CNN IS AT PAINS TO REPORT - AT 9:25 A.M. ET:  You can almost sense the pain and anguish in this polling report from CNN.  Why, the writer should put in for disability leave:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As Dick Cheney prepares to give a major speech on the battle against terrorism, a new national poll suggests that favorable opinions of the former vice president are on the rise.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to give a major speech on the battle against terrorism Thursday.

But the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, released Thursday morning, indicates that a majority of Americans still have an unfavorable opinion of Cheney.

Fifty-five percent of people questioned in the poll say they have an unfavorable opinion of the former vice president. Thirty-seven percent say they have a favorable opinion of Cheney, up 8 percentage points from January when he left office.

In the past two months, the former vice president has become a frequent critic of the new administration in numerous national media interviews.

"Is Cheney's uptick due to his visibility as one of the most outspoken critics of the Obama administration? Almost certainly not," says Keating Holland, CNN polling director.

"Former President George W. Bush's favorable rating rose 6 points in that same time period, and Bush has not given a single public speech since he left office."

COMMENT:  Some of this is very silly.  Obviously, Cheney's rise is related to his recent speeches, no matter what CNN's exalted polling director says.  What else could be the cause?  Nostalgia?  And the ridiculous statement that Bush has gone up six points without uttering a word is shallow.  If Cheney is effective in defending the Bush record, and he has been, clearly some of the gain will show up in President Bush's poll numbers. 

You just sense that CNN is choking on this story.  I am smiling.

May 21, 2009