No Bounce: Bush Job Approval Unchanged by War Speech

[Goldmund]

President Bush’s televised address to the nation produced no noticeable bounce in his approval numbers, with his job approval rating slipping a point from a week ago, to 43%, in the latest Zogby International poll. And, in a sign of continuing polarization, more than two-in-five voters (42%) say they would favor impeachment proceedings if it is found the President misled the nation about his reasons for going to war with Iraq.

The Zogby America survey of 905 likely voters, conducted from June 27 through 29, 2005, has a margin of error of +/-3.3 percentage points.

Just one week ago, President Bush’s job approval stood at a previous low of 44%—but it has now slipped another point to 43%, despite a speech to the nation intended to build support for the Administration and the ongoing Iraq War effort. The Zogby America survey includes calls made both before and after the President’s address, and the results show no discernible “bump” in his job approval, with voter approval of his job performance at 45% in the final day of polling.

Where voters live has some impact on their perceptions. The President’s job rating remains relatively strong in the South, with 51% rating his performance favorably; in all other regions, those disapproving his performance are in the majority.

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1007


Edit: and for your entertainment, a Freeper thread about this: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1434098/posts

[whistle]

1. Which DUer has those great composite graphs of Bush's approval

...rating slide using the 11 National Poll data. I'll bet his numbers in aggregate have already slipped below 40%!

[whalerider55]

2. holy codpiece, batman...

did zogby actually use the word impeach in a poll?

hold me back, mama....


whalerider

[AllegroRondo]

36. "That means 58% dont want him impeached..."

which is a mandate, as far as Karl is concerned.

[Deja Q]

39. 58% - what a freakin' embarrassment.

[NoodleBoy]

3. wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[napi21]

4. HA HA! Wonder what Karl & Karen are going to try next?

BTW, has anyone heard what the viewership of his speech was? I know I didn't watch!!!

[droidamus2]

7. number of viewers

I have read that there were about 19+ million viewers (I didn't watch either). From what I can tell this is a very low number for an important presidential speech.

[dbt]

9. About a 41 per cent drop in audience from his previous

address, IIRC. If bu$hler was a TV show, he would have been canceled 24 hours ago.

:evilgrin:

[GiovanniC]

11. That's Too Bad, Actually

The more people hear him, the more they realize how absolutely fucked we all are.

[stopbush]

15. No, the country has already tuned him out.

They tuned him out before the election, but the vote fraud put him back in. The MSM propped him up as best they could, but the wheels are coming off the bus. You have to believe that the MSM is hiding the really bad info about Iraq/economy/etc from the sheeple.

Unless you believe that he was over 50% in Nov 2004 it's not hard to realize that the country dumped this chimp last summer.

[glitch]

16. Yep yep yep! Bushie jumped the shark at "Mission Accomplished" ever since

has just been smoke screens from the corporate media and fraud from the corporate vote tabulators.

[GiovanniC]

18. His Approval Ratings Are Sinking

I think that about 30-35% of the American people will support chimpy no matter what happens. He's at about 42-43% right now... that number can still go down. The more he talks and the more people hear him, the lower that number will go.

/ Foolish Optimism

[Pirate Smile]

21. Everywhere (except the South) has those disapproving him in the majority

"Where voters live has some impact on their perceptions. The President’s job rating remains relatively strong in the South, with 51% rating his performance favorably; in all other regions, those disapproving his performance are in the majority.

In a more significant sign of the weakness of the President’s numbers, more “Red State” voters—that is, voters living in the states that cast their ballots for the Bush-Cheney ticket in 2004—now rate his job performance unfavorably, with 50% holding a negative impression of the President’s handling of his duties, and 48% holding a favorable view. The President also gets negative marks from one-in-four (25%) Republicans—as well as 86% of Democrats and 58% of independents. (Bush nets favorable marks from 75% of Republicans, 13% of Democrats and 40% of independents.)"

[alfredo]

25. 51% in the south is not good. It should be around 60%

[FreedomAngel82]

33. I agree

That's a good sign actually. It means we have a good chance in 2006 hopefully! Governor races and Hill races.

[alfredo]

52. In my state, Kerry got 38%. the rest to bush. 51% would be a

big improvement over what it was in Nov.

