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PUBLIC DOESN’T APPROVE

Jim Lehrer interviews Donald Rumsfeld:

I looked at the public opinion polls the last, recent ones that mention you. And you don’t come out very well in terms of the public. I couldn’t find one where the public had approved of the job you were doing, less than 50 percent. Does that bother you?

And Donald Rumsfeld interviews Jim Lehrer:

If you look where the news media is, it’s down very low at the polls. If you want to get into public opinion polls, people in that business are right down near the bottom. You know that. Yeah, does it bother you?

Posted by Tim B. on 12/09/2005 at 02:08 AM
  1. Slap that bitch Rummy!

    Posted by Thomas on 2005 12 09 at 03:15 AM • permalink

  2. Rummy roolz.

    Posted by Dave S. on 2005 12 09 at 03:29 AM • permalink

  3. Dang. You just gotta respect a man who’s elevated the “bitch slap” to an art.

    Posted by lil varmint on 2005 12 09 at 03:57 AM • permalink

  4. Mark Steyn would have done a better job:

    Mr Rumsfeld, your Iraq strategy seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?

    Posted by slammer on 2005 12 09 at 03:59 AM • permalink

  5. The appeal of journalism is becoming more selective.

    Posted by rhhardin on 2005 12 09 at 04:02 AM • permalink

  6. No thappy Jim!

    Posted by rog on 2005 12 09 at 04:15 AM • permalink

  7. The Rumsfeld Lightning Tongue of Death!

    I get the feeling Rumsfield has worked something out that these expert political journalists haven’t.  He goes home at the end of this administration, no matter what.  Therefore his need to tolerate bullshit is probably set on low.

    Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 12 09 at 04:27 AM • permalink

  8. Mothers, don’t let your babies grow up to be journos….

    Posted by SwinishCapitalist on 2005 12 09 at 04:33 AM • permalink

  9. I don’t get it. Why on earth should Rumsfield care about opinion polls? Why on earth should Bush? Rumsfield wasn’t elected in the first place and, barring anything untoward, we know to the hour when Bush will stop being President. Don’t we? Am I missing something?

    Posted by geoff on 2005 12 09 at 04:43 AM • permalink

  10. I don’t usually tolerate disrespect to Mr. Lehrer, I LOVE the NewsHour, but that was a GREAT point Rumsfeld made during that interview. One among many. His point about new media and technology having the kind of up-to-the-minute access and applying an unprecedented level of scrutiny was also long overdue. Particularly given the absurd suggestions made by the usual suspects that this is the most media-managed war in history! BULL!

    Posted by Brian on 2005 12 09 at 05:15 AM • permalink

  11. Does Slammer have anything to offer apart from Miranda Divide type contributions?

    Posted by blogstrop on 2005 12 09 at 05:26 AM • permalink

  12. There is a Her-ald in Sydney Town
    Called the Herald of the Sydney Morning
    And it’s been the ruin of many a poor child
    God damn that lying thing.

    My mother was a reporter
    Worked on The Canberra Times
    My old dad, good God, was an Age man
    Both spewing lies for a lousy few dimes.

    Now the only thing a journo needs
    Is a laptop and a phone
    And the only time he’s satisfied
    Is when he’s bummed a by-line.

    Oh mother tell your children
    Do not be where I might be
    Spend your lives in sin and misery
    Only to end up with the ABC.

    Well, I got one hand on the expense account
    The other hand up my arse
    I’ve got a deadline to meet and some arseholes to beat
    Before I can end the whole damn farce.

    There is a Her-ald in Sydney Town
    Called the Herald of the Sydney Morning
    And it’s been the ruin of many a poor child
    God damn that lying thing.

    Posted by geoff on 2005 12 09 at 05:36 AM • permalink

  13. LOL Geoff!

    Posted by SwinishCapitalist on 2005 12 09 at 06:37 AM • permalink

  14. The thousand fighting styles of Rumsfeld. Now 1,001.  BTW Did Rove spawn Rumsfeld, or vice versa?

    Posted by Son of a Pig and a Monkey on 2005 12 09 at 08:28 AM • permalink

  15. Rummy gets to bomb Talibans and tax-subsidized “journalists.”

    I want that job.

    Posted by Rittenhouse on 2005 12 09 at 08:38 AM • permalink

  16. Thank you Swinish. I should have acknowledged the song was inspired by posting #8.

    Posted by geoff on 2005 12 09 at 08:43 AM • permalink

  17. #11- Do you have anything to offer at all?

    Posted by slammer on 2005 12 09 at 08:55 AM • permalink

  18. Excellent Geoff.

    Posted by Srekwah on 2005 12 09 at 09:17 AM • permalink

  19. Rove and Rumsfeld were suckled by the same she-wolf.

    Posted by paco on 2005 12 09 at 10:04 AM • permalink

  20. An illustrated compendium of the fighting styles of Rumsfeld.

    Posted by Some0Seppo on 2005 12 09 at 10:20 AM • permalink

  21. #12—geoff, EXCELLENT!  Sung to the tune of “House Of The Rising Sun”?

    Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 12 09 at 10:23 AM • permalink

  22. Democrats and MSM “journalists” (pardon the redundancy) just do not grasp the concept that Bush, Rummy, et al. don’t make decisions based on polls, that they don’t reinvent strategy on a daily basis according to the media driven whim of the moment. It confounds their tiny brains. This is one reason the Democrats can’t handle Bush, another being the fact that their patently disloyal positions do not endear them to the American public, despite the reinforcement they receive from the media elite.

    Posted by Latino on 2005 12 09 at 10:42 AM • permalink

  23. Gosh, Rummy kicks a$$!

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 12 09 at 10:44 AM • permalink

  24. Heh heh heh.  I wonder if Lehrer squirmed.  I’d love to have seen that.

    Posted by RebeccaH on 2005 12 09 at 11:10 AM • permalink

  25. #22- To be fair to Lehrer, the poll question was a small part of a wide-ranging interview.  Lehrer, despite his tiny brain, would be aware that Rummy’s decisions aren’t ever going to be poll-driven; the question was about the personal effect on Rummy of low approval ratings, and it drew an interesting response.  Not to mention giving Rummy the opening for that clever touche later on.

    Posted by slammer on 2005 12 09 at 11:13 AM • permalink

  26. So Rummy evaded the question as he usually does.When will he go??

    Posted by Torontosteve on 2005 12 09 at 12:05 PM • permalink

  27. #26. Why should he go and who do you suggest replace him?
    Please, no emotionally-driven excuses and use of the word “lie/liar” automatically disqualifies any answer. Bonus points for originality in Bush/Rove name derivatives.

    Posted by bc on 2005 12 09 at 12:16 PM • permalink

  28. Torontosteve, If he answers, “No, it doesn’t bother me,” he’s saying “The public be damned.” If he answers, “Yes, it bothers me,” he shows weakness. So the question is really along the lines of “When did you stop beating your wife?”

    Posted by chinesearithmetic on 2005 12 09 at 12:22 PM • permalink

  29. #4 Runaway trains poll very high.

    [url=http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/abc.train.ram]http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/abc.train.ram [/url] ABC (American) radio train anxiety news item, incidentally getting just about every fact wrong.
    [url=http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/corbycut.train.ram]http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/corbycut.train.ram [/url] Popular talk show, devoted to mocking the MSM, covers the coverage

    It’s modeled on Lear Jet Anxiety

    [url=http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/anxiety.ram]http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/anxiety.ram [/url] Runaway Lear Jet
    [url=http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/johnkencut.golf.ram]http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/johnkencut.golf.ram [/url] Popular talk show, devoted to mocking the MSM, covers the coverage

    There’s popular blogs for the same reason.

    Posted by rhhardin on 2005 12 09 at 12:24 PM • permalink

  30. ( Establishing shot of Beltway Village; fade to smokey interior…)

    Dan Ra-Ther Wong: The time is right.  The Rove-aburton Clan is weak!  And ready to!  Crumble!  We must!  Strike!

    Kay Tee Couric: Rumsfeld must die!

    Dan Ra-Ther Wong:  Yes!  Ha, ha, ha!  Ha!

    Jim Leh-rer Fung: But master! They say… Rumsfeld… could be dangerous!!

    Dan Ra-Ther Wong: Nonsense!  He is no match!  For The Thirty Six Styles of Journo-Knife!  Your training is complete.  We will invite him.  To an interview!  And then…  Ambush!  With Poison Question!

    ( mocking laughter from the whole group; varied monkey calls and cries of birds more typical of South America in the background; fade to establishing shot of Pentagon Temple… )

    Posted by zeppenwolf on 2005 12 09 at 12:35 PM • permalink

  31. YOu think he evaded the question?  Looks like a solid answer to me.  You have so doubt as to how he feels about polls?

    Posted by jeff mccabe on 2005 12 09 at 12:51 PM • permalink

  32. The Clintonian Left thinks pandering to the ebb and flow of public opinion IS leadership.

    But it’s not like the Left never ignores public opinion when it conflicts with their agenda, as the decisions of activist judges in the U.S. and the endless stream of directives emanating from Brussels attest.

    Paraphrasing Churchill’s characterization of ‘The Hun’—at your throat or at your feet—the Left is either pandering to polls or ignoring them altogether.  Whatever it takes.

    Posted by cosmo on 2005 12 09 at 01:11 PM • permalink

  33. P.S.  Rummy’s always been at the top of my personal presidential straw poll.  But then again, I’m to the right of Attila the Hun . . .

    Posted by cosmo on 2005 12 09 at 01:14 PM • permalink

  34. #26 Torontosteve, please pay attention. The Defense Sec. did not evade the question; however, you have avoided the answer. Where is that sense of nuance you lefties admired in such as John Kerry? You all surely have no admiration for a good sense of humor. (Again, take John Long Face Heinz K.)

    Posted by stats on 2005 12 09 at 03:46 PM • permalink

  35. Just took another look.  Lehrer’s response is even more revealing:

    DONALD RUMSFELD: Oh, I think that it’s—if you look where the news media is, it’s down very low at the polls. If you want to get into public opinion polls, people in that business are right down near the bottom.
    JIM LEHRER: Tell me about it.

