CBS might be off by a couple percentage points? Who cares. The story is that more people think your guy is doing a bad job than think he's doing a good job. It's been that way for a long time and it's getting worse. Pick your poll:

http://www.pollingreport.com/

Scrappleface has a good satire on this. Bush says "34%, huh? Well at least it's better than CBS's poll ratings."

That would be really bad, Kerm. You know, if CBS were the only frikken channel on TV.

Clown,

Does the leash cut into your skin when it gets yanked?

The story isn't about comparing numbers - it's about CBS' misleading presentation of the weighting of their poll.

Just pointing out that, even if you're right, it's pretty meaningless. So some poll dork miscalculated his sample, resulting in a 2-3% inflation in the number of Americans who think your guy is up to the job? The comparison shows that CBS is out front of the other polls by a couple of percentage points, at most.

"So some poll dork miscalculated his sample"

Again, that's not the story.

It's that CBS is blatantly misrepresenting the poll's numbers.

That's cute...."some poll dork miscalculated his sample". Sorta like how SCSU WILDLY oversampled Democrats about 2 or 3 months ago, in a fairly Republican area? Remember that one? And what happened? The poll came out showing nothing but glowing love for every DFL name.

Pollsters are paid to either get it RIGHT...or...get the result that the person paying them wants to see. If that poll was supposed to be 'fair and balanced', there is NO WAY you oversample like that. Unless...you were doing the bidding of your master...Gunga Dan and his merry band of Libs.

Get a grip.

Whether the numbers in the poll are right or wrong doesn't matter. Bush will not run again. He has no protege. Unless the democrats manage to pick up 18 senate seats in November Bush will not be impeached.
Better that the left crow the results of public opinion polls than that they spend the effort on winning elections.

The CBS poll is a self-evidently dishonest attempt to inflict maximum political damage on a perceived enemy. Such blatant oversampling of Democrats can only be explained as intentional distortion.

There are lots of ways to manipulate a poll if you're pursuing an agenda rather than accuracy. Where there's such obvious bias at the visible level, you can assume there's deeper bias throughout.

Liberals shouldn't celebrate polls like that. They should demand polls that accurately reflect national sentiment. They should want to know exactly where they stand. Otherwise, they'll pursue issues and prop up candidates that are counterproductive.

Hmmn. Forget I said anything.

"Pollsters are paid to either get it RIGHT...or...get the result that the person paying them wants to see. "

Paid to get it right? LOL that's funny. My marketing professor showed us exactly what pollsters do in order to skew the results. Under and overpolling a sample is only the beginning! You should always look at the questions asked when looking at a poll. Most polls have questions that are phrased to give one desired answer.

Another trick is to load up on 'Independents' who really aren't. They'll be absurdly heavy with Democrat-leaning demographic groups. When a pollster places such a heavy thumb on the scale where you can see it, you can bet he's added a hand and a foot where you can't.

News organizations don't do this kind of polling. Advocacy groups do. That should tell you how to categorize CBS, if any doubts remained.

I don't see why you folks care about poll numbers. I can't think of any time when you agree to a fact you don't like. And I know you would never giggle like school girls, because you mouths are to busy fluffing "W" while you're down on your knees focusing on the american flag under his navel. But lucky for you he's small enough that you can still talk around the "issues". That's why you suckers are so good at beating around the Bush.

Fogmaster,

I thought this was about the trustworthiness of polling data, but evidently you have obsessions and fantasies of your own. Unnervingly vivid, if you ask me.

Fogmaster: Master of the obfuscating haze, or owner of a defective bathroom vent.
You decide.

Fog; sniffing glue is bad.

Now get to school before the truantcy officers find you.

I go to Mystery Pollster, who does this for a living:

Some will no doubt seize on the fact that the latest CBS News sample is a few points more Democratic on party ID (37%) than on their last three surveys (34% in late January, 33% in early January and 32% in December), although the Republican percentage (28%) is about the same as the last three surveys (27%, 29% and 28% respectively). However, the difference in the party results does not explain the drop in the Bush job rating, which occurs across all three categories.

http://www.mysterypollster.com/main/2006/02/ports_cbs_news_.html

The Cook/RT poll also showed a similar drop in support (dropping from 47% to 40%, comapred with CBS' drop from 42% to 34%). These also track with other polls which show a serious erosion in support for Bush.

In short, we can argue whether Bush's support is 34% or 40% or 43%, but they're all in the same danger zone for the President and the Republicans. It's not a question of whether Bush is in big trouble, it's a question of how big the trouble is.

If GW would quit acting like a doofus on the anti-semite, anti-Jewish, Israel-hating United ARAB Emirates "from 6 to 21" ports deal, he may start coming up in polls.

Right now he looks and seems and comes across as idiotic and not really engaged in the "War On Terror"(tm).....

His base is leaving, Mitch, and you know it. Donks are playing this to the hilt and I would too if I was in their shoes.

Greg -- Re: UAE port deal -- The great thing about Bush is he's willing to take a hit in the polls for things that he believes will help in the war on terror. I'm willing to bet that when the story gets told the UAE has been an enormous help and ally.
If Bush killed the deal then the Dem's -- or at least the UN -- would be shouting that he's anti-Muslim. He has said all along you're either with us or against us. Clearly he thinks UAE is with us.
Losing his base? That might be his base's fault for being so quick to believe Bush is wrong on this one. His base will be back.

Chriss,
Do not really care if the Useless Nations or the Donks think we are anitimuslim....just want a President that is pro-American. American ports and American jobs....Red Chinese can go too. They need us more than we need them.

This ports deal is dead and hope "He Who Will Not Be Named" on the radio and others keep up the pressure. This is a bad deal from a terrorist nation that hates Jewish people and Israel.

Bush will just keep dropping in the polls as long as he keeps being pigheaded about our good Islamic friends as moderates...there is not such an animal. Messrs. Clinton, Carter and Dole are all for it so my b.s. detector is ringing off the hook now.

Greg-
"I would too if I was in their shoes."
You wear shoes?

So what do you conservatives make of the two latest polls that show essentially the same results?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-03-02-ports-poll_x.htm

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,186634,00.html

What I think is funny is that both stories headlines are about the port deal but burried in the copy are the numbers for Bush...

We're talking Nixon numbers here folks...

But PLEASE don't let that stop Bush from going out and making campaign appearances for guys like Mark Kennedy. I think right now, Bush is the Greatest ally the Democrats ever had.

In the final analysis of course.

4 other polls now show Bush below 40%, funny, apparently CBS was pretty much right, and Mitch, pretty much wrong.

Well, not funny, actually it's the norm.

PB

Every poll in the last week shows Bush in the tank, including FOX (unless you think they've suddenly become part of the MSM?). America is just tired of the lies, the misdirections, the mistakes. And you neocons have to share the blame.

"You don't get the president you wanted, you get the president you voted for."