MSM & BushCons struggle to explain Bush's low approval rating--funny!

[Peace Patriot]

How did the most unpopular "re-elected" President in history get
"re-elected"?
____________

I don't much read the BushCon press any more, but I glanced at it this
morning because of the headline, "Sagging Approval Threatens Bush,"
in my local TP roll.

It was from a story in the L.A. Times yesterday, by Peter Wallsten,
being reprinted everywhere today, which begins:

"Despite a clear-cut re-election and the prospect of lasting GOP
dominance in Congress, President Bush prepares to kick off his second
term with the lowest approval ratings of any just-elected sitting
president in a half-century, according to a series of new surveys."

The Times' Wallsten cites the new Gallup poll (for CNN and USA Today):
"Bush's approval rating at 49 percent, close to his pre-election
numbers," and points out that, "That's 10 to 20 percentage points
lower than every elected sitting president at this stage since World
War II."

He also notes last week's Gallup poll (for ABC and WaPo): Bush
approval rating at 48 percent (and Time mag 49%), with 56 percent
saying the Iraq war is not worth fighting.

The comments in Wallsten's article are hilarious:

Frank Newport (ed of Gallup poll): "The question is, what happened to
the honeymoon?"

David Winston (Republican pollster): "Communications up front is going
to be as important as any task that they have at this point. There is
a lot of important messaging that this administration is going to
have to do in January and in February. It's taking the issues and the
agenda and beginning to set it up in a way that the American public
has a clear understanding of the direction he's going to go."

William Kristol (fascist rag Weekly Standard"): "A lot of the talk
about momentum and agendas and political realignment is overdone in
the sense that it all depends on this contingent fact of how Iraq
goes."

I like Winston's the best, that BushCons still have "a lot of
important messaging" to do, and still haven't figured out how to "set
it up" so that the public can be "clear" on the "direction he's going
to go."

But Kristol's "A lot of talk about momentum...is overdone" is quite
precious as well.

You will notice both Cons use the phrase "a lot of" (did they have
lunch together? coffee with Karl?).

Translation: A lot of what we said last month is bunk.

The Times writer casts about for reasons for the low approval rating.
Is it pending cuts to popular social programs? Kerik? Iraq?

It's fun to see them squirm.

The Times gives this article the headline, "Reelection honeymoon with
voters eludes Bush, polls say." The Age (Australia) is more blunt:
"No honeymoon for Bush as approval slumps," and changes a word or two
to emphasize Bush's "slump."

Note: He got a few %'s of bump just after Nov. 2, presumably for
having been "reelected," then nosedived to where he was just before
the election--an approval rating so low for a sitting President that
he was, in truth, UNelectable.

And guess what?

__________

To read the originals:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bushpolls28
dec28,1,7019609.story

http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/
No-honeymoon-for-Bush-as-approval-slumps/
2004/12/29/1103996610162.html?oneclick=true

(Remove paragraph returns before cutting and pasting urls.)

[gordianot]

1. Bwhahahahah too late! n/t

[buzzard]

2. Perhaps it's because he wasn't re-elected. n/t

[lonestarnot]

21. Buzzards really know how to puke....

:puke:

[me b zola]

26. and, umm, strange how his approval rating

is suspiciously close to the number that we contend was the REAL outcome of the election.

[ClassWarrior]

3. Great thread, but...

...please call them the Corporate Media. There's nothing "mainstream" about their agenda of greed.

NGU.

[Peace Patriot]

12. Agreed.

I was playing with this, and came up with MICM (mainstream illusion creating media), but since no one knows it, I have to explain it every time. (pronounced "mike 'em").

The trouble is that everyone here uses MSM and we all know what it means. I did like SCLM better (because I pronounce it to myself as "scum"). So-Called Liberal Media. That's really a great one.

