[poochee]

Originally Posted by drapatin

Why do we listen to polls?

We all know that:
1. The questions are skewed to preferred responses
2. Most people are stupid.
3. They never ask the "affluent", only the "poor" (see #2)

Interesting. When I talk to other people, most of the time they agree with the Gallup Poll. As far as affluent only, they ask what your yearly income is. They also ask your party, your sex, your age, religion etc. So are you saying they dump what they don't want to use? I guess that is possible, but doubt it.

I've been doing it for a year and only once did they advise me that they were looking for a certain demographic, and I agreed with them because the poll didn't apply to me.

[poochee]

GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE >> POLITICS & ELECTIONS

Americans Sympathize With Protesting Mom

Most Americans sympathize with Cindy Sheehan, a fallen soldier's mother who led an anti-war protest outside President George W. Bush's Texas ranch for most of August. Americans also believe Bush should agree to meet with her in person to discuss the war. But less than half of Americans agree with Sheehan's tactics, and her influence with the public seems limited. Attitudes about the Iraq war have hardly budged all summer.

http://www.gallup.com/nl/?18355,AlertPE,9/2/2005,

[linskyjack]

Yeah, you wont see much of a swing either way or the other unless there is a marked increase in casualities. As things stand now, the American people are firmly against this madness.

[poochee]

GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE >> POLITICS & ELECTIONS

Public Most Interested in Hearing Roberts' Views on Abortion

Nearly 6 in 10 Americans say they plan to follow the Senate hearings on Supreme Court nominee John Roberts closely. A majority of the public says it would like Roberts to answer questions on specific issues like abortion or affirmative action, rather than responding only to questions about his general judicial philosophy. But Americans do not think senators would be justified in voting against Roberts purely because of issue disagreements with him. Americans say they are most interested in learning Rober ts' views on the abortion issue during the hearings. A slim majority currently favors his confirmation to the Supreme Court, but many are still undecided.


http://www.gallup.com/nl/?18352,AlertPE,9/6/2005,

[poochee]

GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE >> POLITICS & ELECTIONS

Public Skeptical New Orleans Will Recover

A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey finds the public skeptical that New Orleans will ever completely recover from Hurricane Katrina, but also supportive of making the effort to rebuild the city. Even those who predict full recovery expect the process to take many years. The poll also finds the public largely divided in its evaluation of the response by President George W. Bush and the federal government, though more people are critical than supportive of their efforts. The public is also highly critical of gas companies for the rise in prices, saying the industry is taking advantage of the situation to charge unfair prices.

http://www.gallup.com/nl/?18412,AlertPE,9/7/2005,

[poochee]

GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE >> POLITICS & ELECTIONS

Americans Sense a "New Normal" After 9/11

Virtually all Americans (96%) perceive that the United States has changed because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and nearly two-thirds (62%) say their own lives have changed. Even looking ahead, a majority of Americans are pessimistic that the United States will ever completely return to "normal," while a slim majority expect that their own lives will recover. Barely half of Americans today are satisfied with the war on terror, down sharply from 2002, when three-quarters were satisfied.

http://www.gallup.com/nl/?18448,AlertPE,9/9/2005,

[poochee]

GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE >> POLITICS & ELECTIONS

Public: Response to Katrina Better Now Than Just After Hurricane Hit

Most Americans were not impressed with the initial response to Hurricane Katrina, but according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey, majorities of Americans now say that the people and officials involved in the rescue effort are doing a good job. Most Americans believe that government agencies in New Orleans should have been better prepared, and they support the proposal for an independent investigation into the problems with the government's response. But they reject the notion that race or poverty were reasons why the government was slow to respond.

http://www.gallup.com/nl/?18466,AlertPE,9/13/2005,

[bassetman]

Originally Posted by poochee

GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE >> POLITICS & ELECTIONS

Public: Response to Katrina Better Now Than Just After Hurricane Hit

Most Americans were not impressed with the initial response to Hurricane Katrina, but according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey, majorities of Americans now say that the people and officials involved in the rescue effort are doing a good job. Most Americans believe that government agencies in New Orleans should have been better prepared, and they support the proposal for an independent investigation into the problems with the government's response. But they reject the notion that race or poverty were reasons why the government was slow to respond.

http://www.gallup.com/nl/?18466,AlertPE,9/13/2005,

I think Powell go t it right!

