Carroll Doherty Quotes (10 Quotes)

Bush stands at a precipice. He's lost ground among independents. He seems to be starting to lose ground among his own party. And he lost the Democrats a long time ago.

The sense you get in this poll is that people don't see a lot of good options or a lot of good strategies.

More independents, in particular, say partisan control will be a factor.

The country has changed a lot. The biggest factor is 911. I think there is a great deal more patriotism now than there was then. Even in this divided country, there is more of a sense of it. We're not where we were in Vietnam.

It's a complicated issue, and the public's views aren't consistent.

People are looking for improvements there, and that's not something he has great control over, the day-to-day situation in terms of car bombs and sectarian violence.

For what it's worth historically, 911 was the news media's last great moment in terms of the public view. I'd be hesitant to say much more than that because we don't know how the public is reacting to this crisis -- whether there will be the same sense of unity and common cause. There was an immediate rally effect shortly after 911, and that rubbed off on the media.

Where Bush is beating Kerry among men and women alike is on leadership.

It is unfortunate that it takes a tragedy like that for people to see the system working at its best. When the stakes are high, the press does a good job and the public responds. ... It just doesn't come across in the daily barrage of cable shout shows.

I think the surprise here is that so many people see her as a strong leader, ... What's interesting about those numbers is that leadership was probably an area that proved to be John Kerry's downfall in the last election. It's an area where she is doing well.