Obama Approval Now at 60%--Or Is It?

President Barack Obama (Courtesy: AP)

Could it be that Obama is now starting to see that bump in the polls everyone suspected after UBL's demise? Just yesterday, it was reported that Obama was only getting a three point approval bump. Now, today, we are told that polls show Obama with 60% job approval and and 53% believing he should be reelected. Which one is true?

The problem with polls are that the results can be misleading if you don't look closely at the details. It is not that AP necessarily did anything underhanded or shady. They rightly admit that their poll was a poll of adults. In other words, they did not take into account party identification when deciding whom to call. However, each adult who was called was asked to self-identify their partisan affiliation. The results of this question should tell us a great deal about the actual results.

If the breakdown in party identification comes out being similar to what turnout is expected to be, the results tell us a great deal. However, if the results are so skewed to one side that it isn't even feasible to assume that the turnout could ever be that way, we don't really come to understand that much.

Unfortunately, the results of this AP poll are in the latter category. 46% self-identified as a Democrat or Democrat leaner. That is compared to only 29% identifying Republican or Republican leaning. 4% were Independents and 20% didn't know.

So, unless the 2012 breakdown is expected to be 46% Democrat, 29% Republican, 4% Independent, and 20% Undecided, these poll numbers tell us absolutely nothing.

About the only thing we did learn from this poll is that people really approve of George W. Bush--including many Democrats. We know this because Bush's approval rating in this poll was 50% to 49%. We can learn something from this because the partisan makeup of the poll was very skewed against the former president yet he was still able to garner a positive result. This actually means that his approval is higher. Likewise, the skewed partisan affiliation in the poll likely means that President Obama's support is much lower.

Again, AP, through the poll itself, wasn't necessarily trying to fool the public. Even so, it could be said stories written by AP writers have done just that. Was that their intention? Who knows. What we do know is that the authors conveniently leave out the self-identified partisan breakdown of the respondents. So, was it a hatchet job--you decide!

You can check out the article put out by the AP here. Also, check out the National Review Online piece on debunking the AP poll.

From My Bookshelf: Decision Points by President George W. Bush

At least once a week, I'm going to keep you up-to-date on what I am currently reading, have recently read, or will soon be reading. As a part of this endeavor, I will provide a brief review of the work. Rest assured that the books I review are excellent, and you should definitely consider reading them! I hope you find these reviews/suggestions helpful, and I hope you enjoy the books as much as I have!

I could think of no better book to start with than President George W. Bush's Decision Points. I finished reading it about a month or so ago, but it has stuck with me. It was especially interesting to me because I got to see the president discuss his book at Freed-Hardeman University.

President Bush's book tells the story of his life--but in a much different fashion than most of us are accustomed. Instead of going into great detail about every moment of his life as many do in their autobiographies, Bush centers his comments and anecdotes on a number of key points of decision. These "decision points" span his entire career. Even though he doesn't talk about every detail of every part of his life, the reader comes to appreciate his style of leadership and decision making process.

Bush talks about his work as part-owner of the Texas Rangers, how he lost a bid for a US House seat, and how he finally decided to throw his hat in the gubernatorial and presidential rings. Of course, he discusses a number of policy issues and the decisions he had to make as a businessman, a governor, and as president.

Sometimes we forget that our leaders are humans and actually have to overcome problems in their own lives. President Bush's case was no different. He discusses how he met Laura over some grilled hamburgers in a friend's backyard. He immediately fell in love--and I don't mean with the hamburgers either! As one would expect from a father, Bush discusses how proud he is of his two daughters and his one son-in-law. Other extremely uplifting parts of the book are when he talks about the wonderful relationship between he and his father. Another is that Bush details his reasons for completely giving up alcohol and how he came to his Christian faith.

As far as political and/or policy matters are concerned, we find that Bush, like most Americans, felt both his world and the world in general was turned upside down by the events of September 11, 2001. Even if you happen to be someone who hasn't agreed with everything he did in the years following 9-11, you can greatly benefit reading his reasoning behind going into Afghanistan and, later, Iraq. There is no doubt that these decisions were made after gathering facts and consulting advisers. But, as Bush often says, there is a time at which fact gathering, analyzing, and advice must end. He had been hired by the American people to make decisions--and thoughtful and well reasoned decisions he did make. President Bush also details his decision making process on other issues such as stem cell research, the financial crisis, Katrina, AIDS research and prevention, international freedom, and many others.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the book and found it hard to put it down. It is written in a very narrative style that makes it both very easy to understand and enjoyable. Don't pass up reading this book by a great American statesman! 

 

Liberal Radio Host Mike Malloy Calls for SEALS to Take Out George W. Bush

 Liberal radio host Mike Malloy made the claim that Osama bin Laden and terrorism had almost nothing to do with the deaths of thousands in Iraq and, to a lesser extent, Afghanistan. Instead of terrorism, according to Malloy, George W. Bush is responsible for the thousands of deaths. He then declared that a SEAL team should be sent next be sent to take out former President George W. Bush.

Read more about the story here.

Obviously, making a statement such as this about any president is reprehensible. However, what do you think would happen if a conservative host had made similar comments about the current president or a former president such as Bill Clinton?