Cop out question
| EDITORIAL |
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06/28/2011
Social Weather Station (SWS)’s latest survey release was obviously meant to please the Malacañang tenant, what with a cop out question included over whether respondents believe that in the long run, Noynoy will be successful or unsuccessful president, preceded by an “OR”.
One question was whether respondents think that Noynoy will be a successful president, with a 22 percent affirming it, while 10 say the contrary. But there is an additional question, which was the cop out question, or the easy way out for an answer, which was, or whether it is still too early to tell.
So why include that question in the same questionnaire, when the majority answer would have to be “it’s too early to tell, if not to give Malacañang a “feel good” feedback?
As it was, Malacañang quickly welcomed the latest SWS release on this, with presidential mouthpiece Edwin Lacierda being quoted as describing the “too early to tell” majority response as “recognition on the part of the public of the magnitude of the tasks before (the Aquino administration),” adding that “the task of transforming our government and policies to promote inclusive growth, achieve justice for all, and restore our institutions to provide genuine service to our people, is one that requires cooperation for all. It also requires time, and sustained efforts from all concerned.”
See the quick Palace spin on this “too early to tell” majority when it really is a cop out question, or a way of evading either answer to the specific question of whether or not Noynoy will be a successful president.
This type of mind-conditioning survey question is hardly any different from the SWS’ pre-presidential election survey results for the same purpose, such as asking respondents who they think would make the best leader after Gloria and then letting respondents give three names, top of the head answers.
Mind-conditioning it was, since the figures would naturally be bloated, as the respondents vote three times, which makes no sense.
Since the results of the June survey showed a continuing decline in the satisfaction ratings of Noynoy, and that he and his aides had to do a Gloria on the “I prefer to be right than popular” line and going to the extent of their latching on the “very good” category claim, what better separate question to pose to respondents than one which would automatically extract a butter up to the Palace answer of “too early to tell?”
Noynoy will have been in office for a year in two days. What other answer would a majority of respondents — mixed in with the undecideds — give, as the question is much too safe, and intended to elicit an affirmative answer?
One can read the survey results differently should the question of whether Noynoy will be a successful president or not have been the only one asked of respondents. Twenty-two percent believe he would be a successful president while 10 percent do not think so, while 68 percent should have fallen under the undecided column.
Incidentally, such survey questions were never included in SWS surveys with past presidents, but again, one suspects that the “too early to tell” question is yet another mind-conditioning scheme of the survey outfit to counteract the growing perception that Noynoy’s ratings have fallen drastically and will probably keep on falling due to his do-nothing presidency and the clear absence of solid achievements in his first year in office.
About the only thing that can probably be gleaned from the SWS and Pulse Asia surveys is the downward curve of the satisfaction/approval/trust ratings of Noynoy, along with the upward curve, or at least the maintenance of the high ratings of Vice President Jojo Binay.
Taking both officials’ ratings, what is clear is that the public sees Binay as a performer and achiever while the same public sees Noynoy as a non-performer and a gross underachiever, else, how to explain the downward curve of Noynoy’s ratings and the upward curve of Binay’s ratings, with both having been in office for a year?
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