CM: Corporate Media (seems a little dry)
BCM: BushCon Media (I like it!)
BM: Bush Media (as in "bowel movement") (ahem...)
BWHM: BushWHacked Media (bit obscure)
Another version--B(W)HM: Bush(W)Hacked Media
BMH: Bush Media Hacks (double meaning might get lost)

[Sick_of_Rethuggery]

19. pk_du on another thread had the best name:

"Stenographer Corps"!!

Accurate and biting all at once...

[Senator]

17. Not the time or place...

...for a long discussion, but I agree we need something better than "mainstream."

But I also agree with the poster above that "corporate" doesn't have sufficient impact. This is true for all "political" uses of the word.

Using "corporate" is fine for a saavy, anti-fascist audience. But its use is limited as a propaganda tool. The average person's eyes just glaze over because there's no "agreed upon" content in the word. In fact, it has a long history of use with a "benign and efficient" connotation.

I'm not proposing "the answer" here, just asking that others do some thinking about it.

Though as I read your post the word "midstream" popped into my head. And I did enjoy the vision of the mediawhores flailing around, in over their heads, and generally being pushed along helpless by the latest current. (That's the kind of image a good meme/label creates.)

Just a thought
__
www.thedeanpeople.org

[electropop]

4. Thanks you brightened my day.

It cheers me up to see Rethugs suffering like that. Let's see, 48% approval before election, 48% after, yet 51% voted for him? Gosh that is interesting. Maybe if he more clearly explains all the terrible things he's about to do to America, we'll like him better? And it will be more believable that people voted for him?

[dean_dem]

5. I love how they use the term "important messaging."

As if the reason they have such low approval ratings is not because they are doing a terrible job, but rather we just don't "get it!" See, its not his fault that we don't understand how Smirky is trying to save us from the terrists! How ungrateful of us!

Really, it's not that I don't "understand" the message. I just think it's bullshit.

[bleever]

6. I also got a good laugh out of this. It's more fun to see the

Corporate Media trying to make sense out of this than it is to hear Dems trying to analyze what they did wrong, or how the R's out-hustled or out-messaged them.

Squirm, you irrelevant flock of jackdaws!

[glitch]

7. You are right - they are laughable.

I wish more people would laugh at them, perhaps they wouldn't be so arrogant.
(of course we're talking about derisive laughter)

[ginnyinWI]

8. haha

No mandate!
No honeymoon! (yuk)
No re-election, because he was NEVER elected. Not once.
The Thief in chief--when are people gonna get it?

America wanted this boy king gone! Corporate America is the only part of America that has a president.

[Pithy Cherub]

9. Humorous watching them try to explain * since it doesn't

match reality. When was the last time a poll was done to check the media's approval rating? They should put them side by side and have a public pity party... :nopity:

[libertypirate]

10. Just another coincidence…

they can't say his approval rating is coincidental or they would.

[me b zola]

28. Maybe it's one of those 'glitches'

n/t

[tridim]

11. I've yet to talk to anyone who voted for Bush

that wasn't already going to vote for him anyway, yet I've talked to many who voted for him in 2000 and didn't vote for him on 2004 and instead voted for Kerry. The results of the past "election" make no sense at all. Where are all these new Bush voters? Where are the old ones for that matter? I'm in a supposedly red state, and I only know of a few.

[Peace Patriot]

13. Yeah, I keep hearing many, many stories like this.

It's really bizarre--as if we're living in The Matrix.

[jdog]

31. Whoa, that's so true. n/t

[Pacifist Patriot]

14. Same here.

Tons of disgruntled Bush voters flipping for Kerry or Nader, but not a single Gore voter inclined to throw in their lot with the Republicans. I don't get it either. I still don't see that their GOTV efforts were any better than the Dems.

[Generator]

15. Yeah it's like they voted Bush and didn't even know it!!

No one will ever make me believe the majority of all those new voters-the largest tunout since 1968 were there for Bush Jr.

Ever ever.

I suppose I would have bought a "bush win" if the numbers were close, if there weren't a flood of new voters, if I wasn't personally aware of how motivated the Left and the middle were to get rid of Bush. If his numbers weren't so low, if there wasn't an increasingly unpopular war, if the youth didn't turn out (they did) if we weren't mad with a freaking fever to defeat the least liked President in US history. But oh well.

