The Good Old New York Times

[Beloved Citizen]

Sitting here reading the new polls in my home delivery copy of today's NY Times, and I couldn't help but shake my head in wonder. Here's some of the most salient findings:

- Bush is polling a ridiculously low 42%.
- On Iraq Bush's number is 37% approve, 58% disapprove.
- Despite rumors of an economic improvement, Bush's numbers for this category are 42% approve, 51% disapprove.
- Bush's foreign policy numbers are 39% approve, 55% disapprove.

The article also goes on to say: "The poll also found that Mr. Bush's approval ratings are at low levels for an incumbent at this point in a presidential campaign and that for the first a majority of Americans feel the United States should have stayed out of Iraq."

So how is this article identified on the front page of the Newspaper Of Record?

"No Boost From Edwards."

:wtf:

[teach1st]

1. Link

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/17/politics/campaign/17poll.html?hp

Edited to remind that free registration is required. Or, go to www.bugmenot.com

[NMDemDist2]

2. good grief

whatever, you NY Times dudes :shrug:

[greenbriar]

3. well see its like this

shrubby doesn't read the actual papers, and that headline makes sure no one will read it too him. It causes no alarm

[IronLionZion]

10. agreed, they put the right headline

and smart people will read the article. The NY Times is supposed to have a very liberal bias anyway.

[Eric J in MN]

4. It's still a good poll (nt)

nt

[Eric J in MN]

5. Send a letter to the editor about that (nt)

nt

[baldguy]

6. Just keep repeating to yourself "LIBERAL MEDIA, LIBERAL MEDIA"

[PSU84]

7. 42% approval in July = defeat in November

The news is that Bush is so weak he is spending the summer "rallying his base."

His trip to the U.P. of Michigan is a case in point. That he needs to campaign in areas like that at this late date is proof of just how worried Rove & Co. are.

It's as if they realize they have no hope with the independent voter and have pinned their hopes to a huge turnout among the most conservative voters.

The problem with that strategy is that the Democratic electorate is going to vote in very large numbers on November 2, and many historically Republican voters - military families especially - are sick to death (literally) of Bush and are going to stay home.

Kerry will win on November 2, and Nino Scalia can't do anything to stop it this time.

[sunny5555]

9. I agree.

Bush can only have staged,scriped events. His only hope is to get his base to vote. I think many will stay home.

[displacedtexan]

8. The Headline War is raging!

I wrote about this bogus headline crap on my blog last week!

(The headline is ALL that matters, folks!)

I also posted a link to the psychology of advertising (as related to headlines).

I posted headlines from the NYT which had absolutely nothing to do with the stories:

http://tinyurl.com/64bzp

[NJCher]

11. nice work, displacedtexan

This twisted headline writing was in high form during the discussion of the ballot recount. There was one story I read that I re-read a couple different times. Each time I would look at the headline and then look at the story and say, "How could you get that headline from that story?"

It truly is amazing.


Cher

[SpiralHawk]

12. lots of Factors boosting Kerry

And Edwards is certainly one of them. He will be a breath of fresh air to many voters.

Meanwhile, the scandals grind on -- torture, Plame, AWOL, missing Petagon billions, et. etc. ad nauseum.

And in the media mix of all this, F9/11has been and will work steadily and engagingly to shatter the dream bubbles of thousands and thousands of people, and to give them "the rest of the story" about BushCo.

All this is at work, while Bush continues to flub around with Iraq, the economy, and issues of social importance.

[Logansquare]

13. The reporters must of had a WTF? moment when they saw the headline

I see that they have changed it to "Public Likes Edwards, but Race Is Still Close"

[DeepModem Mom]

15. Actually, the reporters led with Edwards -- burying the lead...

in the third paragraph:

WASHINGTON, July 16 - Senator John Edwards is viewed far more favorably than unfavorably by Americans in the aftermath of his introduction as Senator John Kerry's running mate, and the intensity of feeling for Mr. Kerry has deepened, among his backers in the presidential race, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

But naming Mr. Edwards did not immediately win over any substantial number of voters for the Democratic ticket, and the campaign between Mr. Kerry and President Bush remains statistically deadlocked as Mr. Kerry heads toward the Democratic convention and his best opportunity to make a strong impression on the country, the poll found.

The poll also found that Mr. Bush's approval ratings were at low levels for an incumbent at this point in a presidential campaign and that for the first time a majority of Americans feel the United States should have stayed out of Iraq.

The results suggested that the country is as deeply divided as ever, leaving both sides struggling to alter the campaign's basic story line, in which Mr. Bush is showing clear vulnerabilities but Mr. Kerry has been unable to exploit them....

[Beetwasher]

14. There's Not A Single Piece Of Good News For Bush In That Poll

His numbers are horrible, dismal and pathetic, and yet somehow the NYT makes it seem as if it's not that bad. Some key highlights:


The poll found that 45 percent of those surveyed approved of the job Mr. Bush is doing. That was up slightly from a May poll by CBS News, when it stood at 41 percent, but it was still below where it stood at the beginning of the year and below the level generally considered safe for an incumbent seeking re-election. Forty-eight percent disapproved of the job Mr. Bush is doing.

Mr. Bush's approval rating on foreign policy stood at 39 percent, about where it has been for the last three months. Fifty-five percent of respondents disapproved of the way he is handling foreign policy.

On Mr. Bush's handling of Iraq, 37 percent approved and 58 percent disapproved, figures that were little changed from polls in May and June, before the Iraqis were granted self-governance on June 28. But the president got higher marks for the effort to combat terrorism, with 51 percent expressing approval of the job he is doing. And a sharp increase this year in the number of people who said things were going badly in Iraq appears to have leveled off, with 56 percent saying things are going somewhat or very badly, down from 60 percent this spring.

Signs that the economy has strengthened have helped Mr. Bush's standing somewhat since the winter, but his approval ratings on his handling of the economy still remain relatively low. Forty-two percent of those surveyed approved of his handling of the economy, and 51 percent disapproved.