MediaBusters "exposes" Junior's 34% (claim: 409 Dems, 272 Repubs polled)

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

:rofl:

CBS Hypes “All-Time Low” Bush Approval; Skips Rejection of Media's Cheney Obsession
Posted by Brent Baker on February 28, 2006 - 00:10.

http://newsbusters.org/node/4206

Though President Bush's approval rating, in a new CBS News poll released Monday night at 6:30pm EST, was just one point lower than where it stood in October -- and thus well within the poll's three-point margin of error, Bob Schieffer teased the CBS Evening News by declaring: “There is little to celebrate at the White House where public dissatisfaction, that began with the handling of Hurricane Katrina, has driven President Bush's approval ratings to an all-time low" of 34 percent. It stood at 35 percent in CBS's October 2005 survey. In the subsequent story, Jim Axelrod cited public disapproval of the port deal, declining approval for Bush's conduct of the war on terror and how only 37 percent say things in Iraq are going “well,” -- “down nine points” from the fall, but only down one point from 2004. After Axelrod, Schieffer, in New Orleans to mark the six-month anniversary of Katrina, proceeded to recite some Katrina poll numbers. (Transcript follows.)

Left unmentioned: How the poll-takers questioned many more Democrats than Republicans. A PDF posting of poll results lists 409 Democratic respondents versus 272 Republican respondents. CBS “weighted” the results to effectively count 289 Republicans versus 381 Democrats. And while in a couple of minutes of network air time you can hardly be expected to recite every poll finding, CBS managed to skip over several numbers which demonstrated the disconnect between the public and the national press corps. On “media coverage of Cheney hunting accident,” for instance, the public overwhelmingly rejected -- by three-to-one -- the media's obsession: 66 percent said the media devoted “too much time” compared to a piddling 22 percent who thought the press allocated the “right amount of time.” Another nine percent, most likely a lot of journalists and the “angry left,” believed it got “too little time.” Also, by 51 to 47 percent, most “approve of Bush authorizing wiretaps to fight terrorism.”

Those surveyed were spilt 46-46 percent on whether "Cheney's explanation for delay in reporting the accident was" either "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory." This poll was not conducted, as CBS News polls often are, with the New York Times. A transcript, from the February 27 CBS Evening News, which I created by correcting the closed-captioning against the video of what aired:

From Jackson Square in New Orleans, Bob Schieffer teased: “Good evening, I'm Bob Schieffer in New Orleans where the brave people of this city are managing to celebrate the first Mardi Gras since the hurricane that dealt them such a devastating blow. All this on a day when there is little to celebrate at the White House where public dissatisfaction, that began with the handling of Hurricane Katrina, has driven President Bush's approval ratings to an all-time low.”

:evilgrin:

[Old and In the Way]

1. Poll methodology equalized the results to compensate for the

oversampling. Mediabusters is busted.

[underpants]

2. Neener neener neener It's not true it's just NOT!!!

I see that all of a sudden the poll with 35% approval is being mentioned to rationalize the 34 number.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

3. Sad, isn't it?

"It's ONLY one point lower, you liberal media BASTARDS!"

:rofl:

[underpants]

4. The first time a poll said 36%....no mention anywhere in MSM

apparently CBS had one at 35% a while ago and Sheiffert (sp?) mentioned it. Other than that the only mention of polls was done after MSM had waited and waited for a number that was usable. Lest we all forget about his "upturn" to 42% at one point-Lauer and Mathews mentioned THAT just this morning.

[AX10]

5. Once again the right wing distorts facts to make * appear the victim.

Americans are NOT buying it.

[spooky3]

6. Here's the real story from MediaMatters.org:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200603020001

[AX10]

10. Fortunatly, it is only the RW echo chamber that is trying to minimize...

these results. Our local paper had a good story about *'s fall in the polls.

[Toots]

7. Straight Party Line vote would give those results

Shows America is truly divided along Party Lines. GOP will back Republicans no matter what they have done. There is no critical thinking going on. If Bush* were the Uniter he claims to be results would vary..Just more LIES.

[Captain Hilts]

8. He dropped similarly in other polls. nt

[Neil Lisst]

9. it's also because people stop calling themselves Republican

so the number in the sample naturally falls off when the president is unpopular

[gasperc]

11. if calls random then valid, probably fewer calling themselves Repub

The data shows that respondents are declaring themselves overwhelming democrat. If the calls were placed randomly according to scientific sampling methods then it's perfectly fine that people are declaring themselves D over R. Now if is shown that the poller was calling known D or R household then that probably isn't valid. Either way a very bad sign for the GOP as fewer and fewer people are willing to declare themselves republican.