Skip to main content

What the media is missing in the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll

While there are times when headlines provide an accurate lead-in to a story, there are also times when this is far from the case. A prime example of the latter is with regard to the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. The main focus on the poll was Donald Trump's approval rating. One headline even read, "Trump's Approval Soars in Latest Poll," while another read, "Trump's Approval At Record High."

First thing's first, Trump's approval increased by 1% in the poll, from 44% in June to 45% in July. How this quantifies as "soaring" is beyond me. It's not like you'll ever hear an NBA announcer say, "...and the Boston Celtics soared over the Chicago Bulls with a 101-100 victory, on a buzzer-beater from Gordon Heyward." Secondly, while it's true Trump's approval rating increased by 1 point in the poll, that is far from the biggest finding in the poll and should have been replaced with another result as the big story.

In presidential election years, we generally see around 60% of the electorate casting their votes. That number is roughly cut in half for midterm elections. The people most likely to vote are those who either strongly support or strongly oppose the president/party in power. With the midterms being just a little over 3 months away, I think it's nearing time we start looking at polls which predict what we can expect come November.

According to this NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, the following results were found:

All Registered Voters
Strongly Approve: 29%
Strongly Disapprove: 44%
Net: -15%

Republicans
Strongly Approve: 64%

Democrats
Strongly Disapprove: 80%

Independents
Strongly Approve: 16%
Strongly Disapprove: 46%
Net: -30%

Also, among Independents, Trump's approval decreased 7 points in the past month (down to 36%) and their preference for who controls Congress went from Democrats by 7 (39% to 32%) to Democrats by 22 (48% to 26%).

In other words, there are more passionate voters who oppose Trump than those who support him. Democrats are more enthused to vote than Republicans. Not only that, while Donald Trump's numbers are getting stronger with Republicans, they're significantly weakening among Independents. Add all of these components together, and if the elections were held tomorrow, you could expect a big blue wave. The headlines may suggest things are improving for Donald Trump and his party, but if you delve deeper, that's anything but the case.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/nbc-wsj-poll-public-gives-trump-thumbs-down-russia-thumbs-n893266
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Boycotting jukeboxes because of TouchTunes

I love music and enjoy hitting the bar(s) over the weekend, so naturally, when the mood strikes me, I've never been coy about playing some songs on the jukebox. This past Thursday, a friend of mine turned 50, so several friends of her's, including myself, all met up to celebrate the occasion. At around 9:30, a friend of mine and I both chipped in $5 to play some songs on the jukebox. Four hours and 231 skips later, we gave up on hearing the songs we had selected, and went home knowing we had just wasted $5. This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened to me (and many others), and due to that, I'll be boycotting jukeboxes. Why? The scam known as TouchTunes. You see, here's how the plot typically breaks down. A person (or group of people) downloads the TouchTunes app on his/her phone, consumes one too many adult beverages, and due to this, has less care for spending extra money to hear the songs of their choosing right NOW. That's the thing with TouchTun
2 comments
Read more

The difference between "looking" and "checking out"

I may be way off with these numbers, but it's my approximation that at least 75% of individuals whom are involved in a serious relationship feel it's perfectly acceptable to "check out" members of the opposite sex they're not involved with. Meanwhile, approximately 25% either don't feel this is acceptable or aren't sure about the matter. I hadn't thought about this matter for a while, but since I've been dating a woman for about 8 months, the topic has been pondered about some. When reading or hearing others discuss this very issue, I often times hear comments similar to the following: "It's human nature to look." "There's nothing wrong with checking others out. I'm sure he/she does it too!" "It's fine to do it. Just don't tell your boyfriend/girlfriend about it or do it in front of them!" "It's natural to find people attractive." When observing the array of comments, I i
Post a Comment
Read more

The verdict is in. To no one's surprise, Jonathan Hoenig has been found guilty of being an idiot.

Just recently, when discussing the Michael Brown shooting and whether or not race had anything to do with it, Fox News contributor Jonathan Hoenig said, "You know who talks about race? Racists." One moment while I provide Mr. Hoenig with the well deserved slow-clap. :: slow-claps for two seconds :: So, that was quite the line by Mr. Hoenig, wasn't it? "You know who talks about race? Racists." Well, wasn't he just talking about race? So, by his own words, I guess that makes him a racist. Also, if he wants to be consistent, does this mean that people whom talk about gender are sexists and people whom talk about sexual orientation are homophobes? With that line of thinking, Hoenig would engage in the following back-and-forths: Hoenig: "So, who are you voting for?" A woman: "The Democratic candidate, because he's been adamant about his support for equal rights for women." Hoenig: "You sexist feminist nazi!"
Post a Comment
Read more