A perfect division

Dispensing for a moment my usual disdain of polls as substitute for real news, I was amused to read an excerpt from this article at CNN.com.

Forty-nine percent of 1,007 adult Americans said in phone interviews they believe Bush is a "uniter," according to the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Wednesday. Another 49 percent called him a "divider," and 2 percent had no opinion.

So if 49% hold one opinion and the same percentage hold the opposite opinion, doesn't that make him, by definition, a divider? In the most precise implementation of the concept?

Anyways, the whole point of the poll question is really unclear to me. President Bush is what he is and people love him or despise him accordingly. That the country is divided about him is hardly an Earth-shattering revelation worth whatever money those organizations spent to commission the poll.

Bush has a particular style of leadership which is different than, say, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's. Blair's approach to Iraq war critics was, "I understand your criticisms and here's why they are misguided." Bush's approach to Iraq war critics was, "I know I'm right. If you don't like it, bugger off." One leads by trying to convince the skeptical. The other decrees fiats and gives the finger to those who question his Divine wisdom. Then again, a majority of voters just re-elected the Crusader while the guy who actually tried to lead is increasingly unpopular with his public.