While most people here pay close attention to events and issues, elections in our media-driven system are decided by the casual, uninformed, "undecided" voters, who make fools of themselves constantly in those focus groups on TV. The trick for political "specialists" on both sides? "Get in their faces!". From Dick Morris:
<<Why Bush Is Riding High
by Dick Morris
The newspapers are filled with reports of President Bush's increased job approval. After what is generally conceded to have been a drop in June, his ratings have moved up smartly since the start of the summer.
While pollsters are almost unanimous in concluding that Bush is moving up, they appear befuddled as to why. His ratings on specific areas fall short of his overall job approval. While one poll finds that 59 percent rate his performance in general positively, only 45 percent approve of his environmental policy, 43 percent of his energy program, and 52 percent on his performance on the economy. So what's going on?
The key is in the mailbox.
My 70-year-old mother-in-law walked happily into our kitchen yesterday and said "Mr. Bush just sent me my tax-cut check."
As these bomblets explode in post-office boxes around the nation, they are changing the perception of Bush's days in office. There, in the brown envelope in front of an increasing number of voters, is proof that he keeps his word and cares about their needs.
It is very rare for anything the federal government does to impact directly the life of the average voter.
In the Vietnam War, the draft had such power as a political issue. In the late '70s, inflation and gas lines played this role. But, in the years since, politics has been largely a spectator sport.
Until that little brown envelope comes in the mail.
The refund of $300 per taxpayer is tangible proof to the average person that Bush is not pursuing only an agenda of help for the wealthy. It transcends the realm of politics and enters the home - and bank account - of each voter in a direct and personal way.
To frame the Bush achievement in its proper light, one must recall that President Clinton, at this point in his first term, had slipped to a 45 percent approval rating. A few weeks ago, it looked like Bush was headed down the same trajectory, but he appears to have done the hardest thing there is to do in politics - reverse direction.
Even keen political observers have thus far missed the point of the tax cut. They have measured its impact in terms of traditional public-policy polling questions. The Washington Post poll even suggested that the tax cut might have "limited appeal."
The pollsters found that only 3 in 8 voters felt that the tax cut would be good for the economy and that 52 percent felt that it did not leave enough money for social security, education or health care. So they dismissed the tax cut as a political force.
But while voters may worry that the tax cut won't help the economy enough or that other needs are more pressing, they still open the envelope, deposit the check and savor the earnings. What they tell a pollster is their political opinion, but a check in the mail rises to a different level.
Most voters would have to stop and think a long time before they could name anything that any politician has ever done for them. Then, stumped, they would scratch their heads and come up empty. But everyone - even my mother-in-law - knows what Bush has done for them. All they have to do is read their mail.>> |
