Poll: Bush tops Kerry as a strong leader

[Nambe]

WASHINGTON (AP)

President Bush retains an advantage with voters on such qualities as decisiveness and strength of leadership despite the Democrats' effort to promote John Kerry as a strong leader, a poll this week finds. ..

Bush has a 10-point, 49-39% advantage over the Massachusetts senator on the issue of handling terrorism. They were even on handling Iraq, and Kerry was favored by slightly more on the handling of foreign policy, according to a poll released Thursday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. ..

Kerry campaign pollster Mark Mellman said many polls have come out since the Democratic National Convention last month and generally have shown Kerry strengthening his position with the public.

"All the evidence says that Kerry has more than passed the threshold test on national security and on leadership," Mellman said. ..

Ride Don’t Drive * * It’s Global Cool

[Massacure]

1. Ask the question again at the end of Kerry's first term

Then we will see who is more of a "strong leader."

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

2. Decisiveness, strength, Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, Rupert Murdoch

...all of those things working in his favor. Dogs can smell fear, so can Democrats. Say goodnight George.

[movonne]

3. How about his sitting in the class room.

[truthisfreedom]

6. that took strong buttocks with an iron grip on the seat!

never mind the man behind the curtain. focus on the propaganda! OBEY!

[slojim240]

4. Strong leader: being proven wrong and sticking to it!!

Keep on digging that hole while you are standing in it.

It takes real courage to admit you are wrong. It takes real courage to listen to wiser voices. It takes real courage to tell the truth. Bush may be a "strong leader" but he sure as hell ain't "courageous."

[Poiuyt]

5. Just because he's a strong leader doesn't mean

he's making the right decisions.

[nolabels]

12. The stench always arrives first

http://www.misleader.org/daily_mislead/Read.asp?fn=df08132004.html

April 1, 2004
Tombstone Blues

Dying in Vain in Iraq

By RON JACOBS

The White House finally presented one of the most timeworn and meaningless rationales for continuing the wrongheaded war and occupation in Iraq. It is a rationale that so-called patriots pull out of their hat (or perhaps they pull it from that part of their body where the "sun don't shine") when all other rationales have proven to be false. It is also a rationale that any thoughtful parent, friend, sibling or other relation of a GI hopes they will never hear. On March 31, 2004, as news of the deaths of five GIs and four US non-military "security" personnel filtered through the wires, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told the press: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those victims. But we will not be intimidated. And the best way to honor those who have lost their lives is to continue to show resolve."

In short, Mr. McClellan means that the killing and dying will continue. That resolve he's speaking of is the resolve of men and women sitting in their leather-cushioned chairs in boardrooms and government offices around the United States and behind the well-guarded walls of the Green Zone in Baghdad. In fact, the Empire's main point man Mr. Bremer echoed the White House's comment in his own statement. At a graduation ceremony for the Iraqi police (the next group of Iraqi targets of the resistance), Mr. Bremer told these men that the dead occupiers in Iraq had "not died in vain." The GIs who were killed were fulfilling an obligation they may have regretted they ever made. Dying for a cause you don't believe in is a hard thing to do.
(snip)
http://www.counterpunch.org/jacobs04012004.html

[donkeyotay]

7. that's because he repeats the word over and over

Karl told him to. "Strong this" and "strong that." I'll bet he calls hurricane Charley "strong" too. "Uh...it was a strong storm..."

When are the American people going to figure this out?

[skooooo]

8. Stalin was a strong leader too.

[goforit]

19. And I guess Hitler was as well.

[vickie]

9. From this headline, you'd never know that Kerry was ahead in

the head to head matchup against the Dim Son.

[PATRICK]

10. You nailed it.

After a brief admission then embarrassed silence the AP wire, where most newspapers get their headline national and foreign news, spins it against the Democrats in any way possible. I don't know how blatant it has to get to move from the realm of subconscious bias, fear of the GOP, corporate preference or just plain blindness using the GOP talking points as a cane.

