Unapologetically bourgeois. Proudly intolerant of idiocy.

Saturday, December 03, 2005

For those who believe in polls

Winning the war at home

Excerpt:

December 2, 2005--Confidence in the War on Terror is up sharply compared to a month ago. Forty-eight percent (48%) Americans now believe the U.S. and its Allies are winning. That's up nine points from 39% a month ago and represents the highest level of confidence measured in 2005.

Just 28% now believe the terrorists are winning, down six points from 34% a month ago. The survey was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday night following the President's speech outlining his strategy in Iraq.

Huge partisan divisions on questions dealing with Iraq remain. Seventy-four percent (74%) of Republicans believe the U.S. and its allies are winning. That's up from 64% a month ago.

Just 28% of Democrats believe the U.S. is winning while 45% of Nancy Pelosi's party believe the terrorists are winning. Even that is a more optimistic assessment than last month when just 19% of Democrats said the U.S. was winning.

Among those those not affiliated with either major party, 40% now say the U.S. and its allies are winning. Thirty percent (30%) take the opposite view. A month ago, unaffiliateds were evenly divided.

I say:

Bush keeps quiet, the numbers go down. Bush speaks out, the numbers go up. Perception is not reality, but perception is *a* reality, that needs to be managed. The truth has got its boots on once again.

What the opinion polls measure is something shallow, emotional, ephemeral. It's the froth of the zeitgeist, not its soul. The proof? How easily it can be swung back and forth, by talking heads and pictures on the boob tube.

So who speaks to the American soul? Not the mainstream media. Those blow-dried bimbos haven't even got souls. Nor the Democrat party. Same reason. The Republican party? A little bit, but not as much as they think. Talk radio? Somewhat. Talk radio is mostly about callers. It's about listening to the American soul and letting it have its say, and then responding. In short, dialogue. This is what Al Franken could never quite understand. But who really connects with America at a deep level? I say it's the bloggers. They're less centralized, more democratic. Also, blogs do a better job of reporting and investigative journalism (or at least fact checking) than do the mainstream news outlets. This is the future, folks.

As far as the reality in Iraq goes, I'll have a post shortly on what Joe Lieberman has to say, about what he saw in Iraq. But for now, there's all this.



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