SYNOPSIS: Krugman debunks the RNC spin that Bush is still wildly popular

Quite a few pundits still think that Bush has sky-high poll numbers - I guess once conventional wisdom has gelled, actually looking at the data is just too nerdy a thing to do. But you don't even have to look at the numbers. The terrific graph provided by  Dr. Pollkatz shows the story - a huge surge because of Sept. 11, almost all of it now gone - in a way that anyone should be able to understand.

But the RNC is still trying to pretend that it's last January, and everyone except me and Molly Ivins thinks Bush is the greatest.

What's the point? To intimidate Congress and the media, presumably. But it's pretty pathetic.

Originally published on the Official Paul Krugman Site, 1.30.03