating now stands at an all time low of 39%, today announced..."

    It was part of his "title".

    Will Obama get that treatment? If he does, he's done.

    I don't think he will.
     
  2. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    Great scene. Great line.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
  3. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    It's not what one poll says, it's what they all say as a group (that's just a matter of proper use of statistics, not ideology). As it happens, all the polls say what this one does. The economy sucks, and people are very unhappy about it. They perceive (correctly) that elected officials of both parties haven't done too much about this, and they're very unhappy with them. I'd like to meet the ones who say things are on the right track. I didn't think we had so many lottery winners in this country.
    IMO, the fact Obama's approval ratings have stayed above 40 percent for so long is a tribute to the fact dissatisfaction with both parties is so (justifiably) high. As far as I can tell, there is no national elected official or Presidential candidate with a positive approval rating -- although many Republican candidates have about a one-third "I dunno" response in most polls.
    One stat used in political campaigns is research indicating the average voter spends FIVE MINUTES deciding whom to vote for for Congress.
    Facts on the ground about the economy, wars, etc., matter in terms of elections. Polls and press coverage of polls not so much, as in almost not at all one year before an election.
     
  4. CarltonBanks

    CarltonBanks New Member

    Guys, you can't explain every little bit of bad news for Obama away. It cheapens your arguments when you actually do make a legitimate point.
     
  5. deskslave

    deskslave Active Member

    Yeah, I haven't seen any references anywhere to Obama's approval ratings. Not one. Do they even conduct approval rating surveys any more?

    Seriously? How dumb do you think we are?
     
  6. Greenhorn

    Greenhorn Active Member

    Exactly, Deskslave. I just went to Yahoo to check my email and the front centerpiece story was "Obama's ratings drop to dismal low" with a subhead of "A new poll shows record dissatisfaction with the president's performance and policies."
     
  7. suburbia

    suburbia Active Member

    Polls can be very useful...if they're done correctly, without ulterior motives and actually poll something that is relevant.

    Unfortunately, many polls done these days are designed to push a specific narrative rather than actually convey information. And many test irrelevant questions.

    One of my favorites is how popular the Democrats and Republicans in Congress are. What is the point of polling this? Congress is not voted for in one lump sum by the entire nation. Each Rep and Senator is elected by their specific constituency. Jim DeMint doesn't care how popular he is nationally; all that matters is how popular he is in South Carolina. Ditto for Chuck Schumer in New York.
     
  8. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    My favorite compassionate conservative meme regarding polls they don't like is, "Well, they didn't poll me."
     
  9. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    I didn't look at it as only against Obama, but against Obama, Congress, business leaders, and everything else.
     
  10. printdust

    printdust New Member

    Those answers aren't based on "feelings". If the politicians would ever "get that" on either side, we'd have a chance.
     
  11. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    1. I agree with Printdust!!! Polls on the country's direction are based on people's judgment of economic conditions or whether (if the war is big enough) they think we're winning a war. This is a proven fact of political science.
    2. Generic opinions of parties in Congress, particularly the generic Dem-Rep ballot question, are not meaningless. They are a useful (when close enough to an election) forecast of the possible overall outcome of House and Senate elections. They quite accurately forecast the three blowouts of 2006, 08, and 10.
     
  12. dixiehack

    dixiehack Well-Known Member

    Newspaper says these are the worst of times. I do believe it's truuuuuuue...
     
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