DAMN. I'm mad again.

Don't tell me it's raining when the sun is in my eyes.

(my little parable for November 2nd, 2004)

[lonestarnot]

22. Lot of the bitches visiting Arizona

One passed me and two other cars in his caddy at lunch in a yellow left turn lane. Flipped him off and he decided to chase me. So I thought we might have a shoot out (wild west out here ya know) so I showed him how to give up. LOL

[Quakerfriend]

16. Once the boy king has pushed thru his neocon judges

the repugs won't have anymore need for him. We must rally in the streets 1/3-1/6!

[GetTheRightVote]

18. They are trying to beat us up but we will not let them, forget their lies

and we will take back what is ours to take, our Democracy,
it is a time for action and not for fears, do not listen to them,
they hope to defeat us mentally as well as legally but forget them
and their continued lies, we will march no Jan3/6 and show them what
we are made of.......

:kick:

[McCamy Taylor]

20. when are those neo-cons gonna learn to stop doing polls?

they are never gonna hear what they want to hear

:P

[jmknapp]

23. Polls sample everyone

But the election only sampled those who turned out, and managed to cast a vote.

That explains the difference between the election and opinion polls about Bush.

If the pollster were to put Democrats on hold for several hours before querying them, perhaps then the opinion poll would match the election result.

[Richard Steele]

24. You make a good point, JM!

[jmknapp]

25. Sample polling script

...for the results to match the electoral results:

if (respondent == black) {
say("We need to do a criminal record check") ;
Ask_for_Social_Security_Number() ;
}

if (respondent == Democrat) {
say("Your opinion is very important to us... please wait...") ;
sleep(60) ; // sleep 60 seconds
}
Do_poll() ;

[newyawker99]

36. Hi dicksteele!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[genieroze]

27. Maybe the approval ratings are wrong, you know, like the exit polls. eom

[Evening Star]

29. Already archived links?

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

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[consciousobjector]

32. New link anyone?

I'm getting the same "page not found"

[zimba]

30. WTF. 49%

That much. Damn, that seems like a high number. I guess ol Abe was right when he said "you can fool some of the people all of the time, and thems called republicans."

Or something like that.

[fooj]

33. my nona used to tell me...

it took much more time and effort to cover-up a lie than to tell one!:crazy: sounds like *'s got everyone on OT working late nights!:) That works for me!!!!!

WHAT ARE THEY HIDING???:think:

[marlakay]

34. The percents haven't changed a bit

but of course they will say they have for whatever reason. It is the same it has always been. Most americans think he sucks. The only other thought is stupid assholes who hate him didn't vote, and they just blew it for the rest of us.

[tritsofme]

35. Buyer's remorse

They're going to get what they paid for.

[bmoney07]

37. Fuck em - let all of the neocons rott in their own stinking mess

we tried to warn all of the hard headed idiots out there, and they laughed at us - so fuck em

[FogerRox]

38. Right on bro--eff 'em Approval rating down? Becasue you frikkin

suck-- on neo con kool aid.

My Mission: TARGET CBS

Join the protest @ CBS in NYC or protest in DC--If enough Peeps show @ CBS I will extend the efforts to other outlets, Like ABC & NBC.

Power to the People ! !! ! ! RIght On Brother KIP ! !! !

http://www.51capitalmarch.com /
[e-mail] /

[The Judged]

39. Easy: "Americans are upset that he is too moderate. Want change now!"

The low approval rating will be put through the Republican lexicon dialect processor and come out as:

Americans are upset that Iran hasn't been invaded yet, that Social Security is such an embarrassment that needs to be scrapped, that dissidents should be put to death, that a national sales tax hasn't replaced income tax yet, and that Democrats have tried to taint the immaculate re-election of Bush.

"Bush needs only to act more quickly on his very strong and convincing mandate in order to see his popularity rise."