Fear of Clowns

• New numbers from the Office of Strategic Initiatives show overwhelming support for President Bush and say that 76 percent rated the speech favorably, and 70 percent say the policies outlined in the speech will move the nation in the right direction, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.

  But Bush has Americans' favor all the way around:

  • 69% express satisfaction with their financial situation (NBC/WSJ)
  • 68% approve of Bush's handling of terrorism (NYT)
  • 64% rate Bush as a strong leader (CBS/NYT)
  • 59% say Bush cares about their needs and problems (CBS/NYT)
  • 58% say the Bush administration has made progress on the economy (CBS/NYT)
  • 58% approve of the president's job performance (ABC/Wash. Post)
  • 54% approve of Bush's handling of the economy (Gallup)
  • 54% favor the new Medicare law (NBC/WSJ)

I do find it funny that whoever compiled the list of poll results had to look at six polls to find eight results they liked. I can do better! I can pick results I like from only two polls (the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll referenced above and the most recent CBS/NYT poll, released 1/18/2004, PDF).

• 43.4 Million, or about 14% of Americans watched President Bush's 2004 State of the Union Address, according to Nielsen Media Research. This figure is about 20 million, a full third less than watched the speech in 2003. 76 percent of those that watched or 11 percent of the general population, rated the speech favorably.

  And Bush seems not to be favored by Americans all the way around. According to a January CBS/NYT poll:

  • 45% think they would probably vote for the as of yet nominated Democratic candidate, more than the 43% who think they would probably vote for George W. Bush, if the 2004 Presidential election were being held today.
  • Just 50% approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as President.
  • 51% think George W. Bush does not have the same priorities for the country as they have.
  • 58% think Bush is more interested in protecting the interests of large corporations more than ordinary Americans.
  • 69% think the President could accurately be called a "butt-munch".

(OK, I made the last one up)

// posted by Erik @ 1/23/2004 01:07:00 AM
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