tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post1355949830369103289..comments2024-03-28T08:54:57.884-05:00Comments on Althouse: "An overwhelming 70% of Americans think President Donald Trump’s request to a foreign leader to investigate his political rival... was wrong..."Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-15860910063652203552019-11-18T21:04:29.494-06:002019-11-18T21:04:29.494-06:00I, for one, do not long for the days when our pres...I, for one, do not long for the days when our president garnered (yes, I typed it and I meant to do so), garnered, I say, the approval of the world by letting everything everywhere go to hell in a handbasket. Soviet naval base in the Med? Sure, why not? Iranians agreeing to not announce they have a working ICBM for 10 years, free to work on it? Sure, why not? Libya, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Turkey, etc., down the drain and sending demographically significant numbers to change Europe for generations? Sure, why not?<br /><br />Let Trump be hated, reviled, denounced again and again. He's doing more right than whatever wrongs he is being falsely accused of performing.mikeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17875483485290838207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-38812327503303459622019-11-18T20:16:55.667-06:002019-11-18T20:16:55.667-06:00Frankly, I'm underwhelmed.Frankly, I'm underwhelmed. mockturtlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10507310332014103437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-18165516660013256152019-11-18T19:14:49.907-06:002019-11-18T19:14:49.907-06:00"Can you imagine anything negative on Trump g...<i>"Can you imagine anything negative on Trump getting less than 50%?"</i><br /><br />Sorry for the typo. That should have been "garnering less than 50%?"bagoh20https://www.blogger.com/profile/10915174575358413637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-75502622221481410602019-11-18T19:05:37.865-06:002019-11-18T19:05:37.865-06:00"Think of all the trouble Epstein could have ...<i>"Think of all the trouble Epstein could have avoided, including his death, if he had just announced he was seeking the Democrat nomination for President."</i><br /><br />Trump got the Dems to defend MS13, and ISIS, so Epstein would be a slam dunk.bagoh20https://www.blogger.com/profile/10915174575358413637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-43734397209467823772019-11-18T19:02:12.646-06:002019-11-18T19:02:12.646-06:00The problem with polls on Trump is that you start ...The problem with polls on Trump is that you start off with 50% of the people unwilling to say that Trump is ever innocent of anything. You could make up a crime he clearly never did, and be guaranteed to get at least 60% saying he did it anyway. 50% are incapable of saying otherwise and at least 10% more are uninformed or confused enough to agree. If you asked whether Trump should be impeached for having sex with minors on Epstein's island, you would probably get at least 70% to agree, even though it never happened. Can you imagine anything negative on Trump getting less than 50%?bagoh20https://www.blogger.com/profile/10915174575358413637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-23126720763500634202019-11-18T14:48:52.280-06:002019-11-18T14:48:52.280-06:00Do you think Trump's actions were right- yes o...<i>Do you think Trump's actions were right- yes or no?<br /><br />In a perfect world, the answers should be the same to the two questions, right? However, there is abundant evidence from psychological studies that people can easily infer the beliefs of the people asking the questions by how they construct the question.</i><br /><br />This is what is taught in every survey course I know of. When dealing with a low information subject, the recommendation is to ask the question w=twice with the opposite suggestions. Then you average the response.Michael Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18127450762129879267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-83860875160556694782019-11-18T14:39:08.425-06:002019-11-18T14:39:08.425-06:00Think of all the trouble Epstein could have avoide...Think of all the trouble Epstein could have avoided, including his death, if he had just announced he was seeking the Democrat nomination for President.hombrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12670099074010641958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-31911811665996000672019-11-18T14:32:31.368-06:002019-11-18T14:32:31.368-06:00"When then it's a damn good thing that..."When then it's a damn good thing that's not what he did, isn't it?”<br /><br />I know, right? It’s crazy. tim in vermonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06547980465313241972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-32012165593937488682019-11-18T14:29:07.970-06:002019-11-18T14:29:07.970-06:00American nitwits are so acclimated to Democrat cor...American nitwits are so acclimated to Democrat corruption and grifting that they think it is wrong for Trump to ask that it be investigated? The country deserves to go down the Stalinist sinkhole. hombrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12670099074010641958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-10227501487883934212019-11-18T13:48:36.107-06:002019-11-18T13:48:36.107-06:00Beach Brutus said...
Is there a "politica... Beach Brutus said...<br /> Is there a "political opponent" exception to the oath of office that the laws be faithfully executed?<br />--<br />Q: Should VP Joe Biden's conflict of interest and admitted strong-arming of investigations in Ukraine be immune from oversight because he's now running for President?walterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17818749187960350810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-12573977375574014312019-11-18T13:45:17.025-06:002019-11-18T13:45:17.025-06:00One only has to view the recent spate of political...<i>One only has to view the recent spate of political cartoons...</i><br /><br />At long last, we have the source of R/V's keen political insight.Jim athttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02271099587684174816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-23528871316089230012019-11-18T13:38:41.597-06:002019-11-18T13:38:41.597-06:00Again, it's really too bad we don't have a...Again, it's really too bad we don't have a transcript of the call so we could actually read what was said.<br /><br />Sigh.Jim athttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02271099587684174816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-20064387424178877492019-11-18T13:36:04.882-06:002019-11-18T13:36:04.882-06:00"An overwhelming 70% of Americans think Presi...<i>"An overwhelming 70% of Americans think President Donald Trump's request to a foreign leader to investigate his political rival was wrong."</i><br /><br />When then it's a damn good thing that's not what he did, isn't it?Jim athttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02271099587684174816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-90045452479852642462019-11-18T13:18:21.395-06:002019-11-18T13:18:21.395-06:00"For example, the constant quoting of neocon ..."For example, the constant quoting of neocon pieces of shit implies that you’re a neocon piece of shit. Like that?”<br /><br />Best comment of the day.tim in vermonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06547980465313241972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-27393347787022631012019-11-18T13:06:17.934-06:002019-11-18T13:06:17.934-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Yancey Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16427042729449397357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-58261730440744646952019-11-18T13:01:25.890-06:002019-11-18T13:01:25.890-06:00I think its wrong (or misleading) that the survey ...I think its wrong (or misleading) that the survey did not provide a specific action when asking if it was wrong. Of course, it would have been difficult to qualify that "if the alleged action [fill in the bank] occurred." The way the question was worded pretty much validates the impeachment proceedings.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00159064831659071944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-58682440245627702972019-11-18T13:00:57.605-06:002019-11-18T13:00:57.605-06:00well he has allied with the Brexit movement, and g...well he has allied with the Brexit movement, and given support to many anti eu movements, the eu being the hive of progressivism,narcisohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07128976398798678295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-10917794006696879672019-11-18T12:50:37.538-06:002019-11-18T12:50:37.538-06:00Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...If he has ...Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...If he has never shown any interest in rooting out corruption in foreign countries previously, and was in fact unusually comfortable with some particularly rotten ones, then it is pretty straightforward to infer that he has little interest in the topic. <br /><br />I'll give you that. Trump hasn't shown much interest I rooting out corruption in foreign countries. But, Hunter Biden/Burisma is about rooting out corruption in the U.S. government. And I think he has shown interest in cleaning up the snake pit that, unfortunately, is the permanent bureaucracy of our country.WhoKnewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07869426022987463601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-29933631061886607122019-11-18T12:46:46.744-06:002019-11-18T12:46:46.744-06:00"But only 21% of Americans say they are follo...<i>"But only 21% of Americans say they are following the hearings very closely."<br /><br />ABC's poll link says: <br /><br />"Most Americans are following impeachment proceedings closely; about half feel the President should be removed from office"<br /><br />Always Be Crappy.</i><br /><br />ABC is correct -- note that they did not use the word "very". From the poll:<br /><br />How closely have you been following the hearings in the House of Representatives about whether or not President Trump should be impeached for his actions related to Ukraine?<br /><br />Very closely 21<br />Somewhat closely 37<br />Not so closely 24<br />Not closely at all 18<br />Skipped-<br />Total closely (Net) 58<br />Total not closely (Net) 42<br /><br />https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2019-11/topline-abc-ipsos-impeachment-hearings-11182019.pdfLydiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18380908751421386368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-23268547269909884922019-11-18T12:20:01.120-06:002019-11-18T12:20:01.120-06:00and what are people basing their opinions on? the ...and what are people basing their opinions on? the political reporting of the leftist anti-Trump media, of course! They lie and spin and repeat Democrat talking points as if they're actual facts or evidence and then take a poll that reflects that their propaganda is working. The poll is bullshit because the "news" is bullshit. Real Americanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07457301904108193495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-57815426760541997332019-11-18T12:11:52.952-06:002019-11-18T12:11:52.952-06:00tim maguire said...
27% made up their minds befo...<i>tim maguire said... <br /><br />27% made up their minds before the hearing<br />19% made up their minds immediately upon hearing the news, and<br /><br />drum roll, please!<br /><br />32% made up their minds before the Ukraine "scandal" even came out!</i><br /><br />Beria's pipe dreams, right there.<br />mikeskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05110343851206077587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-68651808106024443742019-11-18T12:10:12.940-06:002019-11-18T12:10:12.940-06:00investigating government corruption isn't wron...investigating government corruption isn't wrong. In fact, it's part of the President's job. Real Americanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07457301904108193495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-83456700734106869952019-11-18T12:07:21.264-06:002019-11-18T12:07:21.264-06:00And, what I didn't mention- there are no demog...And, what I didn't mention- there are no demographics revealed in the poll- only the claim that they tried to ensure it was a representative sample. When the demographics aren't revealed along with the weightings, then that is just one more reason to distrust the pollster. There is no good reason to hide the raw data outside the sample size.Yancey Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16427042729449397357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-26808822441435368822019-11-18T11:58:06.494-06:002019-11-18T11:58:06.494-06:00Ms. Althouse, you are usually more perceptive than...Ms. Althouse, you are usually more perceptive than this. The question isn't neutral at all, nor are the setup and the control questions. That the hearings are about impeachment suggests right at the beginning that the conduct of Trump was "wrong". <br /><br />Also, asking whether or not the polled person thinks Trump's conduct is "wrong", yes or no, has already framed the issued negatively against Trump. Let me illustrate this point- the question could have also been written this way:<br /><br /><b>Do you think Trump's actions were right- yes or no?</b><br /><br />In a perfect world, the answers <i>should be</i> the same to the two questions, right? However, there is abundant evidence from psychological studies that people can easily infer the beliefs of the people asking the questions by how they construct the question. In short, in this case, it is the choice of the word "wrong" instead of "right" that clues one into the opinion about the matter of the pollster.<br /><br />Also, the poll tries very mightily to make you believe that 58% of the sample have followed the impeachment "closely". I find this extremely unlikely to be true, and the pollster made no actual attempt to control for lying about such a thing in any case. When you ask a question like this, no one likes to admit that they are uninformed about whatever it is you are polling about, especially a topic like impeachment of the President. In other words, the 42% who claimed to not be following it closely at all are almost surely not lying about it, while we don't know about the 58%. However, the pollster could have easily just had some control questions asking about specific details of the impeachment that would have weeded out the liars and those exaggerating about their involvment. For example, political pollsters polling elections, often, if they are interested in getting the opinions of likely voters about who they will vote for President, will ask for whom you voted in some previous race, and often some non-headline race that was run in the same election, such as House race- likely voters are far more likely to know their Representative than a non-voter. I think it likely the 58% are just the number that knows there are impeachment hearings going on, and thus consider that "closely following", but that less than half that number could even tell you what it is about.<br /><br />Finally, the thing missing from this is all the context- especially, the details about what Hunter Biden and Joe Biden actually are on record of having done, and I am not even talking about the inferences one can make about Joe Biden's actions. The media have relentlessly been telling people that the Bidens definitely did nothing wrong, or that there is no evidence of wrong-doing on their part; but, can you imagine that if the question had given those factual details about the Bidens in the setup and then asked the question about whether or not what Trump "did" was "wrong"- do you not think that would have greatly moved the needle the other way?<br /><br />I basically distrust any pollster who doesn't at least try to make sure he is polling knowledgeable people, and I trust one even less who can't figure out a truly neutral way to ask the question. At the end of the this process, the Senate, if the Democrats move to actually impeach, will deliver a verdict, and it is that verdict that will actually shape the opinions of next years' voters. If the Senate acquits, expect to see another Ipsos poll that asks a question like this- <b>The Republican controlled Senate acquitted President Trump after he was impeached for coercing the Ukrainian government to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. Do you think the Senate was wrong- yes or no?</b>. By all accounts of today's poll, that would be a neutral question, too.Yancey Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16427042729449397357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-20286510193854962072019-11-18T11:10:04.593-06:002019-11-18T11:10:04.593-06:00Is there a "political opponent" exceptio...Is there a "political opponent" exception to the oath of office that the laws be faithfully executed?Beach Brutushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09825136242275961552noreply@blogger.com