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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (1767)	11/29/2003 12:32:01 PM
From: Dale Baker	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 90947

You misunderstood my response - I was sarcastically commenting on posts from others that decided "world opinion" without actually bothering to listen to those people or find any rigorous examination of current world opinion. Most Americans who bash foreigners haven't traveled or met any foreigners lately (too scared of terrorism to go) - they just make up a boogieman based on whatever anecdotes they can scrape together that fit their preconceived notions. I worked in public affairs a long time, long enough to expect all media outlets to have their biases. Since bias and zealotry are in fashion now in the US, the problem is even worse. The commercial-entertainment dimension of most US newscasts is yet another corrupting influence. I spend enough time chatting with people where I live now and around western Europe when I travel to have a feel for where the US stands. It's very sad what has happened to US relations with the rest of the world. I don't envy any US businessman trying to do a non-political deal with the burden of what has happened to the US image in the past year. But I always find that treating people with courtesy, respect and understanding overcomes political differences in the headlines. Most Europeans I have talked to about this know the difference between the US government and the American people. I can't say that the reverse applies among Americans, based on what I hear when I visit the US and what I read every day on SI.

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (1767)	12/2/2003 7:22:02 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 90947

Poll: President's approval on the rise after Thanksgiving WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer (12-02) 14:30 PST WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's standing with the public has improved since his surprise Thanksgiving trip to Iraq amid signs of a stronger economy and following congressional passage of a prescription drug benefit under Medicare. Bush's job approval was at 61 percent in the National Annenberg Election Survey conducted the four days after the holiday, up from 56 percent during the four days before Thanksgiving. Disapproval of the president dropped from 41 percent to 36 percent, according to the poll released Tuesday. Bush visited the troops in Baghdad on Thanksgiving -- a move that even won praise from political opponents. Public opinion about Bush personally also improved during the four-day, post-holiday span, with an increase in the number who view him favorably from 65 percent to 72 percent. Republicans shifted from 83 percent with a favorable view of Bush personally to 94 percent. Democrats moved from 46 percent to 55 percent. Public opinion on the war in Iraq did not shift significantly, however. People were about evenly split on whether the war in Iraq was worthwhile before the holiday and afterward. Approval of Bush's handling of Iraq increased slightly, with 44 percent approving and 53 percent disapproving before Thanksgiving, and people evenly split on that question now. The public view of his handling of the economy also shifted from a 45-51 percent split before Thanksgiving to a public divided almost evenly on his handling of the economy, 50-48, afterward. The margin of sampling error for the 789 people interviewed before Thanksgiving and the 847 interviewed after was plus or minus 3 percentage points. sfgate.com