In discussing President Bush's approval ratings in the wake of his recent public appearances, radio address, and televised address, commentators and reporters on CNN and Fox News emphasized the results of a December 15-18 ABC/Washington Post poll showing an improvement in the president's approval rating while not mentioning polling from their own news organizations showing that the president's approval ratings were either unchanged or lower.

CNN

On the December 20 edition of CNN's American Morning, Time magazine White House correspondent Mike Allen touted the ABC/Washington Post poll, noting that Bush was “up in approval eight points since they last polled on November 2” and asserting that the poll was “loaded with stocking stuffers for the Bush White House.” Accompanied by an onscreen graphic depicting the poll numbers, host Soledad O'Brien stated: “You can see the numbers for approval were ... 39 percent, now up to 47 percent.” But O'Brien never told viewers that a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted December 16-18 -- roughly the same period as the ABC/Washington Post poll -- showed a decrease in Bush's approval ratings. The CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll showed Bush at 41 percent approval, compared to December 9-11 polling from the same consortium showing Bush's approval at 42 percent and polling from December 5-8, which showed Bush's approval at 43 percent.

Fox News

Similarly, on the December 20 edition of Fox News' DaySide, guest host Steve Doocy stated that “President Bush's approval ratings have turned around across the board after hitting historic career lows.” Accompanied by an onscreen graphic showing the ABC/Washington Post poll numbers, Doocy stated: "[I]n a new Washington Post/ABC poll the president's rating went from 39 percent to 47 percent overall. That's good for him." Doocy and co-host Juliet Huddy then invited Weekly Standard executive editor Fred Barnes and Roll Call executive editor Morton M. Kondracke to comment on the president's recent public relations campaign and poll ratings. Barnes touted "[a] dramatic jump in the ABC/Washington Post poll, not so much in Gallup," and falsely asserted that “all the polls no matter how much the gains, they're all heading in the right direction for Bush.” Kondracke later added: “If you look at the ... Washington Post/ABC poll, it's way up: 47 percent. ... Gallup is 41 percent.”

But Doocy, Barnes, and Kondracke left viewers in the dark regarding the most recent Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, conducted December 13-14, which showed Bush's approval ratings at a steady 42 percent - no improvement since the previous poll was conducted November 30-31. In fact, Bush's disapproval rating actually climbed to 51 percent in the most recent poll from 48 percent in the previous one. Moreover, Barnes falsely suggested there was a rise in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, which actually showed a 1 percent decrease in Bush's approval ratings.

From the December 20 edition of CNN's American Morning:

O'BRIEN: You know, if you put up everybody in a quadruple or quintuple box, you would have seen everybody's lips moving at once from the president's cabinet, essentially all going out and giving out the message. Clearly this is a strategy. Is the strategy working?

ALLEN: Well, this Bush White House is big on metrics, big on results. And an ABC News/Washington Post poll this morning has loaded with stocking stuffers for the Bush White House. The president up in approval eight points since they last polled on November 2nd. Up on approval of his handling of Iraq 10 points, and up on the economy 11 points. Soledad, you mentioned some of the many administration figures that have been out. Also Mrs. [Lynne] Cheney, who calls herself the grandmother of the United States jokingly, has been out. I'm wondering if maybe the president doesn't already know that the Man of the Year issue [of Time] is on the stands because he seems to be campaigning for it, maybe getting a jump on next year. You can't get the president on your iPod, but just about every other way. In seven days, we had the president giving six television interviews, three of them to NBC. We had him giving a live radio address in front of the television cameras, which he joked about it a little yesterday, taking unscripted questions from an audience in Philadelphia that was on your air, giving an address to the nation and then yesterday --

O'BRIEN: It's a complete change of strategy. I mean, it's a 180 from what we've seen and heard from the president before. Let's throw those poll numbers up for anybody who missed them. This is an ABC News poll, I believe. And if we put those numbers up right there. You can see the numbers for approval were 47 -- were 39 percent, now up to 47 percent. Do you, Mike, credit this campaign with these rising poll numbers?

ALLEN: Well, Soledad, cause and effect is always tough to establish here. And one of the most interesting points that my former colleagues, Dan Balz and Richard Morin of The Washington Post, make in their story about this poll is that the gains all came among Republicans and conservatives. They said that among Democrats, independents, moderates, the president's flat or not up at all. So that provides him a lot of opportunity to move up more. And that's why you saw the hour-long news conference yesterday. Soledad, as you know, one of the precepts of this president's aides has always been that he is his best salesperson. And going back to '99, 2000, the president was always stronger overall than he was among issues in his polls. People like him even if they don't -- and historically, people have liked this president even if they didn't necessarily agree with him. Now, what we saw in the last few months was people questioning his credibility, questioning his response and handling of national and world issues, and so you saw the numbers sort of come together.

From the December 20 edition of Fox News' DaySide:

DOOCY: Welcome back. President Bush's approval ratings have turned around across the board after hitting historic career lows. Meanwhile, in a new Washington Post/ABC poll, the president's rating went from 39 percent to 47 percent overall. That's good for him. His approval ratings on Iraq jumped 10 points and his handling of the economy up 11 points. So what's he doing right? Joining us right now are the Beltway Boys, Mort [Kondracke] and also Fred [Barnes] live from D.C.

[...]

DOOCY: Fred, in watching the president yesterday, unlike his Sunday night address where it was very straightforward, yesterday the president looked steamed, he looked muscular. What's that about?

BARNES: Well, it's about his desire to be on offense, not defense. And I think that's the key thing here. For most of 2005, you know, he didn't return fire to his critics on the issue of Iraq. Beginning on November 11, however, he did, after Democrats were pummeling him with this idea that he had misled the nation on the intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq. But he's fought back and fought back hard. I mean, in less than three weeks he gave five speeches and had a press conference. And he was very combative and animated and angry at times at the press conference, and I think this is what has gotten him back, particularly in the polls. A dramatic jump in the ABC/Washington Post poll, not so much in Gallup, but all the polls, no matter how much the gains, they're all heading in the right direction for Bush.

HUDDY: Well, you know, Mort, whenever you talk about approval ratings and polls to the politicos, they always want to downplay them, they never want to talk about them. But when it's a good thing, it's a good thing. The president has to be pretty happy about this. Why is it happening? Is it because he's been out there stumping so much?

KONDRACKE: Well, I -- you know, as Fred says, there a kind of a mixed message here. If you look at The Wall Street Journal -- I mean, the Washington Post/ABC poll, it's way up: 47 percent. That's near 50. I mean, that's -- that would be back to where he was at the beginning of the year. Gallup is 41 percent. Both polls sort of indicate that people still don't think he's got a plan on the war. So I don't know. I think his activity and his vigor and his -- you know, being out there so much has helped a lot. And I thought the fireside chat on Sunday night, where he had this huge audience where people really could sit down and watch it as opposed to a daytime speech, really helped him.