About those polls

March 17, 2002—Let's face it: George Bush's "approval rating" polls are the 800-pound gorilla in the room. The few remaining media "house liberals," such as Bill Press, Mark Shields or Al Hunt, can scarcely utter more than a few sentences without mentioning Bush's alleged "approval in the polls." Those polls constrain political discourse and intimidate the opposition. If their impact is to be mitigated, they must be addressed directly.

So what are we to make of Bush's alleged 80+ percent "approval rating." Is it fact or fiction? How much credence should we give to the polls. Consider, in turn, the cases for "fact" and then for "fiction."