[senseandsensibility]

55. Yeah I was gonna say

fifty one percent IN THE SOUTH is something to brag about? I don't think so.:-)

[FreedomAngel82]

30. Yep

I take it as a good sign nobody cares to hear him. Aren't news networks down in viewing raitings too? I'm glad people don't care to hear him. Turn it off cause it'll make your life so much better. I don't watch the news anymore myself. I go to dembloggers.com for all my video's if I want something and I get all my news here and at yahoo and other blogs and go to a local site for local news. The local news is still good though and they have great stories and stuff but everything else I turn off.

[sendero]

19. I think...

.. a significant portion are so fed up with him and his same 30 words that they feel no need to hear him further. :)

[GiovanniC]

27. And the More He Talks, The Worse It Gets

There are still some people who are late for this party. They are still waking up. Every time Bush gives a speech I hear more people say something like, "I voted for him but now I'm thinking I should have just stayed home. I don't think he has a clue."

Or even: "I don't even think he buys his own bullshit anymore." This from a long-time Bushbot!

[FreedomAngel82]

34. Wow!

Surprise surprise! I'd rather people stay home instead of just cast a vote for Bush just because he shares an (r) with them. I'd be the same way if it was reversed.

[etherealtruth]

49. I agree with you ...

I think the * evil cabal didn't want the general public to watch in large numbers ----- I truly believe they thought the "talking heads" would spin it their way and it wouldn't matter what an embarrassment the Chimp was.

Mercifully I don't think it worked.

[ComerPerro]

26. They will say that its good that it didn't go down

And since Bush's approval ratings didn't decrease after the speech, it shows how successful the speech was and that much of the public still thinks he is the right man for the job.

[KittyWampus]

5. Whoopsie Daisy! Somebody Stepped On A Banana Peel

[killbotfactory]

6. Mission Accomplished!

Keep talking Bush, just keep talking.

[enigmatic]

8. This is the key:

"And, in a sign of continuing polarization, more than two-in-five voters (42%) say they would favor impeachment proceedings if it is found the President misled the nation about his reasons for going to war with Iraq."

If this hits 50% by 2006, the GOP is dead.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. I think it is going there

keep talking to your neighbors...

[FreedomAngel82]

37. That's the key I think

Talking to your neighbors. People at work. Your kids friends parents. Send Emails to people you know with info, etc. If you go to a church or a local gym. My mom said that when Bush gave his speech everybody at the gym turned the channel to a network that wasn't playing it. This is a YMCA gym which is a Christian enviornment place in the south. Of course not everybody there is a Christian of course, but still surprising to me. Especially in the south. I took that as a good sign. I think people are getting fed up with Iraq mostly. That's going to be a huge thing next year in the midterms.

[prolesunited]

12. if it is found the President misled the nation about his reasons for going

How is this even a question?!?!?! There is a ton of evidence out there supporting the fact that he deliberately misled the nation.

Is there a compilation of it all posted somewhere? I think it would look pretty impressive if all those bits of info, leaks and downplayed stories were posted together.

[donkeyotay]

44. Actually, I think it's a sign of lessening polarization

The article says, "...in a sign of continuing polarization..."

More republicans and independents are starting to agree with us. The country is becoming less polarized.

[Al-CIAda]

45. They own the machines. n/t

[stopbush]

13. No bounce? No change? It DROPPED a full point!

Why isn't that the headline?: "Bush's Speech Causes Polls To Slide."

At this point, any drop in the numbers will happen a point at a time. I doubt if * will ever go below 40 because the Rs will prop him up. But what are they waiting for? A 5-pt drop in one day to call it a drop? Ain't gonna happen. Hell, if he went up 3 pts they'd call it a "surge."

[Goldmund]

14. Because that's within the margin of error.

:)

[cynthia]

17. I think the Rs are losing interest in him, too

Anyone who thinks this guy is really our president, let alone a good one, is not paying attention.

[Stinky The Clown]

20. "Im-p-p-p-p-p-p-peachment" ......... ? Holy Shit!!!!!

In a poll .... asked on US citizens ...... they use this word!

All I can say is .... WOW!

Just get that word out there.

