New York Times Reporters Jeff Zeleny and Dalia Sussman broke down the latest NYT/CBS News poll Thursday and found Obama's favorable ratings holding steady, but support for his actual policies in the red: "Obama Poll Sees Doubt On Budget And Health Care -- Overall Support High."
Usually the Times team of Adam Nagourney and Megan Thee handle the poll stories, and usually Obama comes off looking great. Perhaps the switch to Zeleny and Sussman helps explains why today's off-lead poll story is less laudatory of Obama, although that might also be a recognition that his numbers aren't quite as favorable this time around.
One thing hasn't changed: The poll's pro-Democrat "weighting" continues. There were complaints in early April, the last time CBS News and the Times teamed up for a poll, that the poll's "weighting" process produced far more self-identified Democrat than Republican respondents, which would certainly tilt the paper's findings to the left.
In that last poll, NYT/CBS managed to turn a eight-point raw Democratic advantage of respondents (35%-27%) into a sixteen-point margin (39%-23%) through its mysterious weighting process. "Weighting" itself is standard polling practice, but the April gap was wide enough to draw questions of pro-Democratic favoritism.
This time around, the gap between the official number and the raw numbers is far wider.
The raw figures for the latest poll showed a small gap of two points (34%-32% Democrats over Republicans). That two-point spread somehow became a yawning 14 points (38%-24% Democrats over Republicans) after the weighting.
The Times poll doesn't break out the raw figures, but CBS does, on the last page of the CBS version of the poll release.
First, the raw numbers: Out of 895 total poll respondents, 310 described themselves as independents, 301 Democrats, and 284 Republicans. That broke down as 34% independents, 34% Democrats, and 32% Republicans -- just a two-point gap between the parties.
Those raw figures were then whisked away into the poll kitchen, the secret "weighting" ingredients were added, and the recipe came out puffed up with far more Democrats: 345 Independents, 339 Democrats, and 211 Republicans. That broke down into the stark 14-point gap between Democrats (38%) and Republicans (24%) that the Times cited, with independents at 38%.
The actual poll? As Zeleny's story indicated, the Times found Americans mostly disapproved of Obama's handling of efforts to save Chrysler and General Motors and don't believe Obama's policies have made a positive impact on the economy.
—Clay Waters is the director of Times Watch, an MRC project tracking the New York Times.



















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I hate all polls
June 18, 2009 - 17:24 ET by averageschmoeI don't know why this isn't brought up every time a poll is taken. It always has more Democrats than Republicans and Independents, we all know are just Democrats that can't call themselves Dems. They are all fixed to gather agendas.
Yep...and Independents
June 18, 2009 - 17:56 ET by bigtimerYep...and Independents mostly vote 'D' these days...most people know this too that are politically minded.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
I thought we liked the
June 18, 2009 - 18:05 ET by BKeyserI thought we liked the Poles... oh, polls...nevermind. Back on board.
Typical
June 18, 2009 - 17:42 ET by nadadhimmiTypical, socialist "norming". Norming is the current term used for an out and out bald faced lie, Democrat style. I know a communist when I see one, or two. And Obama and Ayers are both as red as a Baboons ass.
The curious thing
June 18, 2009 - 18:08 ET by BKeyserthat continues to show up in almost all the polls is the huge disparity between policy and job approval. I have a strange feeling that the tactic of some glowing speech with little or no detail, followed by the push by cabinet members and the media spin on The One, is the culprit. Job approval is equated to the teleprompter- policy is Geithner and Biden.
Gallup poll: 41% of the
June 18, 2009 - 20:30 ET by JerryGallup poll:
41% of the country self-identifies as conservative
34% moderate
21% liberal
Yet all MSM polls are "weighted" to the left.
Go figure..
When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).
I would love to see the
June 19, 2009 - 01:09 ET by MrSnugglesI would love to see the results of this same exact poll with that kind of sample. The left would probably crap itself.
Which makes the leftward
June 19, 2009 - 11:15 ET by mattmWhich makes the leftward drift of the GOP inexplicable to me.
Uh, shouldn't the sample
June 19, 2009 - 00:56 ET by RR GOPUh, shouldn't the sample population be completely random for a poll like this?
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 61% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory (yep...approval for Congress now at 39%...do you believe that!?).
completely random
June 19, 2009 - 10:38 ET by CarlosSThat wouldn't give them the results they're looking for..., have to oversample identified Democrats so "The One" looks popular
wotsizname
June 19, 2009 - 17:00 ET by wotsiznamewotsizname Our new Supreme Soviet (majority) is doing to us what the Russians only dreamed of.