    Here’s one of the MSM’s conduits, controlling what most people know about most worldly things, and he’s got a PR problem.

    Posted by Rittenhouse on 2005 12 09 at 03:47 PM • permalink

  36. #25 So Lehrer was trying to get the Sec. of Defense to open his heart to the Oprah Lehrer about how the poll numbers force him to weep in the night; perhaps he was hoping Rummy might cry on his shoulder and ask for forgiveness from PBS sluts like Lehrer and the staff of the NYT and WastePo, and apologize for trying to defend the citizens of the Union and promise to change his ways and help the Lehrers and DemonCrats raise the white flag so Torontosteve, and all the leftoidFascists to the North can have their temporary flush of joy until the Islamos come to claim their heads.

    Posted by stats on 2005 12 09 at 04:00 PM • permalink

  37. So Rummy evaded the question as he usually does.

    That’s a bizarre statement. He’s pretty much universally recognized as the most straight-shooting Cabinet official, like, ever.  Where ya been?

    When will he go??

    January, 2009.

    Posted by Dave S. on 2005 12 09 at 04:25 PM • permalink

  38. I, for one, do not want the Secretary of Defense to be concerned with his personal approval level in polls.

    That’s not his job. That’s not even remotely related to his job. At best, it’s irrelevant, and at worst (and more likely) it’s a danger and a distraction from his actual duties.

    Posted by Sigivald on 2005 12 09 at 04:34 PM • permalink

  39. OT but of interest to Australians-
    Queenslanders use to say that Victorians came up here with a clean shirt and a five dollar bill and changed neither.
    Well the incredible dhimification and leftist idiocy of that state seems to go on and on.
    Victoria is rapidly becoming a Christain free state after the ridiculuos conviction of Islamic villification for the Catch the fire ministries, the Mornington baptist Church as been forbidden from recruiting only Christian employees in its charitable work amongst the poor communities. Does that mean that Christians will now seek employment at the local mosques and when they are refused the victorian Civil tribunal will rush to prosecute the immams for violation of equal opportunity laws?

    Posted by davo on 2005 12 09 at 05:44 PM • permalink

  40. Mr Rumsfeld, your Iraq strategy seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?

    And the award for the crappiest use of a Simpsons quote of all time goes to…

    Posted by jic on 2005 12 09 at 05:54 PM • permalink

  41. Rumsfeld testifies!

    Posted by HelenW on 2005 12 09 at 08:19 PM • permalink

  42. When will Rummy go?  If President Rice asks him he may well be there until 2016. 

    With respect to Sec. Rumsfeld being evasive, I would ask, “Compared to who?”  Clinton (either), Gore, Kerry, Pelosi, Dean, Reid, Edwards? 

    Is there a video of exchange anywhere?

    Posted by Becker on 2005 12 09 at 08:26 PM • permalink

  43. Geoff, that song was great.

    Posted by Michael Lonie on 2005 12 09 at 09:46 PM • permalink

  44. Poor David -athough the Fairafx Press and the ABC have done pretty good job at trying to make him seem like the ‘innocent little boy next door’, they have failed. The average Australian knows that he is a traitor intent on killing innocent people. Moreover, heaps of Aussies know that he was a dickhead, nor worthy of support - there is that old saying that seems to apply to poor David -‘a Goose is always a Goose’. The other thing that we should not forget in this new era is that in the past conflicts, idiots like Hicks were generally ‘knocked off’ and never ended up becoming martyrs for the week, feeble, apologist (and profit making) left. And by the way, who the fuck is paying his huge legal bills (that includes high flying US and Oz lawyers - a ‘popular chicken boner from the northern suburbs of Adelaide does nor usually have access to smart lawyers)

    Posted by Dr Dan on 2005 12 10 at 04:39 AM • permalink

  45. Dr Dan, get the hell back to your own thread. Here I am basking in all the record breaking compliments for my admittedly brilliant new song and what happens? You show up with a mouthful full of David Hicks.

    More balance. Less Hicks more compliments.

    Posted by geoff on 2005 12 10 at 06:25 AM • permalink

  46. Rummy slapped Jim with one of those ‘unknown knowns’.

    Another variation that smells of the MSM’s methodology:

    “They declared a war, had a snap public opinion poll, voted it down, so nobody went and they were all massacred in three days.”

    Posted by Barrie on 2005 12 10 at 07:02 AM • permalink

  47. #40- thanks for noticing!

    Posted by slammer on 2005 12 10 at 07:20 AM • permalink

  48. In related news, a Gallup poll has found support for the American public dwindling among journalists…

    Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 12 10 at 04:35 PM • permalink

  49. Alright here goes. If I had vote (if anyone had a vote) my vote would be Donald Rumsfeld for Secretary of Defense of the United States and therefore of the entire world.

    But he did fuck up in the post-invasion planning department didn’t he? Or someone did. Did they seriously expect the whole population to immediately emerge showering the advancing troops with flowers and pretty girls as if it was Rome 5 June 1944? In that part of the world?

    What the hell was that all about?

    Posted by geoff on 2005 12 10 at 07:31 PM • permalink

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