A few months ago I mentioned that Our Fearless Leader had achieved a 19 percent approval rating in an American Research Group poll. I noted that "presidential approval numbers below about 35% are very difficult to achieve," adding,
To get below 25%, you really need to be seen kicking nuns in the shins. To get below 20%, you need to be caught on camera raping puppies.I suspected that result was an outlier, and noted at the time that "We're not likely to see such a low approval rating again in our lives."
But W surprised me yet again: the same polling organization reports that
Among all Americans, 19% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 76% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 17% approve and 78% disapprove.The same poll also achieves a number I've never seen before on a significant poll:
No Americans say that the national economy is getting better, 13% say it is staying the same, and 82% say the national economy is getting worse.Get that: "No Americans." Zero percent. They spoke to eleven hundred people and couldn't find one. Zow.
1 comment:
Professor Lynch;
I stumbled into your blog by way of a Google search for "formal writing guide". I did find your guide for writing, and from there followed the links to get here. All I can say is: I wish you were my English professor! I'm a returning student (after 25 years out of high school, ouch...); and find myself ignorant of such rules as: no contractions in formal writing. Maybe my small-town Texas high school education was lacking, but I had truly never heard of such a "rule" and had never even thought about it, until my first professor corrected my usage.
So, this is just a note to let you know that I am enjoying both your writing guide and your blog, and I've bookmarked both to refer to later!
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