President

Real Numbers of The Presidents Approval Rating

November 23, 2005 ⋅  E-Mail Article ⋅ ⋅ Post a comment

We have all heard the numbers but do we really understand why? Why is President Bush’s approval rating so low? I took a walking poll of individuals I encountered at the mall. I came up with a variety of reasons why his approval is so low.

On the question of the economy I asked two questions, I began by stating, “The economy appears to be strong but many claim they are having a hard time finding employment why do you feel the job market appears so downtrodden? A very common response was ‘President Bush’. The second question asked was, “where do you do most of your holiday shopping?” A very common answer was ‘Wal-Mart’.

Many times the same person offered up both answers, this states the confusion I have with people correlating a bad job market to President Bush’s approval rating. President Bush does not force us to buy products made outside of America we do it because we want the cheapest item, isn’t this the same reason why despise outsourcers, we feel betrayed?

The next question was, “How do you feel about the specter of a large heating bill this winter?” I also asked, “Who is to blame?” Most individuals stated that they expected their heating bill to double and they again blamed President Bush, many said it was an effort to make his friends rich.

However, after speaking with professionals in the energy business I have learned that the cost of heating oil has risen very little and has not gone through the roof as expected. I also have learned that it’s the commodity traders who really set the price for oil, not our President. Again Bush takes a hit where one is not necessarily warranted.

There are other issues such as the Iraq War, the Social Security debacle, and the scars left form a brutal re-election campaign. These issues contribute to the Bush popularity poll, and rightly so. However, you should educate and understand the man and his policies before you blindly profess your hate and mistrust of the man.

The few people I talked to expressed this ideal to me very quickly, they were frustrated by their own situation and they lashed out at the person most visible. However, upon reflection they should check their own closet, is it filled with ‘Made in America’ items or is it filled with the cheapest priced item they could find. When the facts are revealed we may find a very low approval rating for American consumers as well as the president. You may disagree with him, you may not like him. However, you should be as fair to him as you are to yourself.

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