FOCUS GROUPS: ...The stupidity boggles the mind

[bush equals idiot]

After the word stupid in the dictionary, it should say republicans in focus group.

This last Wisconsin group, Peter Hart asked a question to the effect of one of Bush's best achievements.
She said "no child left behind." And she was supposedly an "undecided."

Another classic , this one Bush-freak woman, all ga ga about Bush because he was "strong", she was asked a group question stating if a terrorist was holding ten people hostage, and your children were among them, who would you want to be in charge?

Now she couldn't make up her mind. Now when it's her children, all of a sudden Bush didn't spring to mind. She even admitted it.

It just goes on and on. It's like being in a real life Bevis and Butthead watching these people. And to think these people will actually get a vote.

[mhr]

1. Yes, America Has Sunk To New Lows Of Depravity

Regrettably, the fundies are the prime example.

What else can you expect when their whole universe of ideas is limited to just one book - The Bible.

[cthrumatrix]

19. notice....no discussion of medicare or soc sec. ...get some older people

on...they would kick awol's ass@!

[HEyHEY]

2. Ah, you're just jealous cause they get free juice

[Lexingtonian]

3. oh yes.

One of our TV channels here did a report of an Ohio Undecideds focus group in followup of the first Bush/Kerry debate.

About the first thing out of the mouth of the woman interviewed first was "People in the East think we're stupid out here, but it's not true at all"- and then she, and one after another of the rest, gushed pure nonsense and complete misunderstanding and Limbaugh mythology/talking points (which they spoke the words of but didn't completely believe either, they just had no alternative ideas)....

I worried that there was going to be critical mass reached and a fatal cluelessness implosion might occur.

But in the hands of people like that lies the fate our country's next four years. I don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing that they're so easily led on. It did remind me that most elections are still, no matter what we like to think, based on guesswork and a gambling on the candidates. But for these people it really seemed like guessing who is buried in Grant's Tomb or who the Lincoln Memorial commemorates could be a tough slog.

[demwing]

4. I saw a person unable to answer this question

"What US President wrote 36 books, incuding an autobiography of Teddy Roosevelt?"

[Lexingtonian]

7. my dad worked for a college for a couple of years

whose pride and joy was their football team. He saw the final exam question sheet for their chemistry class (all football team members, only) once. The question he remembers- and the rest were a lot like it- was "What is the color of blue copper sulfate crystals?"

[Bluebear]

5. I had to turn that off

These Wisconsin women frustrated me to no end. I guess I can't fathom being "undecided" at this point.

[Lexingtonian]

6. I love your .sig

That is really cute!

Oh, and the Red Sox thing is good too.

[Bluebear]

8. thank you much!

[bush equals idiot]

10. That penguin depicts a perfect image of those

stupid women in that focus group. One said, it worries me that Kerry wants to do a lot of spending. Uh...acid brain, did you hear about the deficit we have now?

Two nurses railed about how Kerry wants a government run health care program. Nothing like knowing the facts right bitch? Where were you under a cow when he said, keep your own doctor if you like, keep your own health insurance if you like...unless you'd rather buy into the one Congress gives themselves.

Ugghh, it just hurts my head to watch these pupping feekle.

[LouisianaDem34]

9. I CAN'T WATCH THEM

THOSE UNDECIDERS OR FOCUS GROUPS. I THINK ITS A WAY TO GET MEDIA ATTENTION IF YOU ARE UNDECIDED AT THIS POINT. I GET NAUSEATED JUST LOOKING AT THEM.

[Bluebear]

11. Hey Lou...welcome to DU!

[bush equals idiot]

12. Where did your bumbling penguin go?

[Awsi Dooger]

13. I hope nobody in my debate watching group reads DU

I hosted 19 people this year for the three presidential debates, and 11 of them made it for the VP debate. Friends of mine who don't follow politics -- or necessarily world events -- very closely and sound very much like Peter Hart's group. The remarks are indeed simpleton to idiotic, and would be relentlessly slammed on DU or any politically oriented newsgroup.

