Nathan Newman wrote:
>Since Rasmussen gives four options, unlike some other polls, I think he
>tilts towards approval since folks with mixed feelings can grab onto the
>"somewhat approve" slot.
-Someone on AAPORnet says Rasmussen is a Republican house with no real -polling background.
He's definitely a Republican but I think he's not trying to game his polls directly. I think his track record is not the best but I don't think the worst out there.
Zogby uses a similar four option approval rating as well, although he breaks it down into asking how the President is doing: "Excellent", "Good", "Fair" and "Poor" http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1027
I doesn't think that creates as much bias towards the positive as Rasmussen, although Zogby's been running a few points above Gallup and CBS so that might explain the difference a bit.
But who cares about the raw number. The only interesting issue is the trend over time and that's been dropping. Like Rassmussen, Zogby shows that the big decline for Bush has actually been in his true believers, the folks rating him "Excellent" have dropped from 24% in February down to just 15% now. And certified Bush hates keep growing.
-- Nathan