On the July 17 broadcast of NBC's Meet the Press, host Tim Russert failed to challenge or question Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman when Mehlman cited an outdated Gallup poll to bolster his claim that the American public views President Bush as honest and trustworthy. Russert had noted that a July 11 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed that only 41 percent of respondents viewed Bush as “honest and straightforward,” with 45 percent disagreeing. The poll showed a considerable change from January 2005, when 50 percent of respondents said they considered Bush “honest and straightforward,” with 36 percent disagreeing. In response, Mehlman cited a “recently released” Gallup poll that rated Bush's honesty at 56 percent, 15 percentage points higher than the NBC poll. In fact, the poll (subscription required) Mehlman was apparently citing was more than three months old, having been conducted on April 1 and 2. Gallup provides no further listings for that question on its “Presidential ratings -- Personal characteristics” page.

From the July 17 broadcast of NBC's Meet the Press:

RUSSERT: Now, Mr. Mehlman, let me show you a poll that we took with The Wall Street Journal. “Is the president, President Bush, honest and straightforward?” Now, 41 yes, 45 no. Six months ago, it was 50 percent yes, 36 percent no. That is the lowest number the president has gotten on the issue of honest and straightforward. Is this issue, is this crisis, affecting his ability to be considered trustworthy, honest and straightforward by the American people?

MEHLMAN: Tim, I don't think it is at all. There was a Gallup poll that was recently released showing 56 percent think he is honest and trustworthy. The American people aren't interested in poll numbers. They're interested in facts that affect their lives. Just this past week, we found out the deficit was going to be $100 billion lower than we thought it would be just a few months ago because of this president's pro-growth policies. We found out that the result of his education reform, nine-year-olds and 13-year-olds have all-time reading and math scores, and that the gap between minority and non-minority children is lessening. This past week, Congress was working aggressively to give us an energy strategy for the first time in a quarter century, moving forward on a highway bill, unprecedented consultation. Sixty United States senators have not just been called about the Supreme Court but have been asked for suggestions. I think the American people are focused on that progress. That's certainly what this White House is focused on.