In '96, when I started this, I made the mistake of getting flustered with stupid remarks and disagreed/argued with them. Turned out it did nothing but cause the individual to be hesitant to speak, same with other people who shared the same concern, and raised the tension level in my living room.

Now I try to be like Peter Hart, ask a basic question and let the room toss it around. You find out so much more that way. After the third debate everyone was so positive about Bush, even people who thought he lost the debate. I just ate my pizza and listened in shock. They loved his warmth near the end especially the anecdote about meeting Laura at the backyard barbeque. I swear that got more post-debate time than any political issue. Bush's big day in the tracking polls last Thursday, one day after the debate, was more a pro-Bush stance, hopefully shortlived, based on personal qualities than any negative reaction to Kerry's mention of Mary Cheney. I'm absolutely convinced of that. My group always forecasts national mood and poll shifts far superior to cable talking heads.

[secular_warrior]

17. So, basically Bush won the personality contest ... interesting.

Just goes to show how difficult it is to forecast the impact a debate would have. Kerry won, but he still lost in a way.

Good explanation for the uptick in the polls, though.

Hopefully it was just a temporary shift of mood.

[Awsi Dooger]

21. I posted that here within two hours of the debate

When there were threads all over DU expecting a huge gain in the polls. People in my living room who will vote for Kerry and never said anything nice about Bush during all three debates were suddenly impressed by the warmth of his closing statement and especially the answer to the "strong women in your life" question. That question's placement at the end no doubt magnified the positive reation, similar to judges who score a round based on a flurry in the final 30 seconds.

One woman said it was the first time she had seen the likeable qualities of Bush that she remembered from the 2000 debates. She was one of the holdovers from my debate watchers in 2000, someone who switched from Gore to Bush based on Gore's behavior in debate #1. The apolotical type is much more swayed by personal aspects than DUers like to believe.

[Ell09]

14. It was 6-6 a tie

I was a little disheatened to see us only tie in a focus group of women in Wisconsin. That said atleast 3 of the 12 women were obvious fundies who would never vote Democrat. The larger woman with the dark hair who was a Kerry supporter was just BURYING these ladies when she had a chance. There was one lady in the focus group, who said she was leaning Bush, who seemed like she might actually swith to Kerry despite always voting Republican. We got one vote from another lady who admitted to voting for Bush in the last election. The group was atleast 7-5 in favor of Bush in 2000 from what I gathered, so in actuality Kerry gained some ground in that rather small focus group.

Of course, it's results are no more or less reflective of what's going on than CNN and Gallup polling 900 some people telling us who's "likely" to vote.

[bush equals idiot]

15. Yes, that dark haired girl on the end

could have educated them all in there. She was sharp. She kind of stayed quiet towards the end. I think she just felt, what kind of morons am I sitting with here.

Boy, I wish I was in one of them focus groups. I'd make their ears shrivel up.

[Eurobabe]

16. Go MARIA! I think that's what her name was

she was an Industrial Counselor.

[liberal N proud]

18. It must be the kool-aid

[bklyncowgirl]

20. Focus group shows there's opportunity for Kerry

The bad news is that the millions of dollars the Republicans have spent on negative ads have worked--at least in the minds of some people.

The good news is that most of those people were wary of Bush. I thought the question about who would you trust to negotiate the release of your child from terrorists was telling. Most of the respondents said Kerry.

In the next couple of weeks Kerry has to hammer home the theme that Bush is a loose cannon, a hot head who ignores facts if they do not agree with his preconceived notions and an arrogant phony who has screwed up the safety and security of this country in his first term and would do even more damage if given the blessing of the voters in his second term.

[Kahuna]

22. They sickening because they're evidence of the effectiveness

of propaganda fed to the unwashed, 24/7.

[ReverendDeuce]

23. I shut it off when...

... the woman started speaking about Kerry's health initiative. All of a sudden, it seemed, all of the panelists believed Kerry's health care coverage plan was "government run care", that "doesn't work as we have seen in Canada and Europe". It is astounding that people believe these myths.

I have friends and family in Canada that are perfectly happy with the national health care system up north. Everything is handled.