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When evaluating economic polls, subtract 15-20%

A note on economic polls: when evaluating them, subtract 15-20%. Case in point: U.S. public opinion toward outgoing President George W. Bush.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll taken in December 2008 found the following:

Despite the worst U.S. recession in decades, rising unemployment, declining median incomes, unprecedented home foreclosures, massive U.S. government borrowing to bailout / rescue the bank sector, and the lowest job creation of any eight-year president in the modern era, the poll found that:
  • 23% of the American people said they would miss Bush, 25% said Bush managed government effectively, and about a third said he would go down in history as a good president.
Roughly a third of Americans viewing Bush as a good president?, with 25% saying he managed the government effectively? What's going on here?

Who are these people? Upper-income Americans or strong Republicans?

Exactly: either, or possibly both, which is why you need to deduct 15-20% when reading a poll, to gauge a president's support, particularly on economic issues.

Continue reading When evaluating economic polls, subtract 15-20%

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Last updated: February 12, 2012: 01:28 AM

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