CNN: Bush Nielsen Ratings for SOTU Speech Lowest for Any Of His Speeches

[Hissyspit]

Can't find news article link. Tickered on Headline News.

EDIT: adding link; thanks to liberalinnc below
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?returnURL=http://www.variety.com/index%2Easp%3Flayout%3Dupsell%5Farticle%26articleID%3DVR1117917377%26categoryID%3D14%26cs%3D1&layout=login_link&code=p&dept=

[Catherine Vincent]

1. LOL!

I told you guys he SUCK!

[Emboldened Chimp]

10. Clinton was a lefty?

I didn't know that...

[hippiechick]

25. Yepper, a Lefty and a Leo

:loveya: just like me :loveya:

[tabasco]

31. My God - - - me too !

Lefties and Leos rule ! :hi:

[antonialee839]

54. I'm a Leo

and a repressed lefty (my grandmother made me write and draw with my right hand till I became a righty (in hand only).

[zann725]

84. If we're talking about "Left-Handed" Leo's, so am I!

And I remember the moment I became a "Lefty." I was in grade school, and the teacher was going around slapping people's knuckles with rulers, forcing people to ALL become Right-Handed. And even at a young age, I was a questioning mind...and that mind said, "Hmmmm? If it's THAT important to them that I be Right-Handed...then I'll be Left-Handed!

And I've never regretted it, or looked back. Except that my handwriting would've probably been significantly neater far sooner... since I had to re-train myself all over as a Lefty....as I think I was once a Righty initially.

[pauliedangerously]

85. Not only Clinton....

but also GHW Bush and H. Ross Perot....I noticed it when they debated.

[Judi Lynn]

79. He doesn't have the style Bush has!

He should thank his lucky stars!

[CoffeeCat]

83. Ok. that's the funniest damn picture of Bush...

...that I've ever seen.

The man is a menace to all humankind!

LOL!!!

[Catherine Vincent]

87. Ha!

Thanks for the comparison pics. I'm laughing my butt off!

[LostInAnomie]

2. Of course, he was up against American Idol.

Says a lot for our 'murkin values doesn't it.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

4. Where I was, American Idol was preempted and the SOTU

was shown.

[Kimber Scott]

64. American Idol came on after the speech and as for values...

There is a lot more value in watching "American Idol" than suffering through a Bush lie - I mean, speech.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

3. Does it mean

that the 59 mil sheeple are getting tired of the Chimperor ?

[Pirate Smile]

5. LOL. I couldn't watch it and I'll watch just about any news event.

I can't take the jackass anymore. It will be a long 4 years.

Wasn't Sludge trying to hype the numbers the other day? I didn't go there but I saw some posts about it.

[Enraged_Ape]

6. I think Nelson said it best

[Pam-Moby]

7. If I wanted to hear whining I

would have turned on the animal planet to see some poor dogs whining about something!!!

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. In the meatime

DU was at level 3 that night.

What does that tell you?

[Emillereid]

32. That's one powerful graphic!

[LoZoccolo]

9. This year, like last year, I figured...

...that he lies so much it doesn't matter if I watch. It wasn't an anger thing, like I'd get so mad if I watched it; it was more of a time-management thing.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

11. hahahaha!

Gee, I guess those mediaho's at MSGOP were puffing hot air for nothing then?!?

:eyes:

!Das Fuhrer is not popular!

[fertilizeonarbusto]

12. Excellent!

Not even my news-junkie Mom watched. She said, "Why, so he can lie some more to me?"

[napi21]

13. I watched ANYTHING else, deliberately!

I can't stand to watch him at all!

Besides, I saw the BEST of Shrubs speech last night on The Daily Show! Jon did a terrific job hitting the highlights, and at least he makes me find the humor in that stupid speech!

BTW, if you missed TDS last night, catch it tonight at 7PM, or the rerun at 11:30PM. It's well worth staying up for!

[Hissyspit]

15. Do they rerun it on Friday? n/t

[Hissyspit]

18. I'm seeing it at 7 p.m. EST, but not 11:30 p.m.

I think because it's Friday.

[napi21]

35. OH DARN! You're right! I forgot it was Friday! Watch it at 7!

I appoligize. I forgot this was Friday. I'm so used to clicking the remind me button each night at 11PM, and watching the rerun right after it if it was one I particularly enjoyed.

