Story of the Day

Now that the latest poll has only 39% of Americans saying we're winning the war on terror, with 36% saying the terrorists are besting us, how swiftly will the White House (and Republicans in general) spin this as a result of the media focusing too much on the negatives coming out of Iraq? Scotty? Rummy? And how willingly will the mainstream press accept such nonsense and play out the inevitable "fair and balanced" two-step? Or will they simply ignore this poll, fearing that if they report the news that over one-third of Americans believe the terrorists are winning, then they will be seen as succoring the enemy? 

The Bush Administration has hung their entire legacy on national security even though, in reality, their record of action has been abysmal: they act when they shouldn't and sit idlely by when they should. The infamous August 6th memo pre-9/11 and George Bush's stupefaction in that classroom just over a month later augured everything that has followed. From Iraq to Katrina to Iran to Hamas to Portgate. Bushco has created a state of national insecurity. This most definitely is a story because they decided to define themselves as our protectors, and damn everything else - from our basic civil liberties to the Geneva Conventions. A Democratic administration with this track record would have the mainstream media crowing about the impending dissolution of the Democratic Party, of the number of years, potentially decades, it might take them to recover from such incessant and excessive failure and corruption. Meanwhile, we can barely get them to report the story at all.

So the next time you hear someone decry the state of the Democratic Party, and there's much to decry, it's crucial to remember the imbalanced filter through which all their views must pass and the easy-pass our national media grants Bushco. Kerry speaks and gets no coverage; when he does his setting or attire often receives more attention. Gore speaks and they call him an excitable loser who should just accept his defeat and find another hobby, ignoring his words, which lately have the urgency and clarity of a man who sees the country he loves sliding further and further toward an irreversible totalitarianism. While Incurious George and Dick Dastardly fumble and snarl their way through one disaster after another.

Facts don't matter if no one hears them. Karl Rove knows this better than anyone:

39% Say U.S. Winning  War on Terror, 36% Say Terrorists Winning
Rasmussen Reports

Comments

[Scuttle]

Thanks for bringing this poll to my attention. I didn't see it referenced anywhere other than your site. The latest CBS poll that has Bush w/ a 34% approval rating has gotten some play, but the Rasmussen poll which has the more important numbers that you mention seems to be dying on the vine.