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Mar. 5th, 2004 02:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
libertangoFeedback to Slate re this article:
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Saletan's 4 March article makes an interesting claim:
"In the Democratic primaries, this accusation worked for Kerry, because liberals think Bush is a liar. But most voters don't, for a good reason: It isn't true."
Saletan backs up this assertion through a link to a Washington Post poll on 10-11 Feb. where respondents were asked, "Please tell me whether the following statement applies to George W. Bush or not: He is honest and trustworthy."
The results? 52% Yes, 45% No, 2% Don't Know.
And, oh yes, a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points!
Which means that claiming anything about "most" voters on this question is within the margin of error -- a statistical dead heat.
No wonder Saletan is willing to assert Bush doesn't lie. They mislead in such similar ways.
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Hal, adding on: Also, if you drill down in the data in that WaPo poll, you'll find 1 out of 7 Republicans don't consider Jorge "honest and trustworthy". But I didn't want to distract from the "most" claim.
*^*^*
Saletan's 4 March article makes an interesting claim:
"In the Democratic primaries, this accusation worked for Kerry, because liberals think Bush is a liar. But most voters don't, for a good reason: It isn't true."
Saletan backs up this assertion through a link to a Washington Post poll on 10-11 Feb. where respondents were asked, "Please tell me whether the following statement applies to George W. Bush or not: He is honest and trustworthy."
The results? 52% Yes, 45% No, 2% Don't Know.
And, oh yes, a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points!
Which means that claiming anything about "most" voters on this question is within the margin of error -- a statistical dead heat.
No wonder Saletan is willing to assert Bush doesn't lie. They mislead in such similar ways.
*^*^*
Hal, adding on: Also, if you drill down in the data in that WaPo poll, you'll find 1 out of 7 Republicans don't consider Jorge "honest and trustworthy". But I didn't want to distract from the "most" claim.
