CW = BS

Something....

er.....

something else has been bugging me lately about the media. There's conventional wisdom floating around that while Bush is unpopular (the numbers have finally gotten low enough to actually change the media meme on this), the Democrats are equally unpopular.

Digby

Why is that I keep hearing that Democrats are held in the same low esteem as Bush and the Republicans? The new Newsweek poll says:

Reflecting the tarnished view of the administration, only 38 percent of registered voters say they would vote for a Republican for Congress if the Congressional elections were held today, while 50 say they would vote for a Democrat.

Excuse me a minute.

First of all, 38% ain't 50%. Second, there's no imminent election with no real candidates.

One part of the poll describes sinking numbers on the President...an individual with a face, a record, responsibility, and one hopes accountability. As far as Congress, we're talking about Frist/DeLay/Hassert anytime you are talking about the job of Congress. Again, faces.

Meanwhile, the poll questions about Dems ask stuff like, "do you approve of Democrats in Congress" or "do you think the Democrats offer an alternative" or "would you vote for a Democrat". The targets are amorphous, making it impossible for people to conjure up specific feelings, much less an opinion. Plus, the question is asked in the context of rating how the government (Republican) is doing. Of course people are going to lump it all together and spit out a big raspberry, given events over the past 5 years.

This is conventional wisdom at it's worst partly because many of the so-called "political consultants" then buy into the notion and make decisions that really has flawed data as support.

Put a face on the label "Democrat" and let's see how it looks. Right now I think that "Democrat" would do pretty well. But then, I don't really know any better than anyone else spouting conventional wisdom...do I?

NOTE: Interestingly, one poll (sorry, too lazy to find the link) I read this week suggests quite clearly that Bush's falling support is occuring within the Republican supporters. This is an important development to be watched closely.