It seems letting events speak for themselves isn't working as well as Bush hoped
Quote of note:
Bush suffers from low approval ratings on the economy, and he and others in his administration have tried to point to positive economic statistics to change public perceptions. Kerry has argued that despite those numbers, the economic recovery is uneven and that middle-class families are under financial pressure from rising medical costs and stagnant incomes.
When McInturff tested those two messages, he found voters responded far more favorably to the Democratic message. In McInturff's findings, 55 percent said they were likely to vote for the Democratic candidate, while 42 percent said they would vote for the Republican.
GOP Urged to Sharpen Message on Economy
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 19, 2004; Page A04
SEATTLE, July 18 -- Republicans risk losing the economic debate in this year's election unless they shift their focus from trying to convince voters that the economy is improving and engage Democrats directly over how to create jobs and expand growth in the future, Republican governors were told here this weekend.
GOP pollster Bill McInturff, in a Saturday briefing for the Republican Governors Association, presented survey results showing that voters are far more responsive to Sen. John F. Kerry's economic message that talks about a middle-class squeeze than to President Bush's efforts to change public perceptions by talking up recent economic statistics.
Republicans have been hoping that, with improving economic statistics, Bush will gain politically, but GOP governors agreed with McInturff's conclusion that voters are not ready for such a message.
Colorado Gov. Bill Owens (R) said economies in many battleground states are improving but acknowledged that voters are not convinced the recovery is real. "People are still skeptical" about the economy, Owens said. "There's a long-term lag between perception and reality. . . . You can't run against that prevailing wisdom yourself."
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) said that economic conditions in his state have improved but that voters were reluctant to give Bush credit for the changes, saying they do not believe his tax cuts have helped them directly. "It's a very, very hard issue for the president to come into Wisconsin and explain what he has done to help us," he said.
