Bush approval rating now 44%...

[Effloresce]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articl...-BUSH-POLL.xml

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush's approval rating has rebounded to 44 percent, the highest level in a year, in the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, the newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Bush's approval rating jumped five points from 39 percent in the previous poll conducted earlier this month.

The bounce comes with seven weeks before elections to deicide control of Congress amid falling gas prices and a renewed campaign by Bush to boost support for the Iraq war and to portray Republicans as more competent than Democrats on security, the newspaper said.

Bush's approval rating edged up largely on the strength of Republicans coming back to the fold with 86 percent saying they support him now, compared to 70 percent in May, USA Today said.

For the first time since December 2005, a majority of people polled did not say the war in Iraq was a mistake. The respondents were evenly split at 49 percent to 49 percent, the report said.

However, the poll finds that the Iraq war continues to be a problem for Bush. Sixty percent said he does not have a clear plan for handling Iraq and 75 percent said Iraq is in a civil war, USA Today said.

The telephone poll of 1,003 people was conducted September 15-17, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

What the hell. Do people not realize most of this shit is just a band-aid for November? Low gas prices are great, and normally yes the President's approval goes up when this kind of thing happens, but you would think after all of this people wouldn't forget about how bad the Republicans have fucked up.

And the statistic about Americans now being EVENLY SPLIT about Iraq just amazes me. What the fuck has got so much better over there?

The USA has the shortest memory, more than any other westernized nation on the face of this earth, and it's really sad.

[Nimrod's Son]

it goes up and down all the time

who gives a shit

[Future Boy]

Eh...

[BlueStar]

Originally Posted by Effloresce

you would think after all of this people wouldn't forget about how bad the Republicans have fucked up.

Voters have a very short memory when it comes to politics and current events.

[sppunk]

LOL at people who actually think the president makes gas prices rise and fall.

Do they think he has a big lever in the Oval Office that he can adjust to make the price of a gallon of unleaded higher or lower? Idiots.

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by sppunk

LOL at people who actually think the president makes gas prices rise and fall.

Do they think he has a big lever in the Oval Office that he can adjust to make the price of a gallon of unleaded higher or lower? Idiots.

More or less.

[Andrew_Pakula]

Originally Posted by BlueStar

Voters have a very short memory when it comes to politics and current events.

It is embarassing how quickly people forget, I've talked to people recently that didn't even remember that the U.S. invaded Afghanistan after 9/11.

[JokeyLoki]

Yup, people are morons.

[Effloresce]

Originally Posted by Andrew_Pakula

It is embarassing how quickly people forget, I've talked to people recently that didn't even remember that the U.S. invaded Afghanistan after 9/11.

That's just...

[ella]

surprise surprise...

[BlueStar]

Originally Posted by sppunk

LOL at people who actually think the president makes gas prices rise and fall.

Do they think he has a big lever in the Oval Office that he can adjust to make the price of a gallon of unleaded higher or lower? Idiots.

According to a recent Gallup poll, 42% of Americans do indeed believe that.

[Orenthal James]

Originally Posted by Nimrod's Son

it goes up and down all the time

who gives a shit

thumbs up

[Travis Meeks]

if there was an election next month I bet Bush would win

as long as they can use the fear card they're set

[wally]

Originally Posted by sppunk

LOL at people who actually think the president makes gas prices rise and fall.

Do they think he has a big lever in the Oval Office that he can adjust to make the price of a gallon of unleaded higher or lower? Idiots.

Someone seems to think so

Bush, from a 1999 GOP Primary Debate

Q: The Energy Secretary said he would not tap US strategic petroleum reserves in order to drive down prices saying those reserves are for emergencies. But given the shortages that exist, do you consider this an appropriate time to tap those reserves?

A: No, I don’t. I agree with the energy secretary that the strategic petroleum reserve is meant for a national wartime emergency. What I think the president ought to do is get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots. One reason why the price is so high is because the price of crude oil has been driven up. OPEC has gotten its supply act together and it’s driving the price, like it did in the past. And the president must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price. And if in fact there is collusion amongst big oil, he ought to intercede there as well.

[Starla]

44% is pretty good for being "the devil"

The polls are not even statistically worth paying attention to. :P

[Nate the Grate]

My poli sci professor made a pretty interesting remark that she thinks that part of the reason why Bush's Iraq ratings have gone up (in the question of whether Iraq was a mistake) during the week where the Iranian president is giving speeches to the UN is because the Americans polled didn't know the difference between Iraq and Iran. It sounds sad, but I bet that it's a factor.

[BlueStar]

Originally Posted by Nate the Grate

My poli sci professor made a pretty interesting remark that she thinks that part of the reason why Bush's Iraq ratings have gone up (in the question of whether Iraq was a mistake) during the week where the Iranian president is giving speeches to the UN is because the Americans polled didn't know the difference between Iraq and Iran. It sounds sad, but I bet that it's a factor.

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God

It is a fact that a lot of Americans do not know the difference between Iraq and Iran, but the Iranian president giving speeches at the UN is not enough of a factor to be a factor.

