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Cal

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http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=8753
Political Hay
All Is Forgiven (Almost)
By Peter Hannaford
Published 9/16/2005 12:09:28 AM
It's not exactly Laissez les bon temps rouler, but there is good news coming out of post-Katrina New Orleans and the Gulf coast. For example:

* Tuesday evening the first container ship docked at the Port of New Orleans and began unloading. This beat the Port's predicted reopening by six months. Port officials credited the success to cooperation between federal agencies, Port staff, the dockworkers' union and state police. They now say the Port will be operating at 80 percent of normal within three months. That's good news for Midwest grain farmers who will soon be harvesting and exporting their crops.

* FEMA is sending auditors to the region to monitor the torrent of federal money pouring in for rebuilding. Given the history of government corruption in Louisiana, this is a good sign that your tax dollars will be at work instead of lining someone's pockets.

* According to EPA tallies of the New Orleans metropolitan area's 12 drinking water plants, two in the suburbs and one in the city are now producing potable water and several others are producing water that requires boiling.

* The number of dead in New Orleans, while in the hundreds, is far below the 10,000 predicted by Mayor C. Ray Nagin a week ago.

* Significantly, in a speech to the Louisiana legislature Wednesday (and broadcast statewide), Governor Kathleen Blanco accepted responsibility for any failures at the state level. This matches the previous day's statement by President Bush's that he takes responsibility for federal shortcomings.

Outrage and blame-casting were at white heat a week ago, with Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin in full CYA-mode, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu demagoging, and many in the news media doing what they do best, promoting discord.

Bush wisely did not respond in kind to the many darts aimed at him, but has made four trips to the devastated area, praising rescue workers, volunteers, and the generosity of the American people, and calling on everyone to keep working together to help evacuees and to put the area back together. His televised speech from New Orleans last night continued this theme: He understands that basic American instinct, in times of disaster, to pull together to solve the immediate problems and move ahead, putting things right.

Governor Blanco (whose indecision that first weekend was, in part, responsible for delays in federal action) now describes President Bush as "a friend and partner." Mayor Nagin, riding side-by-side with the President on two truck tours of New Orleans, has made similar positive comments. Jesse Jackson and his friends, who enjoyed 48 hours of race-mongering last week, have fallen silent.

That leaves Democratic Party operatives with a diminishing issue. A week ago, they sensed they had Bush and the Republicans on the ropes in re the 2006 Congressional elections. On Capitol Hill, where Democrats of the 109th Congress have once again failed to put forward a single policy idea (and "no" is not a policy idea), there was much harrumphing about the administration's manifest and manifold failures with regard to Hurricane Katrina. Senator Hillary Clinton had high visibility on what her colleagues sensed was a sure-fire political issue. Then came this week's CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. Fifty-eight percent of Americans approve of the way Bush has been handling the aftermath of Katrina. That is 20 points above his overall job-approval rating. Pfft goes the issue for the Democrats, who have once again "misunderestimated" their foe.


Peter Hannaford writes from Washington ([email protected]).
 
Then came this week's CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. Fifty-eight percent of Americans approve of the way Bush has been handling the aftermath of Katrina. That is 20 points above his overall job-approval rating. Pfft goes the issue for the Democrats, who have once again "misunderestimated" their foe.

Really? Let's see a link. Yes, immediately after Katrina, Bush's poll numbers went up a bit. But
"After a week of criticism for a slow response to the devastation caused by Katrina, polls released on Thursday registered drops in Bush's approval ratings and in confidence in his leadership.

A Pew Research Center poll found 67 percent of Americans believed Bush could have done more to speed up relief efforts, and just 28 percent believed he did all he could. His approval rating slipped to 40 percent, down four points since July to the lowest point Pew has recorded.

The Pew poll also found a shift in public priorities after Katrina caused a jump in gasoline prices last week, with a majority saying for the first time since the September 11, 2001, attacks that it was more important for Bush to focus on domestic policy than the war on terrorism.

"Americans are depressed, angry and very worried about the economic consequences of the disaster," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew poll.

A WEEK OF CRITICISM

The new polls indicated a week of criticism and political finger-pointing over who is to blame for the disastrous response to Katrina could have taken a toll on the White House.

A CBS poll taken September 6-7 found 38 percent approved of Bush's handling of the storm's aftermath, while 58 percent disapproved. That was a dramatic shift from immediately after the storm last week, when 54 percent approved and 12 percent disapproved.

The CBS poll also found confidence in Bush during a crisis had fallen and only 48 percent now view him as a strong leader -- the lowest number ever for Bush in the poll. A year ago 64 percent of voters saw Bush as a strong leader."


