For some time now I’ve been tracking AOL polls. Without going into great detail the AOL using audience tends to skew more conservative than the public at large. They support the war, almost split but still a majority favor Bush and so forth. But just as we’ve seen polling at large changing, it’s changing even faster at AOL.
There are two items in particular that seem to be driving it. War and ‘personal’ economy. The constant bad state of affairs in Iraq, the constant news of death, the drip of ‘whistleblowers’ and now the DSM memos are starting to penetrate the mainstream. What will Bush do? read on
First, these AOL polls..highly unreliable, only good at showing a broad trend and the trend over the past month has become clear. Trust in Bush is evaporating faster than a mud puddle in Phoenix in June. Polls that used to run 60-40 in his favor are now running 80-20 against him. It’s possible that some of his dis-spirited supporters are no longer voting in the polls but that also means they may not be quite so quick to pick up the phone and call their Reps and Sen. (All the more reason for us to keep it up)
So what is the WH response? To keep pounding the bad stories by sending President Bush out to ‘campaign’ for them. He’s going to tell us why he’s ‘optimistic’ and how everything is going to be OK and he’s going to bring gas prices down and just trust me ok? What’s next? More town hall vetted and guarded meetings?
Here’s the headline from some of the MSM folks:
“The Note: I Know I Messed It Up Before But Baby I’m Gonna Change”
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=156238
<< I can’t figure out the blockquote stuff so << is it….<<2. With Americans increasingly discontented with the war in Iraq, President Bush is set to begin talking more publicly about the conflict to reassure both voters and congressional Republicans about the White House’s plans, VandeHei reports in a separate solo treatise. Mr. Bush will meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari at the White House next week, and he’ll talk about the war in several speeches, including a “major address on the first anniversary of Iraq’s sovereignty this month, White House officials said.” LINK
“Bush will streamline his message on the two issues White House strategists blame for the president’s lower-than-ever poll numbers. ‘In the coming weeks, the president will sharpen his focus on the two big issues facing the American people: growing our economy and winning the war,’ (Dan) Bartlett said.”
“A top White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Bush is not dropping Social Security, but believes he needs to show voters he has a plan to lower gasoline prices and prevail in Iraq. ‘These are two powerful forces’ shaping views of Bush, the official said.”
“Bush, however, offers a generally optimistic view of Iraq that aides say comes from what he sees as substantial long-term progress. The president considers the January elections that allowed the United States to turn over more control of security one of the biggest triumphs of the broader battle against terrorism. He also believes the Iraqis are moving closer to a deal to form a new government and are creating a functioning security force that will eventually allow the United States to pull out.>>
Are you kidding me? That’s their solution? To keep preaching at Americans who are already losing trust and confidence in this ‘presidency’? It’s not going to work. What will work (for us) is to repeat some very simple messages:
I’m an American. I believe in my country. I do not believe in torture. We are better than that.
I’m an American. I think for myself. I have growing doubts and I think I’ve been at best mis-led, at worst lied to. I don’t trust those guys anymore.
I’m an American. I know creating 3 million jobs over 5 years is terrible. Before Bush there were 21 million jobs created. I just see the rich getting richer and fewer chances for me.
Bottom line: Bush’s smirks and condescending talk is getting under my skin. Can’t believe we elected him and his partners in Congress. They haven’t made things better.
