Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Bush plummets in Kansas: Poll taken after spy scandal broke

This is truly amazing. The latest SurveyUSA poll shows that George W. Bush is clinging to a dismal 35 percent approval rating in Kansas -- the reddest of red states.

The survey was performed May 12 to 14 – well after the latest news report that the Bush Administration may be keeping track of just about everyone’s phone calls.

After that report, Time magazine claimed that the latest spy revelation might well give Bush a bump in the polls. If that was going to happen, you might expect that kind of support to show up in conservative states like Kansas. Looking at these poll results, though, all that can be said is: wow.

With a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent, this poll means that Bush’s approval rating in Kansas could be as high as 39 percent or (good heavens!) as low as 31 percent.

Thoughts From Kansas has a nice chart of Bush’s Kansas ratings over time and a detailed analysis of the poll. While I like TFK’s chart, I’m not certain I agree with all of his analysis. Bush voters are clearly unhappy, but TFK theorizes that this has to do with immigration. Maybe.

However, I think we don’t have enough information to say for certain. It could be a combination of all the factors the conservatives have been screaming about in the news this week.

As one of those folks the conservatives claim haven’t been oppressed hard enough by Bush and Co., I have to admit to being a tad worried about how he will respond. We already know that the U.S. ban on same-sex marriage is being pushed again in Congress. What’s next? (It is such a joy to live with a target on one’s back.)

The November elections should be fascinating, though, even out here in one-party Kansas.

No comments: