Do opinion polls matter at all? Probably not as a snapshot picture, but trends certainly do, and the ship is starting to sink. More evidence of lies,
fabrication and war agendas will be foundin the flotsam and jetsam. But no Iraq WMDs. How sad.
Bush administration passengers might cling tenaciously for a while to floatation devices such as "but more than 50% of people believe this or that".
Or hope there is more noise about something else very soon.
This is from the Australian Financial Review. It will probably run similar Oz stuff soon.
War support sinks in US
Jul 01 10:15 AFP/PA
Deadly attacks on coalition troops in Iraq and the slow progress of reconstruction efforts are eroding support for the US-led occupation, according to
a poll released on Monday.
Only 56 per cent of respondents in the USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll said Iraq was worth going to war over, down from 73 per cent in April.
About 55 per cent said they were confident US-led forces would find weapons of mass destruction, down sharply from 84 per cent in late March, when the
war was still raging.
Fewer than half those polled, 48 per cent, said they were confident ousted leader Saddam Hussein would be captured or killed, down from 70 per cent in
March.
The poll of 1,003 adults taken at the weekend has a margin of error of three percentage points.
Meanwhile, almost two thirds of voters no longer trust Prime Minister Tony Blair, according to an opinion poll released on Monday.
And a similar number told pollsters Mori they believed Mr Blair was "losing his grip" - a view shared even by 43 per cent of Labour supporters
quizzed for the survey.
The poll for the Financial Times found voters pessimistic about the government's ability to improve the economy or deliver on its key public service
agenda.
Some 51 per cent of those questioned said the government's policies would not improve the economy in the long term, against 36 per cent who said they
would.
Only 31 per cent of those polled were satisfied with the performance of the prime minister, against 61 per cent who were not.
Mori interviewed 1,002 adults from June 20 to 22.
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Thats an informative article MA. I only see one flaw......the poll was taken of 1003 people...there are like 200 million plus. How do 1003 speak for
a national attitude or opinion?
Other than that, it may indeed be that the perverbial boat is faltering but hardly close to sinking; those damage control crews are working pretty
damn hard wouldn't you say? 
regards
seekerof
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Opinion polls are taken scientifically with a margin of error between 3-5%.
They are reasoanbly reliable, except that people lie about their voting intentions before election days.
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In the United States, people vote based on more than just international and economic issues... they also vote based on regional and moral beliefs,
things which outsiders may not be capable of understanding...
There will be a second secession of states before Bush is defeated for the Presidency, to be frank (and, actually, unbiased).
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In the United States, more than half the people don't vote.
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