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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neeka who wrote (278449)	7/21/2002 1:20:25 PM
From: greenspirit	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Bush’s Polls: Who To Believe? A particularly gloomy report seems unfounded. July 19, 2002 11:35 a.m. nationalreview.com Americans worry that President Bush and his administration are too heavily influenced by big business," reported the New York Times Thursday in a front-page story announcing the results of its latest poll. The Times also found that Americans "fear that Mr. Bush is hiding something about his own corporate past and judge the economy to be in its worst shape since 1994." The paper concluded that today's corporate scandals "hold considerable peril for the White House and Mr. Bush's party in this congressional election year." All in all, it appeared to be discouraging news for the president. But this morning, the Washington Post reported the results of its own poll, and the findings are strikingly different. The Post says a substantial majority, 58 percent, approve of the way the president is handling the economy (versus 38 percent who disapprove). The Post also found that 50 percent of those surveyed approve of the way Bush is handling the issue of "regulating Wall Street and the stock market" (versus 36 percent who disapprove). And 49 percent approve of the president's handling of "the issue of financial fraud and accounting irregularities by large business corporations" (versus 43 percent who disapprove). In addition, the Post pollsters asked the following question: "Who do you trust more to handle the issue of financial fraud and accounting irregularities by large business corporations — Bush or the Democrats in Congress?" Forty-two percent of those polled say Bush, while 44 percent say Democrats in Congress — a virtual tie, and hardly the lopsided situation that the Times suggested. Then the Post asked, "Who do you trust more to protect your retirement savings — Bush or the Democrats in Congress?" Forty-four percent say Bush, while 35 percent say Democrats in Congress. Finally, the Post asked, "Overall, who do you trust to do a better job coping with the main problems the nation faces over the next few years — George W. Bush or the Democrats in Congress?" Fifty-three percent say Bush, while 37 percent say Democrats. Both the Times and the Post asked this question: "Do you think the nation's economy is getting better, getting worse, or staying the same?" The Times found that 41 percent say it is getting worse, while 14 percent say it is getting better and 44 percent say it is staying the same. The Post found that 36 percent say it is getting worse, while 20 percent say it is getting better and 43 percent say it is staying the same. But the Post also asked, "Compared to two years ago, is your family's financial situation better today, worse or about the same?" Twenty-seven percent say better, and 47 percent say about the same — meaning that 74 percent say their personal finances are staying the same or getting better, versus 27 percent who say their finances are getting worse. The polls do agree on one important question: The Post found the president's job-approval rating to be 72 percent, while the Times placed it at 70 percent. Still, the two papers' surveys seem to be the product of alternate universes in opinion polling. And there is, unfortunately, no way to fully compare the two. While the Post's editors have posted the entire results on their website (you can read them here), the Times's editors have chosen not to release their full results. When it comes to the Times's conclusion that the poll shows "considerable peril" for the White House, you'll just have to trust them.