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Rasmussen delivers more the-sky-is-falling-on-Obama spin in the WSJ

November 14, 2009 10:28 am ET by Eric Boehlert

Continuing his obsession with documenting how supposedly weak Obama's polling numbers are, the GOP's favorite 'independent' pollster Scott Rasmussen teams up with colleague Douglas Schoen in the WSJ today to (surprise!) try to detail how weak Obama's polling numbers are. And yes, this is the same duo that teamed up in the winter in the pages of the WSJ to...try to detail how weak Obama's polling numbers were. (See a pattern? And did these two ever weigh in as Bush's polling numbers cratered?)

The angle today is that Obama's losing independent voters!! And yes, to prove that point Rasmussen uses the rather lame trick of comparing Obama's current numbers with the ones he enjoyed eight months ago at the time of Inauguration. (See here, for why that is such a transparently lame argument to make. Hint: Obama's numbers in January were artificially high and everybody knew that.)

Meanwhile, the big problem with the column is that much of it is built around Rasmussen's own polling data; data which few people besides GOP partisans take seriously. (Here's a prime example why.) Secondly, Rasmussen, so busy pointing to a blizzard of numbers that supposed illustrate how Obama's presidency is crashing, barely has time to acknowledge that, oh yeah, the president's job approval ratings remains steady and strong, which of course, undercuts the at-times doomsday rhetoric used in the column.

Here's how Rasmussen addresses that issue:

Mr. Obama's approval among likely voters has dropped to the low-50s in most polls, and the most recent Rasmussen Reports poll of likely voters shows him slightly below the 50% mark. This is a relatively low rating for new presidents. Mr. Obama's approval rating began to slide in a serious way in early July, triggered by a bad unemployment report.

Again, you can pretty much throw out the Rasmussen numbers in terms of Obama's job approval since they're trending nearly ten points lower than many other pollsters' data. In truth, Obama at this point in his presidency is just about where Ronald Reagan was eight months into his first term. And yes, Reagan is often pointed to by pundits as being one of the most successful presidents of the last half-century. But Rasmussen ignores that point, and instead claims Obama's job approval ratings are "relatively low."

That's nonsense. Maybe if 'independent' pollster Rasmussen wasn't so obsessed with trying to talk down Obama's poll numbers he'd acknowledge that simple truth.

UPDATED: Since when do serious, 'independent' pollsters write columns urging the president to "shift right"?

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    • Author by jjamele2880 (November 14, 2009 10:35 am ET)
      10  
      The President's poll ratings may well be dropping, but not among Conservatives, who never approved of him anyway. If he's losing favor, it's among liberals who are sick of the willingness to hold up real Progressive reform in vain attempts to get the approval of Republicans, who were after all soundly rejected by the voters in 2008. Pretty much all of my friends voted for Obama and consider themselves progressives, and to a person they are dismayed and disappointed with Obama's focus on some mirage called "bipartisanship" at the expense of necessary reform. And so am I.

      If Obama had taken a strong stand on Health Care, perhaps pushing Medicare for Everyone right from the start, I suspect his poll numbers would be much higher. Because what Americans really approve of is leadership.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by steeve (November 14, 2009 12:58 pm ET)
      5  
      A large block of "independents" now consists of republicans too ashamed to admit it.

      http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2009/11/independent-granfalloon.html

      And as always, a move away from Obama is not a move towards republicans.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by JoshSN (November 14, 2009 2:49 pm ET)
        1
      Dr. Thiel, a statistician, here graphs the approval ratings of Nixon, Reagan, Clinton and Bush.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by mustardman (November 14, 2009 7:16 pm ET)
      2  
      Thank you MediaMatters for all the great work you continue to do!
      Report Abuse
    • Author by yourmomscalling (November 14, 2009 10:50 pm ET)
         
      Lets just face it Obama is not cut out for the job so far he has constantly lied to the American people and were sick of it.

      so come election time WATCH OUT INCUMBENTS WE WILL PREVAIL !!

      ELECTION DAY IS COMING
      Report Abuse
    • Author by Cannonball (November 16, 2009 9:17 am ET)
         
      I have to take this opportunity to bash Obama. The trials in NY target only the cases the administration thinks it can win. They deny such basic fair trial rights to the rest of the GB prisoners by opting to either try them in military trials, with limited civil rights or no trials with continued indefinite detention. This is cherry picking for show trials and is dishonest, unfair and a slippery-slope to further deterioration of all of our constitutional rights. Obama is failing his promise to close the Bay and try the prisoners in U.S. courts.

      I fear terrorism when I travel overseas where U.S. intelligence is less effective, although they have done a great job. I have no fear on U.S. soil, just like I do not fear mass murderers appearing before me to kill indiscriminately. It's not that neither of these things may happen to me, it's that I am not going to let that remote possibility chnage my life. All of America should feel the same way. We must protect our civil rights and those of our criminals, lest we be charged as criminals and denied a defense. We chose to arrest supposed civilian terrorists and move them to U.S. soil. If we didn't want to extend to them internationally supported rights, we should have shot them dead on foriegn soil. After all, such mindless killing seems to be business as usual based on the level of civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan.

      Obama has broken most of the anti-war promises that caused me to vote for him over Hillary Clinton. I thought she was too hawkish. But now, Obama is the new Bush (or should I day Cheney). Who will I vote for next time? Where are the true Americans that are willing to take office and steer us back on track even if it means losing the next election?
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