[Pirate Smile]

22. Did you say Impeachment?

"Impeachment Question Shows Bitterness of Divide

In a sign of the continuing partisan division of the nation, more than two-in-five (42%) voters say that, if it is found that President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should hold him accountable through impeachment. While half (50%) of respondents do not hold this view, supporters of impeachment outweigh opponents in some parts of the country.

Among those living in the Western states, a 52% majority favors Congress using the impeachment mechanism while just 41% are opposed; in Eastern states, 49% are in favor and 45% opposed. In the South, meanwhile, impeachment is opposed by three-in-five voters (60%) and supported by just one-in-three (34%); in the Central/Great Lakes region, 52% are opposed and 38% in favor.

Impeachment is overwhelmingly rejected in the Red States—just 36% say they agree Congress should use it if the President is found to have lied on Iraq, while 55% reject this view; in the “Blue States” that voted for Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry in 2004, meanwhile, a plurality of 48% favors such proceedings while 45% are opposed.

A large majority of Democrats (59%) say they agree that the President should be impeached if he lied about Iraq, while just three-in-ten (30%) disagree. Among President Bush’s fellow Republicans, a full one-in-four (25%) indicate they would favor impeaching the President under these circumstances, while seven-in-ten (70%) do not. Independents are more closely divided, with 43% favoring impeachment and 49% opposed."

[Straight Shooter]

31. I wonder how those percentages compare to the assault on Clinton

It would be interesting to see how many in the so-called Red States were all gung-ho for impeaching Clinton because he lied about a private personal matter.

Don't look back, bush, something's gaining.

[nadinbrzezinski]

35. tThey never even got to the 40% range,

this drove Krystol and company crazy

Aproval for Clinton was in the high 60s over the whole mess

[Dawgs]

23. How could anyone not answer YES to this question?

'Should Impeachment proceedings begin if the President lied us into war?'

Are all these people fucking nuts? He should be thrown in jail if he lied us into war!!!

What kind of fucking world are we living in?

[Pirate Smile]

24. I hope the media picks up on this poll and starts yakking on it.

[warrens]

28. Dead cat splat

Which is what I predicted. Once people start thinking a war is a waste of time, you can't change their minds back.

[FreedomAngel82]

29. I love it!

He deserves it after all he's done to our country and all the pain he's caused our fellow Americans for his lies!!

[deadparrot]

32. Shocker, really.

:eyes:

[bballny]

38. I particularly

like that for all of history hwe will be considered the worst president ever abd he will be the end of the Bush Crime Family. Remember resumes count and his sucked.

[donkeyotay]

42. Just like Helen Thomas said, "Worst president ever"

Yep, and anyone who ever spent any time with Bush's resume knows that his only real achievement was being the recipient of large sums of money from people trying to buy influence with poppy.

Reminds me of the bumbersticker, "Drunk frat boy drives country into ditch." (I like that better than "drunken frat boy".) That still sums it up for me.

[Jack Rabbit]

40. Baseball and presidential politics

EDITED for typing

A major league manager (I forget exactly who) once said something about at the start of any season, he knows his team is going to win forty games and that his team is going to lose forty games. It's how the other games (a little more than 80) go that make the difference.

Likewise, on Labor Day in a presidential election year featuring a fundamentally two-way race, each major-party candidate knows he will get forty percent and that his major-party opponent will get forty percent; it's how the twenty percent who are swing voters go that make the difference.

Bush having an approval rating in the low forties is significant. He's in trouble. Of course, he doesn't have to run for re-election and, since Mr. Cheney is not interested and has health concerns, Bush has no clear heir apparent. This may give him a free hand, but the cost of failure will be borne by the Republican Party.

Worse for him is that fewer people than usual want to hear his defense. Minds are being made up now.

It is also significant that just over forty percent support impeachment "if it is found the President misled the nation about his reasons for going to war with Iraq" (and I believe it is clear that he did exactly that). Normally, those kinds of numbers are not to be found. It is why the effort to remove Clinton failed. Most people know that when the President lies about love is not an impeachable offense; but that when he lies about war, it is.

The question is can we get that 42% for impeachment figure up significantly. With control of Congress in Republican hands, it will have to rise before it becomes an obvious risk for a Republican congressman to continue to support Bush.

In addition, we have to make sure we get Cheney, too. He also lied and knew he was lying.

And Rumsfeld.

And Rice.

And Gonzales, the author of the Torture Memos.

