Still 4 out of 5?!?!

[kurto]

From Yahoo News... the story says how Bush's numbers in the recent poll still remain low. Yet:

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Four of five Republicans say they approve of Bush's job performance, close to the level of support he's had from his base for months.

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Kind of makes it clear that we're all living in completely different realities. Its so hard to imagine, if someone pays attention to what goes on, who sees it all and says, "Yes. That Bush is doing an excellent job. I approve!"

I can understand this no more then I can understand the person in poker who does what my friend and I have dubbed the "bluff call"... My favorite example... on the river in NLTHE, there's a possible boat and flush on the board, but this donk doesn't believe the other guy has it, so he calls a large river bet with: 9 high. And gives away a large chunk of change. The infamous "bluff call."

One day I hope to understand those "4 out of 5."

no comment on the real topic, but I thought I was the only one who referred to the "bluff call". I've seen it done with 4 high, just because the other guy "wanted to see what I had", which was 9 high in this one particular hand.

[JackWhite]

The 4 out of 5 surprises me, because the President has taken a lot of heat from many Republicans in recent days. From his Supreme Court pick of Miers, to accusations of cronyism, conservatives have taken him to task.

The only reason that I can think of for the continuing high poll support is this: many Republicans don't want to agree with Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, or the New York Times. As long as they continue to attack Bush, most Republicans will hold their nose and defend him, at least in the approval rating polls.

[Warchant88]

Well, I think the number is much lower than 80%. I agree with Jack, in that the Republicans just say they approve Bush in order to prevent low poll numbers from falling right on the Democrats' plates. Something as little as poll numbers can boost some motivation into the Democratic Party.

[benfranklin]

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One day I hope to understand those "4 out of 5."

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Two factors probably affect that number:

1. People lie to pollsters and reporters. This was a major factor in the gross failure of exit polls in the last election. This is particularly probable from Republicans talking to the media, who they view as liberals. They lie just to screw with the media, or as loyalty to the party.

2. I think that a question like "How is the President doing" really translates to "How am I doing under this President" for a lot of people. Anyone with a good job who is better off now than in 2001, and personally unaffected by hurricanes or war, is more likely to answer positively. Especially loyal Republicans. See No. 1 above.