Polls are Good

When polls are positive, they’re every politician’s friend… when they’re negative; they have no use for them and declare them persona non grata.

In other words, they don’t matter.

Case in point, despite poll after poll after poll after poll after, well you get the idea, showing skyrocketing and record levels of dissatisfaction with “President” Bush, the White House is still in an “upbeat mood” with aides that are still seeing a president that “gets his way.”

(Make no mistake, Bush getting his way is the fault of the Democratic-controlled Congress not treating Bush like the lame-duck he is… were it up to the people, Bush would have had the door slammed in his face a LONG time ago)

The magazine’s point is that the administration’s positive demeanor is a result of the president sensing (honestly, when was the last time this president sensed anything besides a pretzel in his mouth???) less opposition than before when facing crowds.

From the zine; “When he travels around the country, Bush feels less “antipathy” than he used to in the crowds, along the motorcade routes, and expressed by the individuals who talk to him at his events. “He feels there has been a shift in attitudes out there that’s not reflected in polling data,” the aide says. […] Reinforcing his point, the latest AP-Ipsos poll, released in mid-June, found that only 29 percent of Americans approved of Bush’s job performance, one of the lowest presidential ratings ever. White House officials, by the way, say they aren’t sure such polls should be believed because the questions are biased and the population samples are flawed.”

Back in January it was widely reported that Bush’s aides were predicting a “poll shift” to 45% favorability by the time he leaves office in early 2009.

But if polls are flawed, why should that matter?

And these ever-falling numbers (regardless of what this president “senses”) are what feeds some non-committed voter’s attitudes towards Sen. McCain… and that’s precisely why he should be worried.

With Bush’s numbers plunging, a new Gallup poll should give McCain’s campaign pause as 68% of Americans are either “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” that McCain is going to “pursue policies that are too similar” to those of Bush while 49%, almost half of those polled, said they’re “very concerned” about McCain’s policies being too similar to Bush’s.

Sure, you could look at these numbers and wonder about the 31% that support McCain and come to one of two conclusions; either they’re hooked-up to gop brand Kool-Aid IV’s or they’re totally unaware this is a presidential election year and see Bush when they look at McCain.

Perhaps the White House and “President” Bush should consider that perhaps the reason for less antipathy is the fact that the majority of the American public realizes he’s a lame duck and that in a little over 200 days, they’ll be rid of him. Truth be told, he doesn't matter and isn't worth the time or energy to think about as people’s time is better spent right now either working extra jobs in order to stay afloat in this pathetic economy he helped create or are working for the change that is coming this November. Go. Obama.