[calimary]

50. Or else, maybe on Monday.

That, and Olbermann, were all I could stomach of it, myself, other than reading Will Pitt's blog about it http://truthout.org/fyi/ and wonkette and a few other links found directly here on my good ol' reliable DU. A LOT more sensible, truthful, clear-sighted, and unstressful.

You know something? I have low blood pressure. Always did. It's REALLY low - so low that, once, they almost sent me home from the Red Cross blood bank when I was going to donate because they couldn't find my blood pressure. Every time it's taken, the person doing so says one of two things: Wow, you sure you aren't dead? or Well, YOU'RE certainly gonna live forever. I am very grateful for that low blood pressure. And I wanna KEEP it that way.

[llmart]

68. Hey, sounds like me!

My blood pressure is always really low and I think it's because I avoid television like the plague. I also avoid uneducated, stupid people (aka Republicans) and I attribute my low blood pressure to that. I've decided that I have no time or emotional energy to spend wasting it on them and their stupidity.

P.S. I tried once to give blood and they told me I should never do that again. Turned me away.

[Laurab]

76. Me, too

I've had nurses call doctors in because they couldn't get my blood pressure, the red cross turned me down several times when I wanted to give blood. I've had to insist to nurses that I was, indeed alive. It's not a bad thing to have these days. I also avoid things like seeing the shrub on tv, the lies of the union - those things are downright PAINFUL to me. At times like that, especially, I am grateful for the low blood pressure.

[benny05]

60. I think I was the ONLY one in my bldg

That watched SOTU and Smirky. Most of colleagues did anything, including doing knitting or watching DVD's in order not to see Smirky, Pickles, and Pork Chop.

To me, it was like watching a serious version of the "Big Chill" as I've not seen so many dirty looks and murmurs, hisses during his speech. The rethugs applauded at inappropriate times and threw Smirky off. I noticed Hasert didn't always applaud, especially during the SS piece of the speech.

[xxqqqzme]

66. I had a friend asked me if I

watched? I said, 'No, Jon Stewart will show me about as much as I can handle.' plus I watched 'Democracy Now'. Amy had an Xcellent analysis.

That is where I saw the introduction of pickle's 'new best friends'.
Personally, I thought yellow rogue using Saphia Taleb Al Souhail was a very deliberate and poignant slap in the face of every person in Ohio who stood in line for EIGHT to TEN HOURS and DIDN'T get 2 vote; the people in Ohio who received ballots PRE-MARKED for yellow rogue; the people in Ohio who R not certain whether their votes were even COUNTED.

[ignatius 2]

70. Me too. I watched a forensic science episode about a virus in

an area of east Cleveland that had infected 60 infants.

I absolutely refused to watch, my blood pressure and my psyche can't take it any more.

Seems as if those polls might have been right after all, Lord knows his "followers" would have tuned in and they seem to be dwindling.

[LiberalinNC]

14. Here's the story..and a link! LMAO

Speech impediment
State of Union address hits 5-year rating low

By RICK KISSELL, MICHAEL LEARMONTH
advertisement




TV viewers were not drawn to President Bush's speech on Wednesday as ratings for the State of the Union address were the lowest in five years.


President Bush's first State of the Union address of his second term attracted 40% of the available primetime audience Wednesday night, making it the least-watched such speech in five years.
According to Nielsen estimates, the seven English-language broadcast and cable nets airing the address live (9-10:03 p.m. ET) combined for 38.32 million viewers, while Spanish-language outlets Telemundo and TeleFutura attracted an additional 1.05 million.

The combined audience of 39.37 million viewers is down nearly 10% from last year's 43.41 million and off sharply from Bush's prior two State of the Union addresses -- 62.06 million in 2003 and 51.78 million in 2002. State of the Union crowd is the smallest since President Clinton's final address in 2000 (31.48 million).

As for the nine minutes of analysis on each of the nets (10:03-10:12 p.m.) prior to the Democratic response, NBC's Brian Williams-led coverage led the way with 8.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen. ABC and Peter Jennings placed second (7.23 million), followed by Fox's broadcast stations (6.37 million, boosted by a huge "American Idol" lead-in), Fox News Channel (6.35m) and the Dan Rather-led CBS coverage (5.7 million).

