Wah wah wah. Looks like Rush Limbaugh has a new crybaby friend.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ct--rowland-pollreact0122jan22,0,1075257.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire
Rowland cites media ``frenzy'' in explaining polls
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
Associated Press Writer
January 22, 2004, 6:45 PM EST
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Gov. John G. Rowland suggested Thursday that a
"mass media frenzy" has contributed to his poor standing in polls,
which show a majority of voters favor his resignation.
Rowland, who spoke to the media after an announcement of funding for a
barge service in Bridgeport, was asked if he was disheartened by the
polls.
Rowland, who has said repeatedly that he won't resign after lying
about gifts he received, responded that he has never governed by
polls.
"Frankly, there's been kind of a fire hydrant of mass media coming at
people over the last 30 days," Rowland said. "If I were polled, I
would say, 'Yeah, whatever it takes to end this mass media frenzy.' So
I'm sure a lot of people would just like to see it over with."
A poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University found that only 24
percent of those surveyed said they approve of the way Rowland, a
Republican, is handling his job. That's the same approval rating
former President Richard Nixon received in a national Gallup Poll
conducted shortly before his August 1974 resignation, said Quinnipiac
Poll Director Douglas Schwartz.
The Quinnipiac poll showed that 68 percent of registered voters in
Connecticut believe Rowland should resign from office. That's up from
56 percent in a similar Quinnipiac poll released on Jan. 7. A
University of Connecticut poll released last weekend showed 63 percent
of those surveyed want the governor to resign, about the same
percentage as the previous week.
The Quinnipiac poll also found that 56 percent of voters believe the
state legislature should impeach and remove Rowland from office, up
from 42 percent two weeks ago.
On Thursday, five Democratic and five Republican members of the state
House of Representatives were named as the members of a special
inquiry committee that will recommend whether Rowland should be
impeached.
Rowland vowed to stay focused on issues important to the state's
residents, including economic development initiatives in major cities
and smaller municipalities.
"I have not taken my eye off this ball for one day over the last nine
years," Rowland said. "I did not run for a third term as governor of
this state to sit in Hartford and twiddle my thumbs."
Rowland is under federal and state investigation for accepting gifts
and free work on his vacation cottage in Litchfield from politically
connected friends, state employees and a state contractor. He has said
he never returned the favors and has apologized several times for
lying about the gifts.
Given the continuing barrage of news coverage, Rowland's chief of
staff, Dean Pagani, said Wednesday that the governor does not expect
his poll numbers to improve in the short term. He hopes the federal
corruption probe and the legislative inquiry will shed light on the
facts, Pagani said.
Rowland had called for the resignation of former Bridgeport Mayor
Joseph Ganim when he was indicted on federal corruption charges more
than two years ago. Ganim was convicted and is serving a nine-year
prison sentence. The governor also forced Public Works Commissioner
Theodore Anson to resign last year after Anson admitted he accepted
free architectural designs for an addition to his home in Bridgewater
in 2000.
Some observers have cited parallels in the Ganim and Rowland cases,
but Rowland rejected the comparison.
"I think that there is an extraordinary difference between someone who
has been indicted on 23 counts and someone who has not been accused of
breaking any laws," Rowland said.
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Yang
a.a. #28
a.a. pastor #-273.15, the most frigid church of Celcius nee Kelvin
EAC Econometric Forecast and Socerey Division
Proudly plonked by Lani Girl and Crazyalec
The Bush 'balanced' budget: -525 billion and worsening
The Bush 'economic' policy: -3 million jobs and counting
The Bush Iraq lie: -505 GIs, one friend's co-worker's son and mounting
Having Bush ***** up my country: Worthless
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