CounterThink.org: Aljazeera "original source" of Bush "28% Approval" story

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Note from B_E_B: Don't get me wrong...I like a good "Bush approval rate at 28%" story as much as the next guy...maybe even more. But this is starting to sound like nothing more than bullshit. Aljazeera opens their article with "According to most recent surveys, just 28 percent of Americans think the president is doing a good job, the lowest in a decade"...and DOESN'T CITE THE SOURCE OF THE POLLS. So before we start taking victory laps over this story, consider the facts...or lack of them. I'd like to see Bush fall on his face because of LEGITIMATE public opinion...NOT because of an Aljazeera "Tokyo Rose" propaganda piece.



http://www.counterthink.org/013262.html

Bush approval rating low, surveys say

Highlight:
With his job approval rating at a measly 28 percent, President Bush is in hot water for his policies in Iraq.

Original source:
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=9867

Summary:

* According to most recent surveys, just 28 percent of Americans think the president is doing a good job, the lowest in a decade.
* But pollsters say that even without running a poll; just wandering down to the local coffee shops you will see the amount of anger and frustration as a result of Iraq war, the mounting casualties, skyrocketing energy prices and the government's policy.
* "They are angry about the president's incompetence and his general unwillingness to acknowledge with some humility that he has made some terrible and tragic mistakes regarding the mission in Iraq."
* Last month, thousands of American anti-war protesters, carrying signs that read "Bush Lied, Thousands Died," and "End the Occupation," rallied in Washington and other U.S. cities demanding the return of U.S. troops and the end of Iraq war- It was the largest gathering since the war began in March 2003.
* It's not just the Democrats or liberals who're angry at Bush's policy, but also conservatives and Republicans show increasing dissatisfaction with Bush's policy.
* Steven M. Warshawsky, a conservative commentator says that "Bush clearly has retreated from the promise he made to the country on September 20, 2001, the night he declared the War on Terror".
* An editorial at The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, says that "In the case of Iraq, the American public has failed its soldiers," "we did not prevent the Bush administration from spending their blood in an unnecessary war based on contrived concerns about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
* On the other hand, the U.S. is trying to interfere in the Middle East policy despite the firestorm of criticism from many of Arab nations because of its intervention, by imposing American-style reforms, claiming it's part of its mission to bring democracy to the Third World Nations.



http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=9867

Americans’ anger at an all-time high
10/18/2005 8:46:00 PM GMT

Americans have become increasingly frustrated with their President’s Iraq policy.

According to most recent surveys, just 28 percent of Americans think the president is doing a good job, the lowest in a decade. But pollsters say that even without running a poll; just wandering down to the local coffee shops you will see the amount of anger and frustration as a result of Iraq war, the mounting casualties, skyrocketing energy prices and the government’s policy.

“More and more Americans are angry,” says retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a Democratic presidential candidate in 2004. “They are angry about the president's incompetence and his general unwillingness to acknowledge with some humility that he has made some terrible and tragic mistakes regarding the mission in Iraq.”

Last month, thousands of American anti-war protesters, carrying signs that read "Bush Lied, Thousands Died," and "End the Occupation," rallied in Washington and other U.S. cities demanding the return of U.S. troops and the end of Iraq war- It was the largest gathering since the war began in March 2003.

[DRoseDARs]

1. Great now the freeptards will start whining and howling EVERY poll does nt

:banghead:

[starroute]

2. They may have misread the "right direction" figure

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9672058/

Bush approval dips below 40 percent
NBC-WSJ poll shows only 28 percent believe U.S. headed in right direction

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

6. That certainly makes sense...

...and "28 percent believe U.S. headed in right direction" IS a sort of "approval" (or lack of it), but since it doesn't fit into the convention of our polls, it's not a "legit" approval number.

:patriot:

[chascarrillo]

3. So FOX News ran a month-old story?

So FOX News ran a month-old story? Based on Al-Jazeera? I don't buy it...

... but then again, it is FOX. Hard to do journalism with no journalists on staff.

[PSPS]

4. I thought aljazeera.net was the legit site, and the .com one was a sham

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

5. I dunno, but if you want to believe CounterThink...

...the "com" site is the source, legit or not.

:patriot:

[darkism]

7. Yes. aljazeera.com is not the same as aljazerra.net

They are separate organizations.

http://www.aljazeera.com/contactus.asp
Important note: Aljazeera Publishing and Aljazeera.com are not associated with the controversial Arabic Satellite Channel known as Jazeera Space Channel TV station whose website is Aljazeera.net.

[Catrina]

8. You're right, that is not the real Al Jazeera site

As you said, .net is the legitimate AJ site.