Where's the Love?

File under ya think?

Shibley Telhami and Zogby International have some not-so-surprising new poll numbers [link in original] out of the Middle East on views of the US, threat perceptions, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and most interesting to me, Iran's nuclear program. The 2008 Annual Arab Public Opinion Poll finds that:

* 81% of people surveyed in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE feel that "most of the Iraqi people" are "worse off" than before the war

* 81% of people surveyed in Lebanon chose "Iraq will remain unstable and spread instability in the region" as their "biggest concern about the consequences of the war in Iraq"

* 36% surveyed did not "believe the reports of a significant reduction in violence" in Iraq

* 64% surveyed had a "very unfavorable" attitude toward the US, up from 57% two years ago

* 65% surveyed "don't believe that democracy is a real American objective"

* 24% surveyed would prefer France to be the sole superpower, leading Germany, China, the US, Russia, Britain, Pakistan

* When asked to name two countries respondents thought posed the biggest threat, Israel garnered 95% while the US competed for a close second at 88%

There's a huge gap between what Americans are being told and what the people with a stake in the Mid-East know.

Note: Headline links to source.

PPP Poll: McCain Ahead in South Carolina

Now I'm so fucking confused I think I have to take a break.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is now conducting polls? WTF? Why are they for John McCain?

The latest Public Policy Polling survey in South Carolina finds Sen. John McCain leading with 28%, followed by Mike Huckabee at 20%, Mitt Romney at 18% and Fred Thompson at 17%.

"The key finding here is that the results of Michigan didn't really do anything to alter the landscape in South Carolina. With some small shifts, everyone is in the same place they were when we polled the race late last week."

"The biggest outcome of the South Carolina primary may be the virtual death of Mike Huckabee's candidacy. If he can't win a state with as many evangelicals as South Carolina, it's hard to see where he can win in the upcoming primaries."

Oops. A different PPP. Its the Public Policy Polling survey. My mistake.

Fucking acronyms.

Via Taegan Goddard.

New Poll Reveals Global Economy's Impact on Working America; Rising Anger and Anxiety Over Corporate Behavior, Government Inaction

American's are slowly waking up to reality rather than just listening the the cheerleader-in-chief. Read the whole release and find out what 80% agree on.

Economic conditions for workers are deteriorating so dramatically in the new American economy that an overwhelming majority, nearly 70 percent, now say that basic security -- not opportunity -- is their number one concern, according to a new survey released today. The finding is a stunning reflection of the anxiety, anger and demand for action rising in Working America in the global economy.

...

The survey indicates workers see few opportunities for good jobs while they face the financial insecurity of rising health care costs, the elimination of pensions, the outsourcing of jobs, and wages falling behind living costs. But in addition to the concerns, it also showed that workers are remarkably united in their hopes, ideas, and solutions for the future on the critical issues of the workplace, a consensus that remains intact regardless of age, gender, geography, ethnicity, country of origin, and education.

They still hold out hope for improvement and opportunity, but definitely believe government must take action.

How much more incentive do the Dems need before they start acting like Dems and start helping Americans? They aren't doing all they can to get US out of Iraq, they aren't doing anything to fight global warming and they certainly aren't doing much to curb big business' predatory assault on US jobs and workers. Meanwhile the public is pleading for help.

The Dems have a year and a half to convince the voters they are fixing and can continue to fix these problems. If they do, they'll smash the GOP in '08. If they don't, then why would undecideds go for them? And they certainly won't win over any GOP workers. Why throw out your GOP Congress critter if you don't expect anything better from a Dem?

There's another factor in play here. Even if the Dems don't have enough votes to pass needed legislation, put it out there for the public to see. Let the GOP be the spoilers. The public will quickly realize they'll get what they want once they back the Dem agenda, their agenda, with their votes.

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Poll: Character Trumps Policy for Voters

Come on now. All these folks were elected because no one had a clue about their character?

Bill Frist
Roy Blunt
Richard W. Pombo
Maxine Waters
Randy "Duke" Cunningham
William J. Jefferson
Conrad Burns
Bob Ney
Tom Feeney
Gary Condit
Newt Gingrich
Bill Clinton
George H W Bush
George W Bush
Wilbur Mills
Bob Packwood
Richard Nixon
James Strom Thurmond

Now either this poll was poorly worded or, and this is what I think happened, the people told the pollsters what they thought the pollsters wanted to hear. Or, slightly differently, they gave answers that would make them look better to the pollsters.

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Experts vs the public

I'm with Kevin Drum on this. I'm not sure what to make of this except there's usually a reason someone is labeled an "expert". It would indicate a person is intelligent and well informed on a subject. It further suggests a person has a good track record in correctly analyzing information and situations.

So my guess is the public is going on a gut feeling with limited expertise or knowledge. Yeah, I'm going on my gut feeling. But that's OK because I'm a blogger.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this, and I have to run out to an appointment in a minute, so I'll just post this and let everyone noodle over it. It comes from the second edition of the "Terrorism Index," a joint project of Foreign Policy magazine and the Center for American Progress that surveys equal numbers of (self-described) liberal and conservative national security experts. The full report is here. An excerpt is below. Question: Is the gap between the public and the experts surprising? Predictable? And does it mean anything?

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