what the heck does this mean?

[bearfartinthewoods]

it's no secret i'm a poll junkie, partly because of where i live, in pubbie hell, that i need to know sanity still rules in other parts of the country. mostly because polls are important in making decisions politically.

look at these charts:

http://www.pollingreport.com/national.htm

approval...bush up, congress up, consumer comfort up yet the line for
satisfied/dissatisfied is going down?

how in the heck can people like bush and congress yet still be dissatisfied?

my first thought is the poll is flawed. there is some evidence for that here:
http://www.pollingreport.com/right.htm#Right

which shows counter info, but that aside, what would cause people to be increasingly pleased with bush, congress and consumer comfort yet still be dissatisfied? if we can figure it out, it may be something we can exploit.

OK...here is the disclaimer..i know there are many of you who dismiss polls. post such sentiments if you really really feel the need but i will ask that you refrain and let this be a thread for poll junkies.

thank you.

[maddezmom]

1. just a suggestion

ya might want to remove "hell" out of the thread title, so it's not locked. :)

[bearfartinthewoods]

2. oooppps...thanks!!!!!!!!!!

[boilerbabe]

10. Hey, Cutie! Where'd ya get that poll?

It's hard to tell by polls how things are actually going to turn out, so I've heard...I've been voting my little ass off for like 24 yrs...not necessarily on the proper side, either...long story that...
But it sure is fun to try to ascertain what is going to happen...UNLESS you take the Bush poll, which means HEY, HUNNY, you are HOZED, don't bother to vote!
I have been told that you are vehemently anti-Dean...now I think it is time that the DEM party just got together and say "to heck with you Repugs." Now is that not in our best interest?
Yes, I am a Dean supporter, but I see alot of good qualities in the other candidates for the nomination. BUT, most of them don't stand a chance. so what's holding you back, Dean is not so radical as many think...(I wish he was , really) I really wish that you and our fellow Dems would stop watching FOX News and get a grip on this.
Come on, don't fall for the right wing folderafal!
Do you really think that Dean supporters have an agenda against Wesley Clark? not at all. If you really look at it, the opposition has all the investiture to make us divided.
Think about that. Divide and conquer. Now, think about how the DEMS need to get together.
Dean's the front runner, back him up.
XXXOOO

[Mikimouse]

3. I think that the answer is probably fairly simple...

People do not like to admit that they are (or were) wrong, under any circumstances. They also do not like to be associated with the 'losing' side of any debate. Thus, they hedge their bets on * and the legislature and still maintain their right to be dissatisfied by responding to other, non-commital, and vague questions in a negative way. That way, they are 'covered', come what may.

[cryofan]

4. yep! short answer? The sheeple are idiots.....n/t

[bearfartinthewoods]

7. if the people are sheeple, we'd better learn to be shephards

which is exactly the reason behind this thread. what do the people want and how can we give it to them better than bushco without abandoning our principles.

[bearfartinthewoods]

5. if you are right, there is no way in hell we can win the GE

because of redistricting, if lots of people won't admit they blew it, we get four more years.

i don't believe it.

[Mikimouse]

9. I'm not sure that I would surrender the GE ...

I have every faith in Bushco to screw something up so badly that those who value their egos above the good of the society will be shaken. I agree with your statement about becoming shepherds, but would caution that the best of intentions falls short when confronted by the human ego. I vote for staying the course as we are, without wasting our collective breath trying to convince others that our path is superior to the one presently being followed. We DID win in 2000, after all, and with so many eyes watching for voting irregularities this time around, I feel that we will have a good chance to unseat *. Just my opinion. Like you, I wish people would do their homework and realize that there is much more at stake than being on the 'winning team', but then, what can one expect from a society in which distances are best measured in terms of the number of football fields?

[bearfartinthewoods]

11. surrender is not in my dictionary

i just think that this is going to be hard. it's obviously a matter of finding the little cracks and slipping a prybar into them to weaken the bushco hold. i thought we had a winner in the deficit until someone pointed out to me that convincing a country that's addicted to carrying huge amounts of credit in their personal lives is not going to be upset if their government does likewise.

that reminds me. i need to run a poll...

[Armstead]

6. Objctively, it makes sense

It's possible to be dissatisfied about the direction of things, but also support how current leadership is addressing those problems.

It may reflect a deeper feeling that bad things happening are outside of anyone's ability to control. or a sense of optimi9sm that current policies will bear fruit down the line.

It sucks but that's a reality we have to deal with.

[sandnsea]

8. Satisfied is blue???

It's going up. Congress poll was in October, so it doesn't completely match the other two taken in December. Just my take on it.

[SheilaT]

12. I think another explanation

is that many people assume that the president, whoever he is, must be competent and know what he's doing. They're not really paying attention to anything outside their own personal lives, so if they have a job, the economy is fine. If their kid is getting okay grades in school, then the local schools are just fine.

Very few people are willing to think for themselves, which is something virtually all of us here on DU do as much as possible. We just draw different conclusions from the same evidence, which is why all the flame wars (especially about the candidates) happen.

Another aspect to the group think is that the majority of Americans identify themselves as believing churchgoers (mostly Christian) and quite frankly, all religions tell their followers that THIS is the one true religion and you are not to question it. Except for Unitarians, but there are hardly enough of them to matter.