AP Poll: Americans Ambivalent About Bush

[fryguy]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050107/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_poll

WASHINGTON - The American public is deeply ambivalent about President Bush as he begins his second term and his approval rating is lower than any recent two-term presidents, a troubling sign for his ambitious agenda, an Associated Press poll found.

Bush's approval rating is at 49 percent in the AP poll with 49 percent disapproving. His job approval is in the high 40s in several other recent polls — as low as any job approval rating for a re-elected president at the start of the second term in more than 50 years.

<snip>

Bush has intense support from Republicans, which has kept him on an even keel or above for months. More than nine in 10 Republicans said they approve of Bush's job performance.

"I very strongly support what he's been doing," said Cheryl McGauvran, a teacher in a Christian school who says she lives in the desert southeast of Los Angeles. "If we had somebody in office who waffled we would be in trouble. It's almost better to be wrong and then correct it, than to vacillate and be stomped."

<more>

"better to be wrong and then correct it"?....what about never admiting you're wrong and doing the same thing over and over again?....and has she been paying any attention to what chimpy is actually saying not how its being spun?...'cause if so, she'd see vacillating taken to a new art form!

[BlueEyedSon]

1. Not THIS American!

http://www.cafepress.com/swsnews.14942077?zoom=yes#zoom

[joeybee12]

2. AMEN to that!

[fryguy]

8. i guess i AM ambivalent

if the applicable definition of "ambivalent" is "utterly disgusted, offended, and pissed off during every waking moment"

[bunkerbuster1]

3. Better to be wrong. Classic!

Their justifications just get goofier and goofier all the time, don't they? By that gold standard of political leadership, Pol Pot is better than Jimmy Carter, and Josef Stalin is heaps better than Harry Truman.

[KurtNYC]

6. actually she says "almost better"

so she favors vacillating and getting stomped over being wrong (?!). At least that is what she said.

[bunkerbuster1]

7. Yeah, I noticed that

but I'd be splitting hairs and nitpicky and I'd never do anything like that, nosirree.

Seriously, I think the woman quoted realized she was saying something pretty dumb so she had to qualify it... and by doing so, of course, she flip-flops herself.

But that Kerry--why, he windsurfed! obviously an evil man!

oy oy oy. the bastids!

[KurtNYC]

11. My other thought was that she was misquoted in print and

actually said 'always better...' (although it is lame either way)

Note to anyone who may give an interview to print reporters in the future: Ask them to read back your quotes to you as they finish. And never use sarcasm in a print interview.

[Iris]

23. I thought what she said was virtually the same thing.

They don't seem to get it that it's all rhetoric - just because you use different words doesn't change the meaning.

[LynnTheDem]

Majority of bush supporters don't know what bush's stance on issues are.

There were ONLY TWO out of EIGHT issues where bush supporters correctly knew bush's position.

[Old and In the Way]

9. Interesting.

I've assumed that theBushbots are misinformed, but this data shows it nicely. Can I ask for the source?

[LynnTheDem]

18. PIPA poll; source = right from the rethugs' own mouths :D (links)

PIPA poll:

http://www.pipa.org/OnlineReports/Pres_Election_04/html/new_10_21_04.html

And the chart is at:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_10/004974.php

[fryguy]

15. bush supporters accept whatever they're told

by Faux "News" and the other fair and balanced media sources - and never actually pay attention or even hear what their boy is actually saying....evidence why his campaign appearances typically had only a few hundred (if that) supporters and were rarely covered in depth. instead the media just you what he said instead of actually letting people hear the words coming from his own mouth

[Leilani]

25. What's really sad is that many people don't even vote on issues.

Many voters are not informed, don't follow the news, & mistakenly vote against their own well-being.

But they vote for the guy they feel comfortable with, or against someone they don't like.

As silly as it seems, for some it's a popularity contest.

[Skittles]

4. AMBIVALENT???????????????

IS THAT THE WORD FOR WHAT PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT THAT THIEVING INCOMETENT MORONIC PIECE OF *SHIT*??????????? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[blm]

5. People think he's strong because the MEDIA never pointed to his weaknesses

of which there are PLENTY!

[Old and In the Way]

10. If the media was nuetral, Bush would take a major hit on his image.

Corporate media is fostering a Cult of Personality around Bush, similar to what other totalitarian societies have crafted for their Maximum Leaders. Kill the ugly truth and play up the fiction....

[MsTryska]

12. Oh i'm pretty confident in my feelings for GeeDub. nt

nt

[whosinpower]

13. Think about this for a moment

As democrats are thinking they are marginalized and a mere minority.......if more than 9 out of ten republicans support Bush - and still he only garners 49 percent approval - seems to me that the dem's are doing far better than is represented in senate and congress.

[ecstatic]

14. We need to keep this poll in the spotlight

Every Democrat should bring this up at every media appearance. Disapproval begets more disapproval... Then maybe the media will eventually start going after Bush and doing some real work.

[TheDonkey]

16. maybe we should push for a Presidential recall

this guy is a moron. I can't believe he could win when no one even likes him.

Thanks freakin right wing fundies for killing America.

[SemperEadem]

17. she should have her teaching credentials pulled

"better to be wrong and then correct it"?....

Does she grant the same lattitude to her students on their tests before grading them, recording it in her record book and giving it back to the student?

no, sweetie, it's better to have done thorough investigation, surveillance and research before engaging the young men and women of this country who are serving in the armed forces in an illegal war.

It's best to be right from the start. It saves money, time and lives.

[peekaloo]

19. rut roh...someone got stood up on their man date.

Is our country learning?

stay in the desert lady.

[jswordy]

20. EXCEPT WHEN THEY VOTE! n/t

[jswordy]

21. SHOWS HOW WEAK KERRY WAS n/t

[jswordy]

22. Hey you cut out this line!

The nation's sharply partisan divide is responsible for Bush's job ratings.

Can't be BUSH'S FAULT, can it??? ROFL.

[Leilani]

24. Here's the problem:

Gene Kuterboch, a state worker who lives in Stowe, Pa., says he's been a Democrat all his life, but he voted for Bush this time because Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites) "seemed to be following the polls."

"I voted for President Bush because I think he took a stand after what went on with the terrorist attacks," Kuterboch said. "We need a leader."

___

People don't necessarily like OR agree with Bush, but they like his certainty.

Kerry was seen as not having strong convictions, just being politically expedient....put your finger in the wind.