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Do the math: America is a center-left nation

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53 comments

Do the math: America is a center-left nation

POSTED: Thursday, February 12, 2009, 3:20 PM

Numbers don't lie.

Item 1:

While no more than 41% of Americans favor a criminal investigation into any of the matters, at least 6 in 10 say there should be either a criminal investigation or an independent probe into all three. This includes 62% who favor some type of investigation into the possible use of torture when interrogating terrorism suspects, 63% who do so with respect to the possible use of telephone wiretaps without obtaining a warrant, and 71% who support investigating possible attempts to use the Justice Department for political purposes.

So far, President Obama has been reluctant to pursue such investigations, but Leahy and Conyers in particular are calling for an accounting of what happened on Bush's watch.

Item 2:

PRINCETON, NJ -- Public support for an $800 billion economic stimulus package has increased to 59% in a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Tuesday night, up from 52% in Gallup polling a week ago, as well as in late January.

There's a saying in modern journalism that the audience knows more than you do. In politics, the audience knows more than the Beltway pundit class or a lot of our political leaders. Why do so few of them listen?

Will Bunch @ 3:20 PM Permalink | 53 comments

53 comments

Comments (53)

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:43 AM, 02/13/2009

Well, it's not as if either the Left or the Right has a monopoly on the concept of ethical government (the DOJ scandal), the right to privacy (wiretapping), or human decency (torture). This poll doesn't suggest that the country trusts liberalism more than conservatism, but it does show that it doesn't trust Bush, i.e., toadyism.

— montani semper liberi

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 2:02 PM, 02/13/2009

"Old people watch more TV. Old people are more conservative. Thus, more people watch conservative TV pundits. True?" Nutburgers, even pointing out the obvious won't faze the R's here. Different R posters have been repeating the same cable news viewership numbers for two weeks, as if those numbers actually give an indication of the political makeup of the United States anyway. Heck, I don't even know if the numbers are real.

— Hamlet

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 2:59 PM, 02/13/2009

"as if those numbers actually give an indication of the political makeup of the United States anyway." Yet you apparently have no problem with Will posting some very dubious numbers with the headline blaring "Do the math: America is a center-left nation" and the comment "numbers don't lie". Seems to me that you'd want to take Will to task in the same manner that you do to the " Different R posters".

— legatus

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 7:53 AM, 02/14/2009

will - Your starting to remind me of an angry ex girlfriend/boyfriend. Just let it go and move on with your new significant other...

— Norton

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:16 AM, 02/14/2009

What ever one thinks of relying on polls as guidance for government action, and whether or not "Will bunch . . . [is] a hack leftist spewing propaganda", anyone interested in the possible international response to a failure by the US to (at least) investigate for possible criminal wrongdoing (violation of international and US laws) actions by Bush et al. might want to read Philippe Sands QC's, Torture Team (Palgrave McMillan, 2008), and to follow up on the interviews given and articles about Sands since his book was published. I heard a long interview with Sands about a month ago, on WHYY FM. He is very impressive. I hope that he is right about what is likely to happen.

— Hector

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About this blog

Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.

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