Bush on the polls: "When you do hard things, it creates consternation."

[BurtWorm]

"If I worried about polls, I would be -- I wouldn't be doing my job," he said before leaving Washington for a trip to India and Pakistan. "And, look, I fully understand that when you do hard things, it creates consternation at times. And, you know, I've been up in the polls and I've been down in the polls. You know, it's just part of life in the modern era."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/28/AR2006022801607.html?sub=AR


What "hard thing" has Bush ever done in his soft little life?

[Che_Nuevara]

1. Actually, the polls represent the people's will.

It is any public servant's job to pay attention to them.

[Wickerman]

2. I know, I know, he quite drinking publicly!

:shrug:

[peace frog]

3. You think clearing brush is easy?

And don't forget all that biking, guitar playing and pretzel choking! Why, Junior's life is so darn full it's amazing he finds time to get to bed by 9:30 PM. :evilgrin:

[reality based]

4. He meant to say: "When you eat hard things, it causes constipation." n/t

[tocqueville]

5. a lot of "hard work" = a lot of consternation nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Agreed

[ProfessorGAC]

6. You're SUPPOSED To Be Worried About The Polls, Silverspoon!

That's what your BOSSES think of your job. Twit!
The Professor

[Robeson]

8. Unfortunately Professor, we're not his bosses.....

...he's serving HIS bosses quite well. We're just the "feed 'em cake" rabble.

[ProfessorGAC]

14. Yet, We Are Still His Bosses!

And it's up to us to make sure that he and his puppet masters relearn who's in charge around here.
The Professor

[RufusEarl]

9. When you do hard things, it creates consternation."

And of course when you do them poorly, it also creates consternation.

[ABaker]

16. Can we really trust any poll

done by CBS, ABC and the rest of the mainstream media? I don't. I am very skeptical of ANY poll these days.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. You Be Skeptical. I'll Be Scientific

Yes, they can be trusted. I know people who work at all these places. The mathematicians and analysts are totally on the up and up, and not one of them has ever had their work changed to provide the desired responses. (Some have been there >25 years.)

In addition, since the poll outfits are professionals contracted by the MSM, the MSM has no actual involvement other than paying for it and publishing the results.

Lastly, if you take a broad view and compile the data from several different firms, one can easily do pseudorandom stratification of the entire dataset. Then the sample is far larger, for more likely to represent the overall populace, and less prone to the influence over how questions are asked, since all 7 firms don't ask the exact same questions.

The folks i know at these firms are pros. They're scientists, not hacks.

The Professor

[ABaker]

20. I was not aware of that. Thank you for clearing this up.

Sorry. Just a little paranoid, I guess

[ProfessorGAC]

21. How Would You Know?

I wasn't trying to be a jerk on this. But, while i think skepticism is a healthy trait of a facile mind, i don't want us to be skeptical about the wrong things. The polls may be disappointing at times, but they are quite scientifically accurate. (Look when his numbers hit 90+% after 9/11, i was most distressed, because i thought almost anybody would be better in the big chair than our current twit. But, i believed the numbers because i know fear is a motivator and i know the people who do these things are scientists.)

I meant no offense with my post title. Now that i look at it, it seems harsh. I didn't mean it that way.
The Professor

[ABaker]

22. You didn't offend me.

It's just that after all that's happened these past 5 years, I just don't know if I can trust the media or polls or our government anymore.

[ProfessorGAC]

23. Good!

Just making sure. My title just seemed a little smart-assish! Didn't mean it that way.
The Professor

[alarcojon]

25. Hey Prof, thanks for standing up for the math and stats crowd

Mathematician here. People may misinterpret poll results, ignore the statistical margin of error, selectively quote the parts they like, etc. - but the mathematics behind them is rock solid.

[npincus]

10. "when you break the law, it creates impeachment"

in a just world, that is.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. When you do really stupid and immoral things, people notice.

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. Westmoreland on the day after the Tet Offensive started

"The enemy has very deceitfully violated the Tet ceasefire in order to cause maximum consternation." :rofl:

Bush's fate will be that of General Westmoreland: taken for a failed and clueless old fool, which would be funny, if it weren't for all the goddamn blood...

[cantstandbush]

13. Why does this sound like a bowel movement? n/t

[The_Casual_Observer]

15. And they get the vapors too!

[mark11727]

18. "Consternation turned to lucidation..."

The Firesign Theatre

[giant_robot]

19. Press conferences and debates...

...well, they were hard for *him*, anyway.

[SeattleVet]

24. He really looks consternated here....

<>


Yep, severe consternation.

[WI_DEM]

26. He's been up only in the aftermath of 9/11

for the last two or more years he has hovered between 40-50 percent. He's never really been popular.

[Johonny]

27. Imagine what the polls look like

when you do stupid things. Hard things? What hard thing has Bush done? He's ignored reviewing security in the port deal, ignores the real war in Iraq, ignored Afghanistan since day 1 and is now on a working vacation to give Nuclear material to India... wait we are giving nuclear material to India!

[shanti]

28. "it's hard werk"!

:eyes:

[Leopolds Ghost]

29. Bush mis-spelled CONSTIPATION -- another mistake!

"When you do hard things, it creates consternation."

:hurts: