You know those scientific studies that just prove what we already knew? Like, say, a study that shows that sugar-filled soda makes you fat?
Well here’s another “duh” study:
A Cornell sociologist says he has found scientific evidence that, whenever the government issues a terrorism alert, President Bush’s approval ratings go up, even on domestic issues, such as his handling of the economy.
Robb Willer, assistant director of the Sociology and Small Groups Laboratory at Cornell — someone else runs Large Groups? — tracked about 26 occasions since 2001, including the major Code Orange alerts by the Department of Homeland Security, when some agency — the FBI, the State Department or someone else — announced a potential threat to Americans.
He tracked those with 131 Gallup polls taken during that time up until May. Willer, a doctoral candidate in sociology, found that, on average, each warning prompted a 2.75 point increase in the president’s approval rating the following week.