For its two hours of coverage, Fox News reported an audience of roughly 5 million viewers, crushing CNN (just over 1 million) and MSNBC (716,000). MSNBC edged CNN in adults 25-54 (330,000 to 312,000 viewers), while Fox beat both cablers with 1.6 million.

On the entertainment side Wednesday, "American Idol" dominated from 8 to 9 p.m. (10.9 rating/29 share in adults 18-49, 26.17 million viewers overall). Getting a boost from a lack of entertainment choices at 9 was the WBthe WB's rookie drama "Jack & Bobby" (1.4/3 in 18-49, 3.12m), which added 1.3 million viewers week to week.
Date in print: Fri., Feb. 4, 2005, Los Angeles

link http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117917377?categoryid=14&cs=1

[xxqqqzme]

67. Wow, that's 20 million

fewer than 'voted' 4 him. U would think that HUGE 'mandate' would tune in......right????

[Dr Fate]

16. I honestly forget it was even on. n/t

n/t

[keopeli]

17. This is why the Poll of people's response to the SOTUS is so favorable

Only the die-hard Bush*ies even watched the thing.

Americans have tuned out. They have abandoned hope for today.

[CatWoman]

36. You know, the head of Gallup said the very same thing today

on the radio. I was shocked to hear it. My local AAR station plays CNN radio news at the top and half hour. That's where I heard the broadcast.

Gallup did a viewership poll, and admitted that twice the number of republicans were polled, giving him a high favorability rating. They stated that mostly republicans watched, hence the high number of them polled.

[calimary]

71. The poll was heavily slanted toward republi-CONS.

The VAST majority of people polled said they were GOPers. Yeah, really balanced poll there. Of course they're gonna love their own guy. And completely impartially, too.

[Judi Lynn]

81. It's not an actual poll, in the truest sense, if it's not fair.

If it's weighted either way, without an admission up front, it's only good for propaganda purposes it seems from here.

I had to wonder what the point was in including Bill Clinton's final speech. Why not include George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, etc.?

These people are pathetic. They do what they want, make their own rules, and we either live with it, or do without!

[MadisonProgressive]

19. I didn't watch it - and I usually watch everything

It's just that there is nothing new in what he says. Just lies - only newer and bigger. Quite frankly I find it very boring.

[hadrons]

20. probably a plus for the clown ....

since the public will buy the mediawhores sucking up to him

[Jacobin]

21. I watched a re-run of Texas Hold'em Poker

My blood pressure cannot take listening to the Chimporer

[oasis]

22. Another Bush speech, recycled lies. ho hum.

[hippiechick]

23. As much as I despise the little crook ...

I really think we should encourage as many people as possible to watch him ... to keep an eye on him ... to document the BULLSHIT so we can use it against him & the GOP later when the policies all go bad.

If nobody's watching, that almost plays right into their hand of 'we can do what we want because nobody will notice'.

[oasis]

28. I agree. Those in our camp should take on the task of disecting his lies

for the benefit of the Kool-aid impaired.

[malachi]

29. His sheeple don't want to watch him. They know he's a complete and

total fuck-up, but like little children who cover their eyes and think that they can't be seen, they believe in fantasy.

[shanti]

59. ummmmm......

nah. i can't stomach him. fortunately for people like me, there are other DU'ers with a stronger stomach who report back here, so we aren't missing anything! ;-)

[hippiechick]

63. Nice.

I'm referring to the millions of other sheeple who 'don't bother' to watch him but will swallow the pablum that the media reports afterwards, and accept it as 'fact' without having HEARD the real words from his warped little mouth.

Then those same sheeple will turn around and support his bass-ackwards policies, mimick the talking points, and continue to VOTE for Repukelickans because they have never actually HEARD or internalized the BULLSHIT they spew.

Those same people should be made to watch him and SEE what he's really about, the nonsense he really speaks, and to memorize or make note of what he says vs. what he does.

Make sense now ?

Nah, let someone else do the heavy lifting, right ?
It's only the country's future at stake.

:eyes:

[shanti]

82. i'm not one of the sheeple

get that straight, and i'm definitely not alone with regard to not watching or listening to the beast. i saw him during the debates (painful tho it was), but i can't watch him again.

