What Americans Are Thinking : A Reality Check

All poll results come from PollingReport.com

The Bush propaganda machine, the mainstream media, and the right-wing media and blogs roll along, trying to make this administration look legitimate, competent, ethical, etc. Little by little, Americans are catching on to the fact that it is all more or less, well, bullshit and they are reacting to it accordingly.

This week, Bush has tried to associate himself with Pope John Paul II which is really a ridiculous and insulting assault on reality. The Pope was a man of peace. Bush is not. The Pope was a man of justice. Bush is not. The Pope was a believer in universal human rights. Bush is not. The Pope was a man who believed that unregulated, laissez faire, free-market capitalism created opportunities for grave sin because of its inherent "structures of sin." Bush is not. The Pope abhored the death penalty. Bush does not.

The Pope was a man of the TRUTH.

Bush is not.

Here's a brief rundown of what Americans are thinking about these days. It is not an exhaustive survey. I chose some topics and ignored others. It's my blog. But I believe these topics show the ways in which this administration is WAY out of step with the aspirations and beliefs of Americans. Here we go:

In a Gallup poll taken between May 5 and 7th, 2003, 53% of Americans polled said abortion was morally wrong, as opposed to 37% who found it morally acceptable. However, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll (March 21-23, 2005) 78% of Americans believe that abortion should be legal, either always (23%) or at least sometimes (55%). Furthermore, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll (March 31-April 3, 2005) found that 54% of Americans want the federal government to be less active in trying to influence “social and moral issues” in the US, as opposed to 35% who would like to see more federal involvement. In political terms, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll (April 1-2, 2005) 55% of Americans polled believed that the Republican party is trying to use the federal government to interfere with the private lives of most Americans as opposed to 40% who say the GOP is not; and 40% who said the Democratic party is trying to use the federal government to interfere with the private lives of most Americans as opposed to 53% who said the Democrats are not trying to use the federal government to interfere with our private lives.

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll (April 1-2, 2005) shows that 54% of Americans disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation in Iraq, while 43% approve. A Newsweek poll from March 17-18, 2005 showed similar results (54% disapproval to 41% approval) And more Americans (50%-48%) now believe that the President deliberately misled the public about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction in order to get us into the war.

An Associated Press/Ipsos poll (April 4-6, 2005) shows that most Americans (56%) think the US is “on the wrong track” as opposed to 38% who say we are “on the right track.” Similarly, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll (March 31-April 3, 2005) indicated that 51% of Americans say the US is “on the wrong track” while 34% think we’re “headed in the right direction.” In a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll (March 23-25, 2005), only 38% said they were “satisfied with the way things are going” in the US and 59% said they were dissatisfied.

And in five polls taken between December 2004 and March 2005 (Ipsos-Public Affairs, National Public Radio, George Washington University, Democracy Corps, and Moore Information), more Americans indicated that in the next Congressional election (2006) they would be voting for the Democratic candidate (51%-44%, 42%-36%, 44%-41%, 46%-45%, and 37%-33% respectively).