http://mediamatters.org/tools/syndication/tag_rss/polling This link is for use by RSS-enabled software to retrieve Media Matters items matching the term: Polling en-US Copyright 2009, Media Matters for America http://mediamatters.org/items/200811170018 <em>Newsweek</em>'s Evan Thomas and Richard Wolffe repeated the assertion previously made by <em>Newsweek</em> colleague Jon Meacham that the country "remains right of center." Thomas and Wolffe cited as evidence exit polling that showed more respondents identifying themselves as "conservative" than as "liberal." But political scientists dispute the reliability of voters' identification with political ideologies, and the former editor of <em>The Washington Times'</em> editorial page asserted "the only problem" with conservatives claiming America is a "center-right" country is that "[i]t isn't true. Or at least, not anymore." http://mediamatters.org/items/200811170018 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:10:26 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200811100013 Several conservative commentators claim America is ideologically a "center-right" country, citing as evidence general election exit polls showing that 22 percent of respondents identify themselves as "liberal," 44 percent as "moderate" and 34 percent as "conservative." But political scientists dispute the reliability of voters' identification with political ideologies, and other polling has found that a strong majority favored the more progressive position on a number of issues. http://mediamatters.org/items/200811100013 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:01:34 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200810170015 MSNBC's <em>Morning Joe </em>echoed the Drudge Report by displaying the on-screen text "Gallup shock" and selectively citing only one of three findings from an October 13-15 Gallup daily tracking poll of the presidential race -- the one that showed Sen. Barack Obama holding his smallest lead over Sen. John McCain. http://mediamatters.org/items/200810170015 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:48:52 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200808070011 In an editorial, <em>The Washington Times</em> asserted that President Bush "had very high poll ratings (80 percent to 90 percent) throughout his first term" and went on to say that during his tenure, he "reduced unemployment to still record-levels." In fact, Bush's approval ratings peaked between 80 percent and 95 percent in September 2001 before trending downward through the end of his first term, which he finished at around 50 percent. Additionally, the unemployment rate under Bush after the 2001 recession bottomed out at 4.4 percent in March 2007 -- a higher level than when Bush took office in January 2001, when the rate was 4.2 percent. http://mediamatters.org/items/200808070011 Thu, 7 Aug 2008 19:39:50 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200804150010 The <em>New York Post</em>'s Charles Hurt wrote that when Sen. Hillary Clinton proposed national health-care reform as first lady, "Americans revolted over her proposals," adding that "she still doesn't understand that most people believe the federal government is the <em>only </em>thing that could actually make health care worse." In fact, recent polling suggests that a majority of Americans support health-care reform proposals that expand the government's role. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804150010 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:17:12 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200712130008 <em>The Washington Post</em> reported that "Democrats are trying to prove that they can be an equal partner to [President] Bush" and that "congressional approval ratings dropp[ed] this week to 32 percent, a notch below Bush's 33 percent, according to the latest <em>Washington Post</em>-ABC News poll." But according to the <em>Post</em>'s own polling, congressional approval is not dropping, and the approval rating for "Democrats in Congress" is seven percentage points higher than Bush's in the latest poll. http://mediamatters.org/items/200712130008 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:45:30 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200711280004 On <em>Hardball</em>, citing "a new Zogby poll," Chris Matthews stated: "Tonight, our Big Number is the number five. That's the number of Republican presidential candidates that [Sen.] Hillary Clinton trails in the November matchups." However, Matthews did not note that the poll was an online Zogby Interactive poll in which participants were chosen from a database of volunteers. Matthews omitted this fact despite statements by the American Association for Public Opinion Research and Democratic pollster Mark Blumenthal -- who appeared earlier in the day on MSNBC -- that such polls are unreliable. http://mediamatters.org/items/200711280004 Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:44:01 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200710100011 Moderator Chris Matthews asserted during the October 9 Republican presidential debate, "Polls show that Republicans are known as the party of national security and of moral values." But recent polling shows Democrats either tied or at a slight advantage against Republicans on the issue of national security, as well as holding an advantage in sharing voters' moral values. <br /> http://mediamatters.org/items/200710100011 Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:47:34 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200709230002 In a <em>Washington Post</em> article, Shailagh Murray wrote: "GOP Senate offices circulated the results of a Gallup poll released this week that showed 54 percent of those surveyed think [Gen. David] Petraeus's plan for removing troops is the right pace, or even too quick." However, this poll question did not explain to respondents how many troops Petraeus' plan called for removing or over what period of time this withdrawal would take place. Other polling shows that when respondents are told specifically what Petraeus recommended, the results are dramatically different. http://mediamatters.org/items/200709230002 Sun, 23 Sep 2007 17:13:44 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200709210004 Reporting on Sen. Jim Webb's proposal to "specify minimum periods between deployment of units and members of the Armed Forces" deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, several media outlets noted Sen. John McCain's criticism that the amendment is "unconstitutional" without including comments from Webb or any other Democrat defending the constitutionality of the proposal. <br /> http://mediamatters.org/items/200709210004 Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:04:37 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200709190011 ABC News' <em>The Note</em> claimed that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in favoring legislation calling for troop withdrawal timelines, "virtually ensured the return of polarized Iraq politics -- and is giving the left the showdown (take two) it craves." But polling repeatedly shows that a significant majority of the country supports withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq in -- at most -- a timeframe that comports with what Reid has suggested. http://mediamatters.org/items/200709190011 Wed, 19 Sep 2007 19:17:41 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200709140006 An article in <em>The Hill</em> on a recommendation before Congress by Gen. David Petraeus to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq to pre-"surge" levels by the summer of 2008 asserted that, in President Bush's address to the nation laying out the plan, "his sell might not be so difficult," citing as evidence a Rasmussen Reports poll that "showed that 43 percent of Americans support the Petraeus plan while 38 percent oppose it." But the poll did not offer respondents other options to choose from -- including withdrawal of a greater number of troops than that recommended by Petraeus. http://mediamatters.org/items/200709140006 Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:13:39 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200708220015 A Reuters article uncritically quoted Matthew Woessner, a professor at Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg, saying that Democrats face a potential "nightmare scenario" over Iraq if "the sum total of the pressures from their constituency groups, are out of step with mainstream America." The article didn't cite any polls to back up Woessner's claim; in fact, polls show that a majority of Americans oppose the war in Iraq and believe that some or all troops should be withdrawn from Iraq. <br /> http://mediamatters.org/items/200708220015 Wed, 22 Aug 2007 18:54:18 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200708220007 http://mediamatters.org/items/200708220007 Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:09:31 EST http://mediamatters.org/items/200708170010 On <em>Countdown</em>, Keith Olbermann named Bill O'Reilly the "winner" in his nightly "Worst Person in the World" segment for falsely asserting, as <em>Media Matters for America</em> documented, that a poll by "Pew Research or something like that" "says that most Americans won't vote for you if you get an endorsement by a gay rights group." http://mediamatters.org/items/200708170010 Fri, 17 Aug 2007 15:26:06 EST