CBS/NYT Poll has Bush down 13% (to 54%), but you wouldn't know it...

[Brotherjohn]

... from reading the press coverage.

Yet another poll shows Bush's precipitous decline continuing. Yet all I have seen as far as press reports of the latest CBS/New York Times poll emphasizes what it means as far as Hispanic support for Bush. A thread earlier here on GD referred to press reports saying "Hispanic voters undecided on Bush"
(http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=48917&mesg_id=48917#49070), whereas the original NYT articles on the poll Sunday was headlined "Hispanics Back Big Government and Bush, Too". (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/03/politics/03POLL.html?ex=1061092800&en=933cbf9620cbd28b&ei=5004&partner=UNTD)

Yet buried in the article is this little, apparently inconsequential factoid: "The Times/CBS News poll also found that among the general electorate, President Bush's job approval rating has dropped to 54 percent, a 13-point fall, since May." Another poll back down in the 50s. Another poll showing Bush suffering a drastic decline in popularity. Yet what about his Hispanic support!? I'm sure that's what everyone is curious about. (not that it's a trivial issue, but his overall support means a lot more to his chances for re-election -- excuse me -- I mean election)

Has the new NYT editorial board been appointed by the Bush administration, or has Bush's rising unpopularity simply become so accepted that it is no longer a story? However the press wants to spin it, the polls keep showing that the American people no longer trust the man or his administration. He is in freefall. Wars or not, terrorist attack or not, he will be in the mid-40s by mid-September.

[gratuitous]

1. Bush support skyrockets among left-handed mulatto touch typists!

{Buried in the 23rd paragraph is this sentence} "Among the general populace, the wildly popular and incredibly manly Bush has seen his general approval numbers hold steady at a remarkable 32%, barely distinguishable and certainly within the margin of error of his fabulous 90% approval rating from just a week ago."

[RichM]

5. LOL! Yeah, that's just how it works, all right...

unfortunately... :-(

[Starpass]

2. About the "Hispanic" numbers

I saw a lot of bullshit on this myself and will try to recreate these so called numbers (didn't write them down_----talk about spin!! They have 45% of Hispanics not knowing who they favor. They have 21% liking Bush and 31% liking a Dem (these are the ones who actually committed their response to one side or the other---as you can see the big slice of them are in the "don't know" column). In addition, it was stated that the real huge problems with the Hispanics is to get them registered and out voting (perhaps that explains the 45%---as in don't have a clue what is going on---). Then they asked who best represents their point of view and it was two-thirds saying the "democrats". So go figure. The one thing they pointed out was that the Hispanics liked Bush cutting taxes----yep, everybody loves to hear "tax" cut, cut, cut don't they; but how many want the impact it means on their lives, services, etc. The dems challenge here is obviously to explain to them who is getting these shitting tax cuts and what it's going to mean in impact to their lives. They also like vouchers---well, that's still tax money and if you ain't bringin' it in, folks, your voucher schools will be a pig-holding pen with a buck a kid to work with. In a nutshell, these people ARE very much democrats but they need the Dems to explain a few basics to them at this point.

[Starpass]

3. About the "Hispanic" numbers

I saw a lot of bullshit on this myself and will try to recreate these so called numbers (didn't write them down_----talk about spin!! They have 45% of Hispanics not knowing who they favor. They have 21% liking Bush and 31% liking a Dem (these are the ones who actually committed their response to one side or the other---as you can see the big slice of them are in the "don't know" column). In addition, it was stated that the real huge problems with the Hispanics is to get them registered and out voting (perhaps that explains the 45%---as in don't have a clue what is going on---). Then they asked who best represents their point of view and it was two-thirds saying the "democrats". So go figure. The one thing they pointed out was that the Hispanics liked Bush cutting taxes----yep, everybody loves to hear "tax" cut, cut, cut don't they; but how many want the impact it means on their lives, services, etc. The dems challenge here is obviously to explain to them who is getting these shitting tax cuts and what it's going to mean in impact to their lives. They also like vouchers---well, that's still tax money and if you ain't bringin' it in, folks, your voucher schools will be a pig-holding pen with a buck a kid to work with. In a nutshell, these people ARE very much democrats but they need the Dems to explain a few basics to them at this point.

[Starpass]

4. Ahhhh-I think DU is in hickup mode......................

Somebody sober up at headquarters 'cause something odd is happening here................

[papau]

6. NYT does not even acknowledge 54% poll exists! - but on CBS site

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/02/opinion/polls/main566388.shtml

54% Bush approval is in "Hispanics' Worries: Jobs, Terror"
NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2003 Hispanics view the Democratic party more favorably than the GOP on many domestic issues, but their views are closer to Republicans' on issues such as gay marriage, school vouchers and tax cuts.



(CBS) The first major poll of Hispanics since they were declared the nation's largest minority shows them more concerned about losing their jobs than non-Hispanics in the U.S. And while they see the economy as the nation's top problem, Hispanics are also more likely than non-Hispanics to worry about terrorism and the war when asked what the country's number-one trouble is. According to a CBS News/New York Times poll, one-third of Hispanics say the economy is the most pressing concern facing the nation (compared to 39 percent of non-Hispanics), and 14 percent answered that terrorism was the biggest problem (7 percent of non-Hispanics answered terrorism).

Although Hispanics are somewhat more optimistic than non-Hispanics about the condition of the economy, they are much more worried than non-Hispanics about the job market. Over 70 percent of Hispanics are concerned that they or someone else in their household will lose their job in the next year (compared with 44 percent of non-Hispanics), and Hispanics are more than twice as likely as non-Hispanics to say they are very concerned. These job fears seem to be hitting especially hard at the lower end of the income ladder: More than half of Hispanics live in households that earn under $30,000 per year, and 76 percent of them are concerned about a job loss in their household (compared to 59 percent of those with incomes above $30,000). <snip>

Hispanics give President Bush roughly the same marks for handling his job and the economy as non-Hispanics do (52 percent job approval rating to 54 percent), but only 40 percent of Hispanics - registered voters or not - approve of the president's handling of the economy, the same rating as non-Hispanic registered voters. ... Twenty-one percent of Hispanic registered voters say they would vote for Mr. Bush in 2004, while 31 percent say they would vote for a Democratic candidate. Thirty-two percent of non-Hispanics would re-elect Bush and 26 percent would select a Democrat. <snip>

[Brotherjohn]

7. Amazing. Limited to a parenthetical entry...

... more than halfway through the article.

The number itself, however, shows that people aren't paying attention to the spin.