Hurricane Katrina sparks racial debate
By Doan Phuong Nguyen

September 13, 2005

Vanderbilt Hustler (Vanderbilt U.)

(U-WIRE) NASHVILLE, Tenn. - In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Democrats and people in the African-American communities are charging that race was one of the reasons for the federal government's delayed response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Republicans have denounced these allegations.

"I don't think it's racism. I think it's economic," former Secretary of State Colin Powell said recently on 20/20. "But poverty disproportionately affects African-Americans in this country. And it happened because they were poor."

[poochee]

GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE >> POLITICS & ELECTIONS

Blacks Blast Bush for Katrina Response

Whites and blacks have sharply differing reactions to the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina, with blacks more likely than whites to believe that racial bias was a factor in slowing the government's response, and blacks especially critical of President Bush's performance. However, it appears as if the federal response to the hurricane has not changed blacks' fundamental perceptions of Bush and the Republican Party -- perceptions that were already quite negative.

http://www.gallup.com/nl/?18526,AlertPE,9/14/2005,

[Ciberblade]

What's the term for when a person can see racial lines wherever they look?

[poochee]

GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE >> POLITICS & ELECTIONS

Americans Support Roberts' Confirmation

The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds that nearly 6 in 10 Americans say they would like the Senate to confirm John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court. Support for Roberts' confirmation is higher now than it was in August, and is at the same level Gallup recorded when Roberts was first nominated in late July. Half of Americans say they have a favorable view of Roberts, while only about one in six view him unfavorably and one-third have no opinion. Blacks and Democrats are much less likely than whites and Republicans to support Roberts' confirmation and to view him favorably.

http://www.gallup.com/nl/?18532,AlertPE,9/15/2005,

[poochee]

GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE >> POLITICS & ELECTIONS

Bush Gets Negative Views for Handling the Hurricane

Although a majority of Americans disapprove of George W. Bush's handling of the response to Hurricane Katrina, most of the more general views of the president have not changed in recent weeks. His pre- and post-hurricane aftermath overall job approval rating and approval ratings on specific issues are essentially the same. After the hurricane, however, fewer Americans say Bush is a strong and decisive leader, a dimension on which he has typically scored well.

http://www.gallup.com/nl/?18550,AlertPE,9/16/2005,

[poochee]

GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE >> BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Americans' Dour Economic Attitudes Little Affected by Katrina

Gallup's first September update on Americans' views of the economy shows little impact of Hurricane Katrina on consumer economic attitudes. Confidence in the economy, which was low and dropping in late August just before Katrina's landfall, continues to be low in September, showing little change in either direction after the events of the last few weeks. Despite Katrina, economic concerns remain the most important problem facing the country -- but again, this is little changed from August. There has be en a slight uptick in Americans' views that inflation and unemployment will increase in the months ahead.

http://www.gallup.com/nl/?18559,AlertBE,9/19/2005,

[poochee]

GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE >> POLITICS & ELECTIONS

Iraq Versus Vietnam: A Comparison of Public Opinion

Americans have become negative about the war in Iraq more quickly than they did for the Vietnam War. It took more than three years before a majority of Americans said it was a mistake to send troops to Vietnam, a state of affairs reached within a year and three months of the inception of the Iraq war. However, the percentage of Americans mentioning Iraq as the nation's most important problem is lower than was the case for Vietnam at a similar point after it began. George W. Bush's approval ratings on Iraq -- so far -- have been higher than Lyndon Johnson's ratings on Vietnam.


http://www.gallup.com/nl/?18097,AlertPE,8/24/2005,

[poochee]

GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE >> POLITICS & ELECTIONS

What 1,000 Americans Would Say to President Bush About Iraq

Between Aug. 22 and Aug. 25, Gallup asked a random sample of 1,007 Americans what they personally would advise President Bush to do about the situation in Iraq if they could talk with him for 15 minutes. Here's what they said.


http://www.gallup.com/nl/?18223,AlertPE,8/31/2005,