Our goal should not be simply to impeach Bush. Our goal should be regime change.

[Stand and Fight]

41. You Kick Ass!

I love that post!

:yourock:

You're spot-on, Jack!

[electropop]

43. de-Bushification

So after the impeachment this year, and the Congressional housecleaning next year, how do we get rid of the assorted wackos and criminals that the pukes have rammed into critical jobs all through the government? Do we have to impeach them one by one, or is there some obscure Constitutional clause that allows appointments by an illegitimate government to be cancelled en masse?

[Disturbed]

46. Imagine what this % would be if we..

Amerika had "fair and balanced" Media. This is actually encouraging because in spite of a RW Corp. Media, complicit with the Bush Regime, the Amerikan populace is starting to wake up to the Bush Regime shams.

[Jack Rabbit]

48. Response

First, you might want to check out this thread in Editorials. It is anchored by an article by Elizabeth Holtzman concerning holding Bush regime members responsible for torture. She mentions the War Crimes Act of 1996.

This act can also be used to prosecute Bush for violating the UN Charter, which in my judgment he did by invading Iraq when there was no clear threat from Iraq and no authorization from the Security Council. The very nature of this crime means that Bush had to have a number of accomplices, and indeed he did. To build up public support for the war and thus pressure Congress for vote approval for it, facts were fabricated and intelligence reports dissembled. Any public statement by regimes officials and spokespersons who knew the real facts that were contrary to the facts is not free speech but a war crime. It doesn't matter whether the offender was under oath before a congressional committee or just babbling off on FoxNews or Meet the Press. Likewise, participating in the dissembling of intelligence reports to get them to justify an invasion that was not in fact justified by the known facts, is a war crime. Putting pressure on an intelligence analyst at CIA headquarters or rewriting a report in the OSP is a war crime.

Consequently, after the above mentioned officers are impeached and removed, then they can be prosecuted under the War Crimes Act of 1996, as can many others, including Mr. Powell, Mr. Wolfowitz, Mr. Perle, Mr. Feith, Mr. Libby and perhaps Mr. Tenet and even Mr. Rove.

If both Bush and Cheney were to be impeached and removed at the same time, then the Speaker of the House would become President. Thus, it might be just as well to do the congressional house cleaning first. The idea of President Pelosi appeals to me more than the idea of President Hastert, even though that's not really what it would be about or what it should be about.

Unfortunately, there is no obscure constitutional clause to declare the Bush regime illegitimate and all appointments made by Bush null and void. Every member of Congress saluted him and every foreign government recognized him. Even if I was persistent in refusing to affix the title President to the name Bush, the court-appointed president was legitimate enough. We'll have better things to do than try to decide which judges should be impeached.

This, too, might make it advantageous to wait until after the 2006 elections to impeach and remove. President Pelosi would not be able to remove judges at will, but she would be able to name her own cabinet and make other high level appointments of those who serve at the pleasure of the President.

[electropop]

53. Thanks for the thorough plan.

I guess in the real world, impeachment might be a tad easier after the housecleaning. ;) As you say, once Bush & Cheney are gone, the rest do not have the protection that a "President" does, and really can be sent to jail. Sadly, that's unlikely for Bushitler, unless he is foolish enough to set foot outside the US, post-impeachment.

[berni_mccoy]

47. HAHAHAH! That's Because

42% OF AMERICA IS READY TO IMPEACH HIS ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pirate Smile]

50. Ed Shultz was just reading the Zogby poll results re impeachment

on the air.

[BlakeB]

51. I think the numbers...

are very encouraging considering. It feels like people are finally starting to wise up and the Democrats are finally coming together and doing things right. I think that percentage for impeachment will only go up while his approval rating only goes down. Things seem more promising now than they have in a long time, if you ask me.

[senseandsensibility]

54. Woo-hoo

I knew he wouldn't get a bounce from that loser of a speech! For one thing, it was dreadful, as all of his "speeches" are, but also the corporate media did not carry his water this time! Okay, apparently Tweety didn't get the memo, but most of the media wasn't groveling as it usually does. He also got hit hard by the major newspapers. I have to admit, I was confused when some on DU predicted a bounce, and at least one tried to claim he had already achieved it!:shrug: But anyway, let's enjoy this one, people! The tide is turning! :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: