We all make "snap judgment" decisions, based on first impressions of people who we meet, or read media reports about, and/or view on video/film. Shaping those "judgments" has been a "science", especially in the marketing of products and political candidates, as far back as collective memory can be retrieved.
For the purpose of all of us who participate here, reaching a better understanding about each other with regard to how we come by our opinions and what might influences us to further solidify, or....to alter or to reverse them, I am hoping that our members who hold opinions about Mr. Bush that are contrary to those held by willravel and myself, will share how they got where they are, and how they stay there....with regard to their trust of Mr. Bush.
This article indicates that some have changed their minds about Bush since they voted for him in 2004, but most have not:
Quote:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/us...bd105e&ei=5070
May 2, 2007
On Polling
For Most Bush Voters, No Regrets After 2 Years
By JANET ELDER
George W. Bush was elected to a second term by a big majority of Republicans, half of political independents and 11 percent of Democrats. Now, more than two years later, the majority of those voters say they are satisfied with the Bush presidency. But some have lost faith, and those who have say it is because they can no longer back Mr. Bush’s support of the war in Iraq.
Fifty-eight percent of Mr. Bush’s voters say their feelings about the administration can best be described as satisfied but not enthusiastic. Nine percent said they are enthusiastic. But 26 percent said they were dissatisfied and 6 percent said they were angry, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll taken in March.
When asked if they approve of the way Mr. Bush is doing his job, 66 percent said they approve while 21 percent said they disapprove and 13 percent are unsure.
This is in sharp contrast to the last two-term president, Bill Clinton who was more popular in his second term than in his first. At a roughly comparable point in his presidency, April 1999, just two months after he was acquitted by the Senate in his impeachment trial, 88 percent of people who voted for Mr. Clinton for a second term said they approved of the way he was doing his job, 7 percent disapproved and 6 percent were not sure.
Mr. Clinton and Mr. Bush each struggled to hold on to the public’s trust during tumultuous second terms that upended their agendas and left their parties on the defensive. But Mr. Clinton presided during a time of peace and voters seemed to separate their judgments about Mr. Clinton’s character from assessments of his presidency. Mr. Bush is presiding over a lengthy war now opposed by a majority of Americans. And it is the war more than anything that has led many of Mr. Bush’s supporters to change their minds about him.
Thirty-four percent of Mr. Bush’s 2004 voters are now critical of his handling of the war. Twenty-eight percent said the United States should have stayed out of Iraq from the beginning.
Homer Reedy, a Republican from West Virginia said he voted for Mr. Bush in 2004 because he thought the president would call the troops home. “I voted for Bush in 2004 because I hoped he would call the soldiers back, but he didn’t,” he said. “We’re losing so many lives with the car bombings and everything. I wouldn’t approve of him again unless he stopped the war in Iraq.”
Other voters like Arlen McKinley, from Harlan, Indiana, a Democrat who voted for Mr. Bush, said they did not believe Mr. Bush when he talks about the war.
“I don’t think he’s honest. He’s not telling the American public what is actually going on. They tried to hide so much stuff and then it all comes out later,” Mr. McKinley said in a follow-up interview after the poll was conducted. “He doesn’t seem to want to bend, to admit he made a mistake and bring the troops home. I don’t think he knew there were no weapons of mass destruction until after we went in, but if he did know and went in anyway, that would make it worse.”
Mr. Bush’s overall job approval among all voters has been declining since before he put his hand on his family’s bible and took the oath of office for the second time. In mid January 2005, it was 49 percent among all Americans. In a Times/CBS News poll in late April of this year it was 32 percent. It has been hovering around 30 percent since February 2006. Historically, low approval ratings in a second term are difficult to turn around. Mr. Bush’s approval ratings among both the general public and his 2004 voters may be difficult to budge too, according to George C. Edwards III, a professor of political science at Texas A&M and the author of many books about the presidency and public opinion.
“People don’t trust him and don’t think he’s competent. Its hard to overcome that,” he said. “You could out perform those views in the first few months but after six years, people are confident they have a handle on him.”
Looking ahead to 2008, a majority of Bush voters say they are looking for distance from Mr. Bush and his policies. They say they want a candidate who does not have the strident approach to the war that Mr. Bush does. More than half of Mr. Bush’s 2004 voters, 58 percent, said they want the 2008 Republican nominee to be flexible about withdrawing troops from Iraq rather than committed to keeping troops there until the United States succeeds, as Mr. Bush has advocated.
The nationwide telephone poll in March was conducted with 1,362 adults, 788 of whom said they voted for Mr. Bush in 2004. The nationwide telephone poll in April was conducted with 1,052 adults. Each poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. The error is higher for subgroups. Full results of each poll can be found on <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/polls">nytimes.com</a>.
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....so why do you trust....or not trust Mr. Bush? Why do you think that so few change their positive, trusting impression of him, despite all of the negative press that he has received since the Nov., 2004 election? Mr. Bush himself, once publicly declared his very positive impression of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, based more it seemed, on his own personal, visceral assessment of Putin, only to look less favorably upon him, as time went on and more negative information about Putin's leadership and decisions was reported.
Bush's remaining "base" does not seem to be as flexible as Bush himself, when it comes to letting developing, negative information influence their thinking.