Karlyn Bowman Quotations

Iraq is just a great weight holding down perceptions of an economy that is quite robust. Whenever you have troops in harm's way, people are anxious about things in general.

I don't really think Katrina had much effect.

Public opinion has been remarkably stable for 30 years and at one and the same time deeply contradictory.

People are just anxious when troops are in harm's way. That anxiousness extends to other areas.

Whether you agree or disagree with him, the president has taken a pounding on perceptions of his honesty.

After 9/11, people thought Bush's responses were just right and his ratings soared. It's just not clear that that's the case here. The views about this president are pretty hard right now, so I don't think we'll see a significant change. They're pro or opposed to him. The country is deeply divided.

After 9/11 Bush, had perfect pitch in terms of his personal and policy reaction. He hasn't been so surefooted this time.

There is a low-level anxiety pervading U.S. society. It's different from anything we've seen in the past.

It certainly has stopped erosion. Whether it can turn the numbers up significantly remains to be seen.

This is an opportunity for Democrats, but we haven't seen any evidence yet that they are going to make big gains.