New York Times-CBS Poll - Bad News for Republicans. (moral, doom)

[Pah]

Poll Shows Foley Case Is Hurting Congress’s Image

Americans say that Republican Congressional leaders put their political interests ahead of protecting the safety of teenage pages, and that House leaders knew of Mark Foley’s sexually charged messages to pages well before he was forced to quit Congress, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

The number of Americans who approve of Mr. Bush’s handling of the campaign against terrorism dropped to 46 percent from 54 percent in the past two weeks, suggesting that he failed to gain any political lift from an orchestrated set of ceremonies marking the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. In addition, the poll shows that Americans are now evenly divided over which party they think can better handle terrorism, the first time in the Bush presidency that Democrats have matched Republicans on national security, despite a concerted White House effort to seize the advantage on the issue this month.

Seventy-nine percent of respondents said House Republican leaders were more concerned about their political standing than about the safety of teenage Congressional pages. About half of respondents said that the House Republican leadership had improperly handled the Foley case, compared with 27 percent who said they approved of how it was handled; 46 percent of respondents said Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois should step down. And Americans are more likely to say that Democrats, and not Republicans, share their moral values.

Still, it is a measure of national sentiment rather than the likely outcome in the approximately 40 House races and 8 Senate races that will determine which party controls Congress next January.

Mr. Bush’s job approval rating has slipped to 34 percent, from 37 percent in September.

The poll found that 41 percent of respondents thought Republicans were stronger on handling terrorism, compared with 40 percent who named Democrats, a statistically insignificant difference. Before Labor Day, Republicans had a 42 percent to 34 percent edge on handling terrorism.

52 percent of respondents said that Democrats would make the right decisions on how to spend taxpayers’ money, while 29 percent said Republicans would.

The problems for Congress have clearly been exacerbated by the Foley scandal. Eighty percent of Americans said they considered the Foley revelations either very serious or somewhat serious. Two-thirds said that House Republicans did not initially take the warnings seriously enough, and 62 percent said they believed House Republican leaders knew before last week that Mr. Foley had sent sexually explicit messages to teenagers.

Discuss the chances Republicans have of maintaining control of government

[Sunstone]

I don't want to sound cynical, but I think there's a fair chance that something will happen between now and the elections to change some of those low figures in the polls. For instance, I would not be surprised if the administration announced that they had uncovered another imminent terror threat and raised the alert level for the country. I really don't put much past this administration.

[Mathematician]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

I don't want to sound cynical, but I think there's a fair chance that something will happen between now and the elections to change some of those low figures in the polls. For instance, I would not be surprised if the administration announced that they had uncovered another imminent terror threat and raised the alert level for the country. I really don't put much past this administration.

I can only hope most people who are going out to vote do not have such a short attention span.

[nutshell]

As always, the media and polls are predicting doom and gloom for the GOP. A lot will happen during the next 4 weeks. It's a repeat of 2004. I'm not saying the GOP is going to win or lose, but the situation seems very similar. Every Dem. I knew was sure Bush was going to lose in 2004.

[Pah]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

I don't want to sound cynical, but I think there's a fair chance that something will happen between now and the elections to change some of those low figures in the polls. For instance, I would not be surprised if the administration announced that they had uncovered another imminent terror threat and raised the alert level for the country. I really don't put much past this administration.

Well, there is noise that the North Korean nuke test was unaceptable. And Iran keeps popping up. And the Taliban are making a comeback. But this close to the election it would be difficult to "set the stage" for a "patriotic" show of force.

Beefing up troop strength in Iraq would be a negative

How about a law or executive order to castrate all sex offenders including gays and lesbians?

[evearael]

I have to agree with nutshell. The republicans have a masterful pr machine, whereas the democrats have been grievously lacking in that department. I tend to feel that the spin over the next few months will determine it. If they find Osama before then, the republicans will win by a landslide, but that would be better played for a presidential race.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

I don't want to sound cynical, but I think there's a fair chance that something will happen between now and the elections to change some of those low figures in the polls. For instance, I would not be surprised if the administration announced that they had uncovered another imminent terror threat and raised the alert level for the country. I really don't put much past this administration.

Well, the TSA raised the "threat level" to orange here after the Brits arrested a bunch of folks. And I predicted then that it would not be lowered until after the elections.

It was very interesting sitting around the airport in Chicago for hours, listening to that omninous male voice come over the loudspeaker every 15 minutes "THE THREAT LEVEL HAS BEEN RAISED TO ORANGE..."

George Orwell couldn't have written that bit any better.

[dawny0826]

Originally Posted by nutshell

As always, the media and polls are predicting doom and gloom for the GOP. A lot will happen during the next 4 weeks. It's a repeat of 2004. I'm not saying the GOP is going to win or lose, but the situation seems very similar. Every Dem. I knew was sure Bush was going to lose in 2004.

I agree.