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Polls

• November 24 -- Americans "At Best Ambivalent" About Bush's Plans
No honeymoon for Bush's second term: "At a time when the White House has portrayed Mr. Bush's 3.5-million-vote victory as a mandate, the poll found that Americans are at best ambivalent about Mr. Bush's plans to reshape Social Security, rewrite the tax code, cut taxes and appoint conservative judges to the bench."

• November 4 -- No Marines for Bush?
Robert Worth talks with Marines near Falluja: "Some of the marines clearly had strong views about the presidential race and the way it would affect the military, though they have been instructed not to share those with reporters. Others seemed not to care much, saying the election seemed too far from their everyday lives to make much of an impression." Worth doesn't mention polls showing most troops support Bush.

• November 1 -- Pushing Bush's Alleged Lack of Legitimacy
The NYT files its final poll, emphasizing doubts about Bush's legitimacy: "The anxiety appears to be a legacy of the disputed election of 2000: half of respondents in this latest poll said they did not think Mr. Bush legitimately won the presidency in 2000, compared with 45 percent who considered the outcome legitimate."

• October 27 -- No Liberals in the Battleground States
Alan Greenblatt finds "conservative transplants" in Colorado, "socially conservative voters" in Michigan, and plain old "conservatives" in Ohio and Florida. But where are the "liberals"?

• October 19 -- Kerry Hurt by Lesbian Comment?
Adam Nagourney argues Kerry's "strong performance" in the debates may have been jeopardized when he brought up Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter and insists Bush "dodged" a question on whether homosexuality was a choice.

• October 19 -- Down the Stretch With Bush and Kerry
Adam Nagourney and Janet Elder summarize the paper's poll showing Bush and Kerry basically tied.

• October 18 -- Optimism for Kerry, Part I
Todd Purdum sees good tidings for Kerry after the debates.

• October 12 -- How About Those Pro-Kerry Polls?
Another campaign story embraces recent poll findings -- now that they show Kerry doing better: "But Democrats, buoyed by a week of developments that undercut Mr. Bush's claims of vigorous job growth and his main justification for invading Iraq, said they would not lose the momentum heading into the final debate."

• October 7 -- Bush "Out of Touch" With Iraq Realities?
Piling on Bush's debate performance and setting up Democratic talking points.

• October 6 -- Drawing Out Cheney's "Ire"
Adam Nagourney suddenly starts taking polls seriously, and picks up on the theme of Edwards throwing Cheney off his game: "Mr. Edwards frequently drew the vice president's ire -- and also drew Mr. Cheney's attention away from Mr. Kerry, his intended target."

• September 30 -- Bush Still Looking for "Solid Lead" in Polls
Campaign reporter Adam Nagourney is still minimizing Bush's lead.

• September 20 -- Softening the Poll Blow for Kerry
The latest Times poll shows Bush with a nine-point lead among likely voters, but the paper's headline softens the blow. Also: Is the Times stamping out "unsubstantiated" descriptions of the Swift Boat Vets?

• September 10 -- Did Bush Get a Bounce? "Yes, but…."
Campaign reporter Adam Nagourney on Friday reluctantly admits the obvious--Bush got a bounce out of his convention.

• September 9 -- More Mangling of Cheney's Terror Comments
Adam Nagourney turns media-mangled comments from Dick Cheney on the terror war into a fretful article: "Is it possible for a candidate to go too far, and alienate the very voters he is trying to court?....The remarks were among the more dire offered in a presidential campaign since 1964, when Lyndon B. Johnson broadcast a television advertisement, with a mushroom cloud, warning that the election of Barry Goldwater would lead to nuclear war."

• September 7 -- "Questioning Kerry's Patriotism," Again
David Halbfinger claims Kerry's patriotism was questioned at the Republican convention: "But he returned to the offensive after his character, voting history and even his patriotism were questioned by Republicans in New York this week, and after Democrats faulted him for a hesitant, halting response last month to televised attacks on his military record." Halbfinger also dashes cold water on polls showing Bush with a substantial lead.

• September 7 -- Polls, Schmolls, Says Nagourney: Part II
Adam Nagourney again plays down the apparent success of the Republican convention: "Yet if history is any guide, the contest is far from settled....Polls taken right after a convention offer an inflated sense of a candidate's standing."

• September 7 -- Polls, Schmolls, Says Nagourney: Part I
Adam Nagourney dismisses the latest polls showing Bush with a lead and notes: "Even some Republicans were conceding that Mr. Bush's convention--described by Republicans and Democrats alike as a success--might not ultimately make that much of a difference."

• September 7 -- "Polls on the Move"? More Like: "Clear Lead for Bush"
Bush and Kerry campaigned in Ohio after the Republican convention, leading David Halbfinger and Richard Stevenson to file "With Polls on the Move, Bush and Kerry Take Their Economic Message to Ohio." More accurate would be: "Polls Show Clear Lead for Bush as Candidates Take Their Economic Message to Ohio."

• August 16 -- Reporter, Heal Thyself
Deborah Solomon questions Yale economist Ray Fair about his computer model of the presidential election, which predicts an easy Bush victory: “Are you a Republican?” When he says he supports Kerry, Solomon says: “I’m a little surprised, because your predictions implicit lend support to Bush.” Hmm. Is Solomon saying one’s personal political biases inevitably affect one’s professional work?

• August 3 -- One Post-Convention Poll Finding the NYT Likes
"Republicans are fighting back to retain the allegiance of the country's veterans," David Kirkpatrick claims in a story introduced by the loaded subhead "Democratic Push Makes Big Inroads."

• August 3 -- Burying the Kerry "Bounce"
After a Democratic convention that delivered an anemic "bounce" to Kerry, reporter Adam Nagourney accentuates the positive.

• July 27 -- LBJ-style 'credibility gap' for Bush?
Michael Oreskes sees an LBJ-style "credibility gap" for Bush.

• June 29 -- Burying the Bush Rebound
Adam Nagourney and Janet Elder’s front-page story reads as if a new NYT/CBS poll finds nothing but bad news for Bush. But the Times buries the lead: Bush has gained seven points since a CBS poll last month.

• April 29 -- Manipulating the “Sharp” Decline
The Times led the paper Thursday with bad news for President Bush: “Support for War Down Sharply,” from 63 percent saying the war was the “right thing” in December to 58 percent in March to 47 percent in April. But they downplayed that December’s poll numbers were instantly taken after the capture of Saddam Hussein, so the numbers might logically fall “sharply” from that summit.

• April 8 -- As St. Johnsbury Goes…So Goes St. Johnsbury
With the recent upsurge of fighting and fatalities in Iraq, the Times runs a timely compendium of citizens feeling less confident about Bush and the war, featuring the results of an online poll from....the Caledonian-Record newspaper of St. Johnsbury, Vermont?

• March 19 -- Praising the “Outdoor John”
Kerry beat reporter David Halbfinger explained the phenomenon of “Outdoor John” Kerry, who “acts boldly” as he snowboards and swigs “from a bottle of vitamin-fortified water.”

• March 17 -- Burying Pro-Bush Poll Results?
Did the Times bury the real news in its story on a CBS/NYT presidential poll--the part showing a pro-Bush uptick?

• December 17 -- Bush's Poll Numbers: Nice, But What About Those Funerals?
The Times front page gives Bush his due regarding his rising approval ratings--but a couple of the paper's poll questions suspiciously conform to its crusade on Bush's non-attendance at soldiers' funerals: "There was also clear public disapproval about some ways that Mr. Bush has responded to the war at home."

• July 31 -- Conservatives vs. Tolerance, Naturally
Reporter Neil Lewis pits conservatives vs. “tolerance” on the subject of gay marriage.

• June 4 -- It’s Still All Bush’s Fault
Citing a poll, reporter Christopher Marquis claims the Iraq war “only deepened international skepticism toward the U.S., its global policies and President Bush.” But the Times plays down the fact the same countries who feel threatened by America also respect terrorists who threaten the U.S. Marquis also distorts a poll finding revealing the hostility Muslim nations feel toward Israel’s existence.

• April 24 -- Gov. Pataki Taxes Times Patience
The Times advice to New York Gov. Pataki: Win the public’s approval by raising their taxes.

• March 26 -- “71” Is The Loneliest Number
71 percent. That’s Bush’s approval rating on Iraq, according to a new Times poll. But you won’t read about it in today’s Times. Instead you’ll learn “Bush's campaign to remove Saddam Hussein from power is producing sharp fissures at home….black Americans are far more likely than whites to oppose Mr. Bush's policy in Iraq.”