[Corganist]

Originally Posted by Nate the Grate

My poli sci professor made a pretty interesting remark that she thinks that part of the reason why Bush's Iraq ratings have gone up (in the question of whether Iraq was a mistake) during the week where the Iranian president is giving speeches to the UN is because the Americans polled didn't know the difference between Iraq and Iran. It sounds sad, but I bet that it's a factor.

I can buy that most people couldn't distinguish the two countries on a map, but I hardly think that most people don't know the difference between the letter "N" and the letter "Q." Is that really the best a so-called academic can do to explain poll numbers? "Half of the country is too stupid to tell the difference between Iraq and Iran."?? No wonder people think academia is elitist and out of touch.

And even assuming that people have Iraq and Iran confused, why would people thinking the Iraqi president was speaking at the UN make Bush's approval rating go up?

[homechicago]

"And even assuming that people have Iraq and Iran confused, why would people thinking the Iraqi president was speaking at the UN make Bush's approval rating go up? "

Because Iraq is bad - the center of terrorism. We're in Iraq because their leader is bad and caused the towers to fall on 911. At one time most Americans thought Saddam not Osama orchestrated 911. That's not hard to believe at all.

[Corganist]

Originally Posted by homechicago

Because Iraq is bad - the center of terrorism. We're in Iraq because their leader is bad and caused the towers to fall on 911. At one time most Americans thought Saddam not Osama orchestrated 911. That's not hard to believe at all.

This still makes no sense. Why would the Iraqi president (who everyone knows now is not Saddam) being allowed to speak at the UN affect the President's poll numbers? If its because people think Iraq is "bad," then wouldn't the same poll number jump happen regardless of whether it was Iraq or Iran's president? Its not like people think Iran are a bunch of good guys either.

[homechicago]

Who is the "everyone" who knows who the president of Iraq is? I bet most Americans couldn't name him or pick him out of a lineup.

This is what happens when truth disappears and spin replaces reality. Nothing makes much sense.

[Corganist]

Originally Posted by homechicago

Who is the "everyone" who knows who the president of Iraq is? I bet most Americans couldn't name him or pick him out of a lineup.

I didn't say everyone knows who he is. I said everyone knows who he's not. You don't seriously think there are people out there who don't know Saddam's not in power anymore do you?

[homechicago]

um, yeah. i'd bet my life there are people who still think saddam's the leader and the trial is going to decide if he goes back to iraq, to prison or to the chair.

there are lots of dumb things people accept as true, or not worthy of questioning or thinking much about, and i bet some people couldn't tell you what the last elections in iraq were held for.

[Nate the Grate]

his ratings would go up because virtually anytime a president is "threatened", the country comes to his defense. the Iranian president coming to New York to deliver speeches is something that the public would feel they need to back up our president on. I don't know if it would really contribute to the poll numbers, and my prof said it pretty flippantly (it wasn't really a topic of conversation, just kind of an amusing aside). I wonder if this could factor into a 1-2% bump. never underestimate the idiocy of the American public. I mean, the Larry the Cable Guy is actually popular. and really really popular at that.

[redbull]

"the fact that the american public knows nothing makes it the american public"

[Corganist]

Originally Posted by Nate the Grate

his ratings would go up because virtually anytime a president is "threatened", the country comes to his defense. the Iranian president coming to New York to deliver speeches is something that the public would feel they need to back up our president on. I don't know if it would really contribute to the poll numbers, and my prof said it pretty flippantly (it wasn't really a topic of conversation, just kind of an amusing aside). I wonder if this could factor into a 1-2% bump. never underestimate the idiocy of the American public. I mean, the Larry the Cable Guy is actually popular. and really really popular at that.

I don't think most people even knew or cared that Ahmadinejad was coming to the US, and even if they did I'm not sure they would see it as a reason to preemptively rally to Bush's defense. I could see Bush's ratings going up on the next set of polls as a reaction to the Hugo Chavez comments at the UN though. As for the current polls, my guess is that the numbers are up just because Bush hasn't made any major blunders lately and thus people don't have anything to complain about.

As for the idiocy of the American public, it'll never be underestimated as long as we have know-it-all elitist liberals around to look down on those that don't think in lockstep with them.

[Nimrod's Son]

lot of liberal conceit and superiority in this thread

well done

[Effloresce]

man why do you hate liberals so much

what the hell have conservatives done in the past couple years that's worth beating your chest over

libs might not be perfect but holy shit, give them a chance. you can't tell me you like this ultra conservative ownage of the house, senate, white house, and hell, even supreme court right now.

[Nimrod's Son]

Originally Posted by Effloresce

man why do you hate liberals so much

what the hell have conservatives done in the past couple years that's worth beating your chest over

libs might not be perfect but holy shit, give them a chance. you can't tell me you like this ultra conservative ownage of the house, senate, white house, and hell, even supreme court right now.

first of all welcome to the machine. hatred of liberals /= conservative.

secondly, the "ultra conservatives" control just about nothing.

if you really think bush is a conservative - much less an ultraconservative - you really have no clue when it comes to politics

[Effloresce]

what, you think bush is a moderate or something?
are you nuts?