[WI_DEM]

24. People are tired of his bravado and lies

[AnneD]

26. My excuse

If I had watched the SOTUS, I would have had to play the drinking game (only way I can tolerate monkey boy)and I would not have made into work the next day. I prefer job security.

[jswordy]

27. I didn't watch it. I mean, why? I knew what he'd say. n/t

[catmandu57]

30. It was comedy central

all night here.

[blm]

33. And we're supposed to believe the country LOVES Bush.

.

[tom_paine]

duplicate delete

[tom_paine]

34. Looks like the Imperial Subjects of Amerika are awakening

Too late, assholes.

Now, in the sullen tradition of the enslaved, they (we) react more and more with the resignation of the Soviet Citizen.

This is not surprising at all. I expect more and more to withdraw further.

Which is a victory for Totalitarian Tyrants like the Busheviks, but oh well. This thing will have to burn itself out and, like Imperial Rome, it probably never will until the Final Fall a century or two from now...

[yorkiemommie1]

37. i watched the one on ebaumsworld myself...

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/presaddress2.shtml

[livinginphotographs]

38. Wonder how long before he gets cancelled?

One can hope...

[tanyev]

39. But, but, but 67% of the people voting

in the Christian Broadcasting Network poll gave him an A. It had to have been a wunnerful speech! You know that Variety magazine must be extra evil because all it talks about are those evil Hollywood libruls.

[EST]

40. Did not even bring it up to 'think about watching it' level.

That little horror is not even worth pulling the wings off of. Spent the time teaching my six year old grand daughter a little then going to bed early. I saw Jon Stewart's version today at nine a.m.(cst) and it blew me away. WELL worth seeing again. Highly recommended. Teehee

[karynnj]

41. How many here watched it?

One conjecture is that although many politically aware people on each side usually wact the SOTU, it may be that Democrats are too disheartened or angry to do so this year. This is the first SOTU I didn't watch since I was in high school in the 60s. I read the text on the internet and the comments on the threads here. I just couldn't face seeing GWB (especially knowing they'ld show Kerry - which would make it sadder)

Are there others who feel this time was different?

[Hissyspit]

42. You know how, in Monty Python's "Meaning of Life," Mr. Creosote just keeps

vomiting? How you don't want to watch, but there is nowhere else to look? I had a feeling it would be like that, so I couldn't bring myself to watch. At least in Monty Python, after it's all over, they do my favorite joke of the movie. (Eric Idle as the waiter goes to show you HIS meaning of life and takes you to the cottage he grew up in and then says 'Fuck you!')

[On the Road]

43. I Couldn't Watch It

As far as I was concerned, it was the STFU speech rather the SOTU address.

[MADem]

44. I watched it with one eye

...mostly to see the audience responses. I found the trotting out of the dead parents to be the most shameful, exploitative thing I had seen that night, and the most disgusting moment was when he slipped JoeMentum the tongue. I enjoyed the booing, was appalled by the blue finger waving in creepy unison (those proctologist GOP congressional freshman!), and found the speech to be the same old shit--a litany of "THIS IS WHAT I WANT, and SCREW YOU, I'll walk all over every one of ya to get MY WAY!"

I heard nothing about the actual STATE of the Union in the speech, as we all know, the state of the union is horrific. All I heard was hectoring, whining and bullying...fetid, damp turds flung from the dais of democracy by a buffoon. But hey, what else is new?

[mccoyn]

45. I started watching it...

Then he said something about supporting the bipartisan effort to balance the budget. I shut it off at that point. Nothing he said after that could be credible.

[Rockerdem]

46. Not a good sign

It shows that the American people are complacent, and find * tolerable and non-threatening. If they were worried, they woulds watch. And as he becomes more of a lame duck, even less will watch.

In a crisis (or election years), people watch news events. When they are fat sassy and dumb, they watch cotton candy entertainment.

[Hissyspit]

47. That's more my reading on it.

[Laurab]

80. Nah, I don't think so many are complacent

I'm REAL worried, and I didn't watch - neither did anyone I know, and most of them are real worried, too. Nor do I find * tolerable - quite the opposite. Knowing that he's going to spout the same old lies and bushit, why bother to watch? There are transcripts everywhere - much easier on the stomach than actually watching his chimpness. It wasn't a "news event", it was a propaganda event.

