Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Survey Says...

Some polls and surveys these days seem downright silly.

Quinnipiac University came out with a dandy last week.  It showed Barack Obama is the worst president since World War II.  Are you kidding me?  Yes, Obama's popularity is in the tank.  His administration has been marked by scandals at the IRS and VA.  The employment picture is improving, but it still isn't where it should be.  Benghazi.  Iraq.  Iran.  Syria.  Russia/Ukraine.  There have been several foreign policy mis-steps.

Worst since WWII?  Wow!

Submitted for your approval, a brief review of presidents since I've been a resident of the planet.

JFK:  severe moral issues
LBJ:  Vietnam
Nixon:  Watergate
Ford:  uncontrolled inflation
Carter:  Iran hostages
Reagan:  Iran-Contra
Bush:  recession, "no new taxes"
Clinton:  severe moral issues, impeachment
Bush:  another recession, Hurricane Katrina, weapons of mass destruction
Obama:  see above

While it is fair to say Obama is an unpopular president, saying he's the worst president in 60 years is a stretch.  I wonder how many of the respondents were around at the time.

I'm usually a Consumer Reports fan, but the current issue leaves me scratching my head.  Consumer Reports tested, sampled, and surveyed fast food.

McDonald's came in dead last in the burger category.  Huh?  America's most successful fast food chain at the bottom?  Come on.  It has to be doing something right.  Burger King is third from the bottom.

Among chains here in our area, Five Guys is close to the top.  I won't dispute that.  The food is good, but expensive.  Consumer Reports says Five Guys succeeds by making only a few things, and doing them well.  I think that's where McDonald's and BK lost their way.  The menus grew too large.

It all comes down to location and what you can afford.  Kudos to Consumer Reports for attempting to put concrete ratings on something so subjective, although some of it seems pointless.