The difference when the major outlets disliked and leaned away from the GOP and now when it does the same overall to the Democrats is that in the first case they disliked the lie. Now, in the latter, they fear the truth.

[w4rma]

11. Headline could've been: Kerry tops Bush on economics, health and education

But, then the USA Today would have been saying something positive about a Democrat in a headline and that is a big no no for them.

Anything positive about Democrats gets burried in the middle of the articles.

[Endangered Specie]

14. Lucky if it even makes the middle, usually the back end or not at all.

[NeoConsSuck]

13. Go to USAToday.com

and their headline is: Poll: Kerry's leadership skills still lacking

It's just another one of those "Liberal" websites.

[2Design]

15. are they monkeys...polling monkeys.....only the brainless could

possibly think bush is a leader. He is an idiot

[0007]

16. Scaring the American people is a sign of strong leadership?

Give me a fucking break.

[SpecialK84]

17. I heard this last night ...

from everyone's favorite reliable source of information (Fox).

They practically made it out as the ultimate deciding poll of the election. Even Dubya's site is touting it as gospel (pardon the horrible irony of that wording, given our President's obvious "divine mandate from the Almighty"):

1. A majority of Americans approve of President Bush's job performance. President Bush's job approval in the Gallup poll is now at 51%, while his disapproval is at 46%, a net increase of 6 points since the beginning of August. His 51% approval is now almost identical to President Clinton's 52% in August 1996 and President Reagan's 54% in August 1984. As USA Today noted, "no president who has been at or above 50% at this point in an election year has lost."


I love the fact they use a comparision to Clinton in that kind of context although they condemn practically everything about his administration.



(by the way, I'm Kasi, and I'm new ... this is my first post! YAY!)

[54anickel]

23. Welcome to DU Kasi. Glad you could join us.

:hi:

[PDX Bara]

24. Welcome!

Welcome to DU and congratulations on your first and very thoughtful post. There are posters here who must be really big stars in their "other life" - Tahiti Nut, Papau, and ProfessorGAC come immediately to mind but there are many, many others. I lurked for an embarrassingly long time before I signed up and I'm still not a very active poster but I hang on this site way more than I'm willing to admit to most people. My screen name means "Portland Rose" and that I am in some ways and I am so happy that so many turned out to welcome John Kerry in my home town (wish I were there) - one report said 40,000 and I thought to myself "Way to go! Wish I had been there." Enjoy your stay and good for you, a star already - there is much to be learned here.

[SpecialK84]

26. I've been a lurker for a little while...

It's been the "always open" window that I can't seem to quit reading, and even though I'm a little slow and people always beat me to what I would say I figured I might as well sign up.

I went to the rally in Kansas City; I've heard between 20,000-30,000 which is great ... but the Portland rally pictures I've seen looked incredible! I really want to go to another one. This was my first rally, as it's also my first election -- I'm a youngin' (20) and it was a completely awesome experience.

Thanks for the welcomes!

[PDX Bara]

27. Addictive...

It is indeed difficult to quit reading here. Sure doesn't look to me like you're "slow." I'm nearly old enough to be your grandma and it's good to see "youngin'" like you posting - I think there may be many young persons reading and posting here and that is a very good thing. We are a diverse family of independent thinkers here at DU. I'm glad you're here.

[goforit]

18. Bullsh*t!!!!!!!!!!......How much did Bush/Cheney pay for that poll??????

[wurzel]

20. Ahead on "Foreign Policy" but behind of "Terrorism"? Is it Me??

[Fovea]

21. Hitler topped FDR as strong leader...

and we know how that turned out...

[MaryBear]

22. I'd want to see the poll questions

and how they were framed, before giving credence to the results.

[brentspeak]

25. This is what inspired my General Patton post

I saw this headline and came to the conclusion that Kerry was being perceived by the public as too soft, and said to myself "Kerry's got to take-no-prisoners from now on!" Maybe I'm wrong; emotion took over.