[Rockerdem]

88. I wasnt talking about the motivated partisans

I didnt watch either. But I was talking more about the mushy middle. When there is a crisis or a disaster, people everywhere will watch. Or every four years during an election. But when people are feeling good about their SUV/ORV payment, they tune out politics. But if word leaked out that Jr. was going to adopt a 20% surcharge to pay for the war, or draft their daughter next week, watch the Nielsens climb.

There just isnt the urgency. There was more heat and light around election time. Now, theres a sense of complacency or burnout factor. We advocates (loyal opposition) are not doing our job, and the leaders at top are too complicit also.

[marylanddem]

48. Can't Watch His Evilness

His voice is hideous and grating, his face smirks, it's self-torture to watch. I do think it is because he is so evil that he's so hard to take.
Plus you know that everything he says will be bullshit.

[nadinbrzezinski]

49. my father saw some of it

me, I cannot stand it... I read it, but will NOT watch him... PERIOD.

of course my dad had no clue what is truly going here, he does not live here... and gets tired when I say... turn off the propaganda...

In fact he does not realize just how much people are getting radicalized

[d_b]

51. But..but..but..

He's the 60 million mandate man, what ever is going on here?

[marylanddem]

52. He stole, cheated, defiled the American electoral system

Kerry was elected president & Bush is in his second imposter term.
The mandate doesn't exist.

[rodeodance]

53. i fell asleep watching.

[Crazy8s]

55. If I want to watch a chimp throw crap

I'll go to the zoo. That's what I told my coworkers when they brought up the sotu. None of them watched, tho two are Bush* loving repugs. One of them asked, "do you really think he looks like a chimp?". I said no: his eyes are beadier.

[cornermouse]

56. Why would I watch someone I have no respect for?

I went to bed.

[hector459]

57. Because people know a liar when they see one and now they are tired

of the lies since they got the war they wanted and the tax cuts.

[damntexdem]

58. But the media will tell the rest of the nation lies about what he said.

I watched the Dem response on ABC. I loved Reed's reference to the Dubya deficit as a 'birth tax' on future generations. In the wrap up, the network promised to get to the Dem comments, but 'first to the President.' They never quite made it back to the Dems. But in later media reports, the Dem responses were dismissed as 'pathetic.' Well, it doesn't much matter what you say if the media is going to smear you afterward.

[genieroze]

61. I would rather watch people eating maggots on Fear Factor then

watch *. :puke:

[Anakin Skywalker]

62. I Can't Stand His Juvenile Giggles.

Also, I knew not watching would help to contribute to low numbers. Heh heh heh. *mock giggles*

[Mr_Spock]

65. SOTU - Suck On This U!

That's all that moron ever tells us anyway - had enough of his childish name-calling!

[Trajan]

69. But ... but ......

He is the fucking messiah .... and NO messiah gets low billing when he pays for the service ....

CMON you guys. get with the program, and chant after me:

"George Bush is right, He is the rightest of the right righteous righties .... He told me so ..."

Now remember: George Bush got the HIGHEST rating of any speech by ANY human being ever ......

Ever .....

See what a few well spent media dollars could do ? ...

[leesa]

72. LOL. But it was masterful...the best SOTU EVER...poetry...

[tinfoilinfor2005]

73. You know how when you step in shit, how the smell makes you gag...

and then you start to taste that vomit rising in your throat, and you have to swallow hard, and it stings your nose and brings tears to your eyes, and you have to get away from the smell of that shit or you know you will lose your lunch? Case closed.

[Hissyspit]

75. ...but you can't get away 'cause it's stuck to your shoe?

Yeah, I know that feeling.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

74. I watched it for a bit

but turned it off when I actually saw him WINK. Who on earth was he WINKING at? UGH!

[Bethany Rockafella]

78. He thinks he's a player!

Trying to appeal to the ladies on tv and in the audience. Well, I guess he has to do something to become attractive. If winking is all he's got, then go for it, I guess. Clinton didn't have to wink.:-)

[VegasWolf]

77. but it was on opposite American Idol! It had no chance. n/t

[Voltaire99]

86. Still, it's awfully hard to compete...

...when you're up against wrestling, people eating live worms, home shopping, and porn.

Remember: those are things worth invading any number of countries to defend!