Friday, December 31, 2010

Obama the most admired man in 2010? Not exactly.

Maybe the biggest problem with public life both in terms of politicians and in the case of the news media is the truth no longer matters, only spin. The worst of the violators are naturally the news media to whom there is no such thing as facts, only opinions, and pollsters insist on polling opinions and then distorting and twisting the results in order to create a false reality and follow an agenda.

Gallup is one of the worst offenders and that trend continues with their "Most Admired" poll, reported by many news organizations.

The headline blared, "Obama the Most Admired Man in America" a statement that had to cause the jaws to drop of anyone who spent the last year in something other than a comatose state.

Obama's approval ratings were dropping every day, he has become persona non grata by almost every moderate and liberal Democrat in the country who is not African American, he is personally and solely responsible because of his duplicitous and inept presidency for the Democrats suffering the worst political defeat of any party in 80 years, and during the recent short lived revolt among congressional Democrats over Obama's inability to deal with the Republicans on tax cuts one congressional Democrat was heard to shout in a closed door meeting "Fuck the president!".

The disgust and anger at Obama by Democrats, liberals, moderates and indpendents so evident in the last election might make the claim that Obama is the most admired man in 2010 a little hard to believe.  So how was it possible? When you get past the headline and look at the actual poll results, you find that it isnt exactly as the poll claims.

Based on the actual poll numbers, 22% picked Obama as the most admired man in America. That number did lead everyone else, but people were not given choices, but were asked to name or write in their most admired man.

People named others such as George W Bush, Bill Clinton, Glenn Beck, the Pope and a few others all of whom received less than Obama's 22%. But Gallup and the news organizations touting the poll refused to deal with the obvious reality of what the poll was actually saying.

Given that Obama is the most visible and recognizable man in America and possibly the world, that he is the man with the most exposure, the most power, the man who has the machinery of the United States government at his disposal, the man whose every word and act is covered and broadcast around the world on a daily basis, a man whose name is mentioned more times every day in every medium more than anyone else.a man whose decisions affect more people and have more consequences than any other man in America, given all that, almost 80% of Americans don't admire Obama and think someone else is the most admired man in America.

Which is why the least admired people in America are probably journalists.

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