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Very Unlikely
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Saturday, December 06, 2003
- 06:38 PM
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I ran across a semi-interesting article published in the Dec 1st edition of Time Magazine, in print and also on the web. The article was called The Love Him, Hate Him President and discussed the almost bizarre polarization of America surrounding President Bush. It pointed to the fact that most people in the United States today either totally love bush, or absolutely hate him. It is in fact a strange consequence of his actions as president since 9/11.
The article was not exactly the best article I've read in a while, but it did have one very interesting Time/CNN poll in it which asked the question, "If George W. Bush runs for re-election, how likely are you to vote for him?" With my edited image, you can see that the poll is split left to right by "those very likely and somewhat likely" and "those very unlikely and somewhat unlikely." From top to bottom it was split by age, region, home, education, income, church attendance, and union membership.
The subject of age had interesting numbers. The numbers start at age 18-24 where people are 4% more unlikely. At 25-34 unlikely wins by 7%. At 35-49 however, people are 3% more likely. Age 50-64 still shows people are 2% more likely. What is interesting is that at 65 and older the stats reverse and unlikely takes the lead again by 5%. My question is whether or not this shows a trend in society. It seems obvious to me that the time period that people grow up in influences aspects of their life such as the way they vote. Is this a reflection of that idea or does this vote just reflect the way which we think as we get older?
The regions and home sections are a bit interesting too. It seems like Bush just barely owns the Midwest and the South, but the West and Northeast have a differing opinion. The city life doesn't lend itself to voting for Bush either. Bush takes the lead in both Suburban and Rural dwellers but just can't quite hold on to the Urbanites. I know the issue effects all of us, but isn't it ironic that the President who has done more damage to the environment than any other still manages to convince rural America that he has a lot to offer?
Education sheds some light on the subject. It seems like the more educated the voter, the less likely they are to vote for Bush. I think that data is fascinating. Income is just the opposite. Basically, the more money the voter makes, the more likely they are to vote pro-Bush. Education and income seem incredibly important subjects to me. But the more educated I become, the more I disagree with Bush and his whole political agenda. At the same time, my education is bringing me a mountain of debt. I have about twelve dollars to my name right now and I can't imagine voting for Bush. It is a bit of an ironic example, even if it is a stretch.
Church attendance is another fascinating portion of the poll. It shows us that the more a voter attends church, the more likely they are to vote for Bush. I contribute this to the morality issues crammed down our throats by Republicans. Bush's stand against abortion tricked a lot of voters in 2000. Just today a friend complained that she voted for Bush over that exact reasoning and she regrets it more every day. Come 2004 she vows to try to make up for what she feels was a bad decision. The republicans want to try and look like the morality party when I truly feel there are few things as bad as the Rights brand of big business politics and corporate cronyism.
I don't have much to say about the issue of Unions. The split is pretty even on both sides like every other issue, but Union or not, it seems like Bush loses out there too. The public overall is still pretty split on the issue as a whole. With less than a year until the end of his term Bush loses out generally with 47% likely, 48% unlikely, and 5% not sure. I can't say I'm disappointed. Are you?
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