It is true though, that you can't tell much from the first 100 days. Especially if Carter was the most popular.
Posted by purple at April 29, 2009 01:30 AMSo where are Biden's numbers as compared with Cheney?
Posted by peter at April 29, 2009 04:34 AMAll they've got is lying, and even that's not working, obviously. Funny!
Posted by Twinky P* at April 29, 2009 05:45 AMbut I found it amusing that the feeble attempt to emerge from fringe-dom is based on appeals to cherry-picked data points.
That's what they do. Their positions on global warming, the death penalty, the relationship between tax rates and tax revenue, the new deal, etc., etc. are all supported by cherry picked, out of context, data points.
Want to argue global warming is a myth? Pick the global temps in 1998 (a local spike due to El Nino) and 2005 and say that the temp is going down, ignoring all other data. Death Penalty? Compare crime rates in 1980 and 2000 and assume that the change is due to death penalty enforcement, without looking for other causes or doing regression analysis on coorelations (which you can't do because that would show that death penalty states have a higher murder rate). Want to argue lower taxes increase tax revenue? Compare tax revenues in 1981 and 1987 and attribute the difference to the 1981 tax cut, ignoring factors like population, GDP growth, and of course the 6 tax increases in the interim.
You see? Cherry picking is all the GOP has. And with the dumbing down of the populace and the media, it worked until their policies bankrupted the country.
Consider that in the specific example of this post, the Reagan number Reynolds picks was a poll taken shortly after the Hinkley assassination attempt, when his approval briefly spiked. It was non representative of Reagan's first year at all. Cherry picked.
Everyone else, even the WSJ, is finding Obama's approval on the high side. But more to the point, what is clearly unusual about 2009 is the intensity of hatred that is coming from the far right dead-enders. No other President in the modern polling era has faced such irrational hatred out of the gate as Obama has. The only other President who faced a similar intensity of opposition was FDR -- and of course Lincoln faced the worst situation of all.
Posted by Anonny at April 29, 2009 06:35 AM...I found it amusing that the feeble attempt to emerge from fringe-dom is based on appeals to cherry-picked data points.
Like when cheney wants his 2 "torture is a success" memos released but leave the 100's of other memos alone.
observe the query of our rocket scientist in residence, shit-fer-brains pete:
So where are Biden's numbers as compared with Cheney?
Read my lips asshole; Who gives a fuck?
Posted by headxray at April 29, 2009 07:46 AM