NYT: For Most Bush Voters, No Regrets After 2 Years

[Tesha]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/us/politics/02web-elder.html?8dpc

For Most Bush Voters, No Regrets After 2 Years

By JANET ELDER
Published: May 2, 2007

George W. Bush was elected to a second term by a big majority
of Republicans, half of political independents and 11 percent
of Democrats. Now, more than two years later, the majority of
those voters say they are satisfied with the Bush presidency.
But some have lost faith, and those who have say it is because
they can no longer back Mr. Bush’s support of the war in Iraq.

Fifty-eight percent of Mr. Bush’s voters say their feelings
about the administration can best be described as satisfied
but not enthusiastic. Nine percent said they are enthusiastic.
But 26 percent said they were dissatisfied and 6 percent said
they were angry, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll
taken in March.

When asked if they approve of the way Mr. Bush is doing his
job, 66 percent said they approve while 21 percent said they
disapprove and 13 percent are unsure.

This is in sharp contrast to the last two-term president,
Bill Clinton who was more popular in his second term than
in his first. At a roughly comparable point in his presidency,
April 1999, just two months after he was acquitted by the
Senate in his impeachment trial, 88 percent of people who
voted for Mr. Clinton for a second term said they approved
of the way he was doing his job, 7 percent disapproved and
6 percent were not sure.

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[MessiahRp]

1. Bullshit

And now that the NY Times published this drivel, the RWers will use this as proof that somehow Bush is a popular President.

Whatever.

Rp

[marmar]

2. Dumbasses.....

What else is there to say?

[AndyA]

3. I'm speechless that there are that many idiots in this country!

Speechless. :wtf:

[EFerrari]

9. Consider the source, Andy. n/t

[Neecy]

4. interesting spin...

He's thirty points under Clinton's ratings in his second term based on those who voted for them and this is crowed about as some kind of victory.

Only nine percent are enthusiastic...wow, what a vote of confidence. I wish the press would stop trying to pump up this ninny.

[Cha]

18. The Whorepress is why our

country is in the shape it is. Thankfully, we have the internet(thank you, Al Gore) to communicate the truth.

If we didn't have this..the nyt and all the fish rags would be getting away with murder..oh wait a minute!

[madame defarge]

5. They only talked to the 30% base...

I live in a very republican area & many, many people I've talked to are mad as hell & sorry they voted for him.

[EstimatedProphet]

6. Dupe - server's acting up

[babylonsister]

7. That's ironic considering this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3245814&mesg_id=3245814

[EstimatedProphet]

8. Who the hell did they interview for this? Did they use only Bush administration officials?

How can Bush's popularity have dropped to 28% and yet 'most' of the people that voted for him are satisfied? How does that work, Ms. "I Make Crap Up" NYTimes?

[EFerrari]

10. Cheney must be in negative numbers by now.

How bad are things, that the presstitutes have to announce that Junior is popular?

:rofl:

[MaineYooper]

11. There are none so blind...

as those who refuse to see. It would seem that there simply is nothing that this administration can screw up enough to disillusion that bottom thirty percent.

Run the numbers, and they actually make marginal sense. The claimed percentage for * was 51%; 66% of that is just over 33%. Now, let's take the more accurate number that probably 45% voted for *, and then take 66% of that. That puts the "satisfied" number right around 30%, which isn't that far off of what most polls say now. It's all how the media spin it.

[Cha]

12. They don't care that..

"In the end, President Bush's failure to heed the will of the people isn't so much an act of principle, but rather an outburst of sheer peevishness. With Democrats in control of Congress, he's no longer getting a blank check to fund his military adventures. He finds this frustrating, so he's stamping his foot, covering his ears, and taking his party down with him.

All this is exactly what one would expect in the way of a political farewell gesture from a spoiled rich kid who never grew up. Future generations of historians will note George W. Bush made a mess of every real job he ever had - and, unfortunately for America, the presidency of the United States proved to be no exception."

This is an OpE from the Rocky Mountain News..via buzzflash
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion_columnists/article/0,2777,DRMN_23972_5513967,00.html

[sinkingfeeling]

13. Anybody able to find a NYT poll by Janet Elder that does make sense?

I did a little search and found that she's also published polls that say the 'younger generation supports Bush's war and his polices the most' and prior to the Iraq invasion that 'the American public was rallying around the President'.

[liberalgenes]

14. he only got 51% of the vote to begin with

If I'm calculating this correctly, 66% approval from those people brings him down to his Kool-Aid drinking base of about 33%, which is where his overall approval ratings are right now. Sneaky way of making people think his approval is much higher!

[EFerrari]

16. He didn't get 51% of the vote or they wouldn't have had to steal OH.

[Enrique]

15. this story just swirls the backwash around in its mouth

some simple math:

The above story says two thirds (58% + 9% = 67%) of Bush voters approve of Bush now.

Bush voters represent half of the country.

Multiply two thirds by one half: one third, i.e. 33%, i.e. the well-known backwash.

[EFerrari]

25. Breaking -- Bush Voters Are Still Idiots!

lol

Welcome to DU, Enrique.

