September 11, 2005

Follow-Up Questions

Gleening public opinion can be an interesting task. Most of the time the results should be nothing more than the stuff of party conversation. Elected officials should most definitely not govern by them. An AP-Ipsos has President Bush's approval rating at 39%. Dismal. In the AP story Barry Allen a Michigan independent his thoughts.

Allen said he liked some of Bush's economic steps during his first term but has been dissatisfied with the president's economic moves in his second term, his Iraq policy and his handling of gasoline prices.

Allen worries Hurricane Katrina has taken the wind out of an economy that was moving in the right direction.

The reporter should have asked Allen what the President should have done about gas prices. Should the President have issued and unconstitutional order preventing gas stations from raising gas prices? If that would have happened you would have seen gas shortages across the country. Then Mr. Allen would be complaining that Bush should have done something about the lack of gas. Or maybe Bush should have magically created oil refineries bypassing environmentalists and NIMBYs.

Complaining is easy. Heck, being a weblogger I know just how easy. Polls and sound bites don't mean much in political discourse. It's bad enough the AP keeps a running poll. What's worse is psuedo-news story that doesn't add to the discussion.

"Poll: Bush Approval at 39 Percent" [via In Search of Utopia]