My emphasis; link below. :D :D
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050908/pl_nm/polls_dc
 
Still waiting for that link to a poll that show's Americans approve of Bush's handling of Katrina. While I'm waiting, I'll post links to this one:


http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportPopup.aspx?g=525d0997-ebfc-4359-b209-e28b44215747&q=20128

Sep 18 - 54% disapprove of Bush's handling of Katrina

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportPopup.aspx?g=05d974a1-27bf-4e94-8bc2-2906534803fc&q=20128

Sept 19 - 56% disapprove of Bush's handling of Katrina

Link to poll site: http://www.surveyusa.com/breaking.aspx
 
Fifty-eight percent of Americans approve of the way Bush has been handling the aftermath of Katrina. That is 20 points above his overall job-approval rating. Pfft goes the issue for the Democrats, who have once again "misunderestimated" their foe.

I had to come back and read this again because it is so bizarre that someone would make such a claim. Here's another poll released today that shows how badly misinformed your sources are, Cal. Excerpts. Link below; my emphasis. Note this is a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.

"Just 41 percent of the 818 adults polled between Friday and Monday said they approved of Bush's handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, while 57 percent disapproved.

And support for his management of the war in Iraq has dropped to 32 percent, with 67 percent telling pollsters they disapproved of how Bush is prosecuting the conflict.

The survey had a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Fifty-nine percent said they considered the 2003 invasion of Iraq a mistake, 63 percent said they wanted to see some or all U.S. troops withdrawn from that country and 54 percent told pollsters they favor cutting spending on the war to pay for disaster relief.

Just 35 percent of those polled approved of Bush's handling of the economy, with 63 percent saying they disapproved.

Bush's overall job approval number was 40 percent, with 58 percent of those surveyed telling pollsters they disapproved of his performance in office. It is the second time his approval rating has hit that low a mark.

His personal qualities hit fresh lows: Only 49 percent called him a strong and decisive leader, down from 54 percent in July and 51 percent in August. Just 42 percent said he cares about people like themselves, and 47 percent called him honest and trustworthy.

By contrast, 51 percent did not consider him strong and decisive, 50 percent would not call him honest and 56 percent said he didn't care about people like them."


http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/19/bush.poll/index.html?section=cnn_allpolitics
 
Sorry Disagreeable you can post all the polls you want but I dont think most people put much stock in them. After all every poll out there had Kerry winning, and look what happened. All you have to do is spin the questions in the direction you want people to response and you have everyone agreeing with your point of view. I guess polls have a place in the scheme of things but I think they are over rated as are many other things in poltics.
 
nenmrancher said:
Sorry Disagreeable you can post all the polls you want but I dont think most people put much stock in them. After all every poll out there had Kerry winning, and look what happened. All you have to do is spin the questions in the direction you want people to response and you have everyone agreeing with your point of view. I guess polls have a place in the scheme of things but I think they are over rated as are many other things in poltics.

Cal posted this article with the poll results included. I've challenged him for a link. He's ignored the challenge, so I've posted other polls to show that his claim here is absolutely wrong. If that part of his article is so wrong, what does that say about the the author? Or about Cal's integrity?

I've said since I started posting on this site that Americans would turn their back on this war. Personal observation along with polls show that's happening. George W. Bush has always said he didn't pay attention to polls, but I think his handlers pay attention. I also think all the Republicans that will be up for re-election next fall are paying a lot of attention.
 
Hey Dis, you really want a feather in your hat? Email the author and American Spectator website yourself and question them; I'm busy this week. Not going to lose any sleep over you questioning my "integrity", either. What a laugh.
 
Cal said:
Hey Dis, you really want a feather in your hat? Email the author and American Spectator website yourself and question them; I'm busy this week. Not going to lose any sleep over you questioning my "integrity", either. What a laugh.

My cap is so full of feathers that I may fly away! Is your nose sore yet?

With the absolute trash that you post out here about WMD "discoveries" and poll results, I can see why you don't worry about your "integrity". :D :D
 
My cap is so full of feathers that I may fly away!

Chicken feathers, no doubt. Obviously all the heavy negative **** and hot air cancel each other out and you remain planted.

With the absolute trash that you post out here about WMD "discoveries" and poll results, I can see why you don't worry about your "integrity".
Did you ever get around to posting your definition of a WMD? Let's see, a radioactive bomb doesn't count, poisonous gas doesn't count, nuclear components don't count . . .
 
Cal said:
My cap is so full of feathers that I may fly away!

Chicken feathers, no doubt. Obviously all the heavy negative s*** and hot air cancel each other out and you remain planted.

With the absolute trash that you post out here about WMD "discoveries" and poll results, I can see why you don't worry about your "integrity".
Did you ever get around to posting your definition of a WMD? Let's see, a radioactive bomb doesn't count, poisonous gas doesn't count, nuclear components don't count . . .

My definition of WMDs isn't important. It's the internationally accepted definition that matters. The one that George W. Bush used when he claimed Saddam had them ready to hand over to terrorists that would use them on the US.

I'll bold this so you can't miss it: If there were WMDs in Iraq, George W. Bush would have called a press conference and shown them to the world as justification for his invasion of Iraq. He hasn't done that. Tell me why, Cal?
 

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