Some welcomed context about Obama polls

[babylonsister]

http://mediamatters.org/blog/200907110001


Some welcomed context about Obama polls

July 11, 2009 9:10 am ET by Eric Boehlert


As we've noted for the past week or so, the Beltway press seems rather obsessed with highlighting what journalists insist are the president sagging (and troubling!) poll numbers. The urge was so strong that the entire news teams at ABC pretty much refused to report accurately on its own poll which showed Obama enjoying a sky-high job approval rating of 65 percent. (For the CW crowd, that was def. the wrong poll result.)

What's been completely missing from most of the poll reporting is any context to how Republicans are doing right now. The press seems to think it's a very, very big deal that Obama's approval rating, in general, seems to have slowly slid down in recent weeks. But that slight decline is usually viewed in a vacuum. What voters think of Republicans is of little interest to the press. And I think I know why. If reporters spell out how historically unpopular the GOP is right now, it completely undercuts the drama they're trying to create about Obama's relatively robust poll numbers.

For instance, in his piece on Obama polling this week Politico's Ben Smith not once spelled out for readers where Republicans stood. The only passing reference came in this passage, where Smith quoted a spokesman for a Democratic Congressional candidate:

Furthermore, he noted, despite some signs of Democratic weak spots, the opposition is even less popular on key issues. “The national Republican brand is not in good shape,” {Jared} Leopold said.

You don't say.

The context is important because right now the press, purposely I think, is painting a false portrait. The press stresses Obama's approval rating is falling. But politically, Obama is not competing with himself. He's competing with the opposition party, whose popularity is actually in free fall. Theoretically, it's possible that if voters continue to hold Republicans in such low regard, Obama's approval rating could fall another 15 points in the next three years and he could easily be re-elected. But the press pretends that with each lost approval point Obama is inching into trouble.

Which brings me to this Minnesota report from Public Policy Polling which does put things into proper perspective:

Barack Obama's approval rating in Minnesota has dropped six points since April, but that doesn't mean voters are responding too positively to some of his Republican alternatives.

The poll details that Obama's approval rating in Minnesota is down six points, but that he would easily defeat home state Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty if here were the GOP nominee in 2012. The poll also found that, in Minnesota, Obama would crush Sarah Palin if she were the 2012 nominee.

That's the context the press often ignores; Obama's approval ratings are down, but he still dominates over Republicans. For some reason most pundits and reporters only want to focus on the first half of that equation.

[Cant trust em]

1. I don't think that Obama is competing with the opposition party when he moves to the right

Not moving on equality issues, escalating the war in Afghanistan, and not releasing torture photos does not compete with Republicans.

He'll probably still win re-election, but if he continues to move in this direction a lot of the left will leave him behind.

[babylonsister]

2. Patience, though were all your issues addressed, I'm sure there'd

be others.

[Cant trust em]

4. Ironically, they're not really my issues.

Typically I agree with the president.

But I don't think that the point of the article is quite accurate.

[quaker bill]

6. What you are missing

is that this is a dynamic thing. The "right" does not stay in a fixed position. To the modest extent Obama has moved toward moderation, or delivered on his campaign promises in regard to Afghanistan, the right has moved even more rightward to keep up a contrast.

When one owns all the reasonable moderate ground, the right has to move so far to the right, that all moderation is gone.

They are babbling lunacy about birth certificates, peace sign shirts, "socialism", fake lost "freedoms", conspiracy theories about the census, all this is combined with a slow trickle of sex scandals and related bribery....

This is having your opponent just where you want them.


(no actual "socialism" has been passed or signed into law), (no actual "freedoms" we had on January 1, 2009, have been reduced), it is all an illusion. However, the one about guns and ammo is not an illusion, it is instead a brilliant marketing ploy by guns and ammo manufacturers. They figured out a very creative way to avoid the worst impacts of a global recession.

[Cha]

3. Well, Eric Boehlert has it

right, doesn't he?

The corporatewhoremedia's job is to undermine Pres Obama but so sad for them..Team Obama knows how to get around mediawhores or they wouldn't have won in 2008 and neither would we.

[Jennicut]

5. The Repubs have Sarah Palin as the hero for their party...they are in rough shape to say the least