Boy I hate polls, not the polls themselves, but what the media does with the numbers to create validity for a story. The Washington Post has had an ongoing poll asking a number of questions. The most important factor in the poll is trends, which way is American opinion heading on certain questions. If you read this story http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/07/13/MNG2B7KGK41.DTL and never saw the rest of the poll, you would think, Oooo much badness for Bush. The only polling number the story tells of is:
*A new Washington Post poll found that 45 percent of the public believes the war was worth fighting, compared with 49 percent in May and 57 percent a year ago
Using the very same poll you could have just as easily
spun a story about the numbers concerning who America would vote for....while Kerry's approval rating as the choice for the president peaked in June during the release of Michael Moore's movie Farenheit 9/11 at 48% compared to Bush's 44%, Kerry has since lost ground with American voters and continues to slide in the polls. The latest Washington Post poll shows that only 46% of registered voters would now vote for Kerry compared to 48% last March. Bush however continues to remain the strong choice in the eyes of the American voters and his campaign is gaining momentum, 46% of the voters would choose Bush if the election were held today, compared to only 42% back in March. This strength in Bush's numbers comes, after Moore's movie, after Edwards was ed as Kerry's running mate and after the release of findings by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
On the war on terror, when Americans were asked who they would trust to do a better job, 51% said Bush compared to 42% that said Kerry. Terrorism and the war in Iraq continue to be the most important issue for Americans, combined, 38% of Americans feel that it's the most important issue in their vote for a president, compared to 29% that feel the economy and jobs are the number one issue, which 78% of those Americans polled felt that their financial situation was about the same or better off than a year ago. The reason for Bush's strength in his numbers is that 59% of Americans feel Bush is a strong leader and 57% feel he can be trusted and 53% feel that the war with Iraq has contributed to the long-term security of the US.
Spin it baby...spin it
Unlike the real article, here's the poll http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/trend_071204.html so that you can come to your own conclusions
