News Roundup for 12/8/10

Keep digging until you find the poll results you want

-Headline(s) of the Day-
"Americans Support Two Major Elements of Tax Compromise" and "Obama's Compromise on Extending Highest-Income Tax Cuts Unpopular in Poll."

Call it "dueling polls." Bloomberg has released a poll showing that extending Bush's $250+ tax giveaway is pretty unpopular, with "only a third of Americans [supporting] keeping the lower rates for the highest earners."

Meanwhile, Gallup reports that extending the tax cuts is widely seen as the best thing ever, with "two-thirds of Americans (66%) favor extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts."

"How can this be?" you may ask. It can be thusly: Gallup asked a stupid question. In their poll, they put respondents in the position of having to vote on the measures themselves, then only gave them one choice -- vote to extend all the tax cuts or let all the tax cuts expire. Big surprise, people will vote against raising their own taxes. Gallup never asked about returning taxes for the top 2% to Clinton-era levels. It's all or nothing with them and -- huge surprise! -- people didn't like a big bowl of nuthin' very much.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg did not ask a stupid question and avoided oversimplification. They asked about extending the tax cuts for the wealthy, then for everyone else. The result, only 1/3 want tax cuts for the rich, with even half of those people saying the cuts shouldn't be made permanent.

Guess which poll the White House is pushing? (Gallup, Bloomberg)


-A solid grasp of the issue-
Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI) on leaked diplomatic cables and the danger of those "WikiLinks" guys:

Kids these days, with their Spacetubes and their Myface and their Tweeter and their WikiLinks... (Political Correction)


-Bonus HotD-
"In Latest Compromise With GOP, Obama Agrees He Is a Muslim."

Quote: "My place of birth has been, and will always be, negotiable." (Andy Borowitz)