Daily Kos/SEIU State of the Nation Poll: The sky isn't falling—Obama bounces upward

[highplainsdem]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/13/1073989/-Daily-Kos-SEIU-State-of-the-Nation-Poll-The-sky-isn-t-falling-Obama-bounces-upward

Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos & SEIU. 3/8-11. Registered voters. MoE ±3.1% (Obama trendlines 3/1-4, all others 2/23-26):

FAVORABLE UNFAVORABLE NET CHANGE
PRESIDENT OBAMA 48 (47) 47 (49) 3
DEMOCRATIC PARTY 44 (44) 47 (47) 0
REPUBLICAN PARTY 31 (31) 56 (57) 1

APPROVE DISAPPROVE NET CHANGE
PRESIDENT OBAMA 48 (46) 49 (50) 3
HARRY REID 21 (19) 45 (49) 6
MITCH MCCONNELL 18 (16) 43 (43) 2

This is why you should never, ever trust just a single poll to tell you what's happening with the state of the nation. Two surveys released on Monday to great fanfare—one from the New York Times, the other from the Washington Post—both showed Barack Obama's approval rating falling. Both polls got a lot of attention and provoked a lot of consternation. I even got a worried email from my mother.

But one poll does not a trend make. And two polls from different polling outfits don't make a trend either, since you need to compare apples to apples: the NYT's new numbers to their old, and likewise for the WaPo. Wait until next month's surveys, at least, before concluding that there's some genuine downward movement to Obama's numbers. After all, the president may very well bounce back by then, and all this wailing will look rather foolish.

-snip-

[Tarheel_Dem]

1. K&R

[MissMarple]

2. I agree. "Keep Calm and Carry On"

"Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us to Victory" I think the Brits got it right, here.