[lit-ideas] Re: Obama Critique from Hanson

  • From: "veronica caley" <molleo1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:36:06 -0400

Re polling results, weren't you the one that posted that long article concerning how ignorant and uninformed the American public is? And how it was broken down by various groups about which had actual knowledge of facts in the political process?


I just watched an msnbc. poll that shows that about half the people are really upset with the health care reform so far. But about two thirds are really angry at Republicans, but I don't exactly know why.

The bad polling results for Obama reflect the following beliefs of those polled: that there will be abortions in the plan, despite the fact that the Hyde Amendment prohibits abortion with federal funds. That illegal aliens will be covered by government health care, which is not true. That there will be death panels.

My conclusion: the 1.4 million spent by lobbyists to defeat real health care reform is well spent. Congratulations to the PR people and the lobbyists. You got very well paid, as it should be, for a job well done. Health insurance companies won again and the public lost. And the doctors and nurses and technicians also lost. The big winners here are also the medical supply and hardware companies.

Veronica

Veronica
----- Original Message ----- From: "Eric Yost" <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 2:24 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Obama Critique from Hanson


Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Bill. I've
compiled a bunch of counter-references, some
statistical, some rhetorical, some anecdotal.  If
you have the patience to skim it, you might be
interested.


Bill: Public opinion polling confirms that support
for Pres. Obama [is] still posting numbers double
his predecessor's, but not exactly evidence of a
growing cult of personality.

Which poll? Double his predecessor at the same
point of their term? Not so.

_____
Poll: Obama Seen as Greater Failure than Bush
Friday, August 7, 2009 2:57 PM
A new CNN poll shows that more Americans consider
the first six months of President Barack Obama’s
administration worse than the same time period of
his predecessor, former President George Bush.
When asked whether they thought the first six
months of Obama’s tenure in office has been a
success or a failure, 37 percent responding to the
poll released Friday said they believe it was a
failure. After Bush’s first six months in office,
a similar CNN poll from August of 2001 showed only
32 percent considered it to be a failure.
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_failure_poll/2009/08/07/245354.html
_____

August 6th, 2009
After 6 Months, More View Obama's Presidency as a
'Failure' Than Bush's
A rather surprising finding from the newly
released CNN poll. Question three on the national
survey of 1,136 adults (which includes an
oversample of African-Americans) asks, "Do you
consider the first six months of the Obama
administration to be a success or a failure?"
Thirty-seven percent (37%) said they believe the
Obama administration is a "failure," while 51%
consider it a "success" and 11% say it's still
"too soon to tell."
An identical question was asked of the Bush
administration in an August 2001 CNN/Gallup/USA
Today survey.  At the time, 56% said the Bush
administration was a "success" while only 32%
considered it a "failure."
http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2009/08/06/after-6-months-more-view-obamas-presidency-as-a-failure-than-bushs/
____

Gallup polls say the same thing at :
http://www.gallup.com/poll/116479/Barack-Obama-Presidential-Job-Approval.aspx
_____

Bill: Of course, polling also tells us something
about those who believe that the
Obama Administration [insane partisan anti-Obama
nonsense]

On the other hand, "the Rasmussen Reports daily
Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that
31% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the
way that Barack Obama is performing his role as
President. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove
giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating
of -9 (see trends)."
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

Bill: how might one measure such things as "there
is a growing fear"?
____
Similarly, "Sixty-seven percent (67%) of voters
nationwide believe Washington politics is likely
to become more partisan over the coming year. That
figure is up sharply from 55% a month ago and from
40% when President Barack Obama first took
office."
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/partisan_politics

_____
An advertising age correspondent noticed the cult
tendency early in the campaign:

Wheaton: Barack Obama Building a Cult?
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: When
it comes to building a brand, Obama and his team
are leaving the competition in the dust. (And to
be clear, I've also said before I'm not an Obama
supporter.) But there's a fine line between
establishing a corps of brand ambassadors and
building a cult. And there's something exceedingly
*creepy* [emphasis mine -EY] about Obama's growing
fan base. Say what you will about John McCain's
followers, but people aren't building shrines,
producing slick videos or giving the candidate a
free pass for changing his mind on issues by which
he defined himself. (McCain's taken as much heat
from disgruntled Republicans as he has from
Democrats.)
http://adage.com/campaigntrail/post?article_id=129487
_____
Then there's
The Obama cult
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14082968

IN JANUARY 2007 Mike Huckabee, a former governor
of Arkansas, said he was running for president to
revive “our national soul”. He was not alone in
taking an expansive view of presidential
responsibilities. With the exception of Ron Paul,
all the serious candidates waxed grandiloquent
about their aims. John McCain said he modelled
himself on Teddy Roosevelt, a man who “nourished
the soul of a great nation”. Hillary Clinton
lamented that America had no goals, and offered to
supply some. And let us not forget the man they
all sought to replace, George Bush, who promised,
among other things, to “rid the world of evil”.
Appalled by such hubris, a libertarian scholar
called Gene Healy wrote “The Cult of the
Presidency”, a book decrying the unrealistic
expectations Americans have of their presidents.
The book was written while Barack Obama’s career
was still on the launch pad, yet it describes with
uncanny prescience the atmosphere that allowed him
to soar.

_____

For laughs, there is the extremist lefty DailyKos
offering

What would Barack Obama do?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/24/607178/-What-would-Barack-Obama-do
_____

This site collects PR images of Obama to show the
not-so-subtle associations:
http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/

_____

This right-wing site compiles examples of Obama cult:

Beware the Cult of Obama
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10082

------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html

Other related posts: