"…Still, Mr. Cheney's heart problems are a worry for many Americans. Four out of 10 say his recent procedure and history of heart disease make them concerned about his ability to serve effectively, and only 36 percent are fully confident that he will complete his four-year term."

This is a classic example of a technique used by many journalists to spin poll results. Journalists often qualify numbers with words such as "many," "fully," and "only" to emphasize or de-emphasize the significance of the numbers being reported. In the above statement, the "four out of 10" (or 40%) is preceded by the phrase "many Americans" to infer that a significant number of Americans are concerned about the issue, while the figure 36% is preceded by the word "only" to infer a lack of support. In reality, of course, there is "only" a difference of 4% (or fully 4%, which ever you prefer).

Another common technique used in spinning poll results is to misrepresent the results altogether, assuming that readers will never see the actual numbers. The leading paragraph of the Times article stated, "…but Americans are increasingly nervous about the economy and express concerns about Mr. Bush's ability to steer the nation to sustained prosperity…" The actual questions and responses relating to this statement read as follows:

How about the economy? Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the economy?
Approve – 55%
Disapprove – 28%
DK/NA – 17%

How much confidence do you have in George W. Bush’s ability to keep the nation’s economy strong – a lot, some, not much or none at all?
A Lot – 34%
Some – 36%
Not Much – 20%
None at all – 8%
DK/NA – 2%

According to the actual figures, it appears that 55% approve of the way the President is handling the economy and 70% have some or a lot of confidence in his ability to keep the economy strong.

Poll reporters also have a habit of ignoring the margin of error. For example, with regard to Social Security, the Times article reported: "The public continues to see the Democrats as more able to lead on issues they care about, like Social Security (46 percent, compared with 38 percent for the Republicans)." Given the 4% margin of error underlying the survey, such comparisons are at best misleading if not entirely meaningless.

As with love, when it comes to statistics, words often get in the way.

More Lies, Damned Lies