[porphyrian]

17. Isn't the NY Times the paper who employs writers who lie in their reports until they get caught?

Why would anyone believe anything they have to say, just because they fired one or two people once they were busted? They don't even know when their staff is making shit up.

[EFerrari]

23. These are the same people who ignored riots in Ohio

on Election Day 2004 and told us there was no story there.

edit: to add date

[porphyrian]

29. I thought they were an entertainment publication rather than a journalistic one.

Thanks for confirming my assessment.
;)

[whistle]

19. Brainwashed, koolaid swilling republican third wave fascist Judases

...like Bush will never admit they made a mistake. But I really hope the saner factions of Bush voters will sooner or later see the light. We now see that Cheney and Rumsfeld were the pushers of war by manipulating and fabricating the intelligence, Bush along with Condi Rice and Cheney allowed 9/11 to happen and all of these players and their minions have been and still are covering their tracks ever since. Only the completely insane would go on believing something otherwise.

[Rob H.]

20. This just shows that most Bush voters are still morans

They're just like their hero that way--despite all evidence to the contrary they continue to believe that they did what was right and that people who disagree with them just don't understand.

On edit: One not-so-small point:

Mr. Bush is presiding over a lengthy war now opposed by a majority of Americans.

Saying he's "presiding over it" doesn't even come close to describing it--he's not just presiding over it, he dragged us into it. Way to let Chimpolini off the hook, NYT.

[Marr]

21. I'd never thought about before, but can you imagine

the screaming that would come from the corporate media if a Democrat governed the way Bush does? By that I mean, if a Democrat played only to their 30% base, and ignored everyone else? I think we'd have a much better country, of course- but I can't begin to imagine the bleating from the pundits.

[deutsey]

22. Ignorance, they say, is bliss

If so, Bush supporters are the most blissful people in the world...

[jackstraw45]

24. George Bush, Hero of the Stupid.

[Cha]

26. Since they don't care about

their country which means "we are the freakin' Patriots" then what's it gonna take?

Hurt in their precious pocketbooks? bush keeps throwing billions of $$$ into the hellhole he made in Iraq..even their tax cuts aren't going to help them if wall street crashes.

Do I really believe bush has that many numbers of repukes supporting him?
No. I know how the minister of Disinformation works.

[Tesha]

27. Even when it affects them directly...

> then what's it gonna take?
>
> Hurt in their precious pocketbooks?

Even when it affects them directly, they don't seem to
learn. That's the thesis behind What's the Matter with
Kansas, after all.

Tesha

[Cha]

31. Which reminds me..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x796384

[EFerrari]

32. There's a thought.

[Cha]

34. A very beautiful sight!

You guys are the Best! Paraphrase Lewis and Clark.."Impeach On The Beach, Oh! The Joy!"

[EFerrari]

35. The organizer is one committed guy. If I wore a hat

it would be off to Brad. And also to World Can't Wait, Code Pink and Impeach Bush-Cheney.

:)

[Cha]

40. Ahhhhhhhh!

STUNNING! My two favorites..Peace and The beach!

[Tesha]

42. And not just any beach, but Ocean Beach, right? (NT)

[symbolman]

36. I just gotta say

"Now THAT'S ART!" :)

[Cha]

41. State of the

Art!!~ :)

[Arkansas Granny]

28. Apparently, they took this poll only among people who voted for

Bush, not the population as a whole.

"Fifty-eight percent of Mr. Bush’s voters say their feelings
about the administration can best be described as satisfied
but not enthusiastic."

Some people have a hard time admitting that they made a mistake and that would include those who voted for Bush.

[Johonny]

30. interesting

So about 52 % of people voted for Bush. Only 66 % of those now approve of his job. This gives Bush about a 34 % popularity. Which is within the ball park of his overall approval rating. So the numbers seem about right.

[nadinbrzezinski]

33. Does not computer

he is at what upper 20s popularity, but he got elected by a 50.1% majorty?

Ok... I'll admit, math ain't my strong suit, but.... where did the other 25% go?

[chaska]

37. Regret is a characteristic of sentient beings. I guess they WOULD have no regrets.

Hmm, imagine that.

[enki23]

38. badly worded. those numbers are terrible. he'd be defeated in a damned landslide if we voted today.

a small majority of the bare majority who elected him don't "regret" their vote. that means he's only got a little over a quarter of americans still with him. comes out to about the same as his approval ratings.

[karynnj]

39. The title and lead paragraph are incredible spin

This was a poll of those who voted for him.

Of those people:Fifty-eight percent of Mr. Bush’s voters say their feelings about the administration can best be described as satisfied but not enthusiastic. Nine percent said they are enthusiastic. But 26 percent said they were dissatisfied and 6 percent said they were angry, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll taken in March.

When asked if they approve of the way Mr. Bush is doing his job, 66 percent said they approve while 21 percent said they disapprove and 13 percent are unsure.

They avoid the question of whether they would still vote for him. Assuming that just the 6% who said they were "angry" switched to Kerry - Kerry would have won. That's ignoring the 26% dissatisfied.

Assuming that all Kerry voters were dissatisfied then and highly unlikely to be satisfied now - you get the same result that we've seen for months - Bush has between 33% to 345 of the country approving him. (In fact they could have gone backwards and not done a special study.


"