“More people in this country have seen UFOs than I think approve of George Bush’s presidency.”

During the Democratic debate on Oct. 30, 2007, moderator Tim Russert asked longshot candidate Dennis Kucinich about a report that he had seen an unidentified flying object near the home of actress Shirley MacLaine. (MacLaine is the godmother of Kucinich’s daughter.)

Kucinich didn’t say he believed in aliens, but he confirmed that he did see a mysterious light in the sky — an unidentified flying object.

Kucinich also had the snappy retort to Russert’s playfulness: “More people in this country have seen UFOs than I think approve of George Bush’s presidency.”

So do they?

Russert’s question riffed off a new Associated Press/Ipsos poll done for Halloween, which asked people about their belief in and experiences of the paranormal. The poll found 14 percent said they had seen a UFO themselves, and 34 percent said they “believed in” UFOs.

We’ll take the 14 percent of the people at their word that they did indeed see strange flying objects with no everyday explanation. But that’s still a good 16 to 21 points below George Bush’s approval ratings, which have hovered in the 30 to 35 percent range in 2007.

Kucinich would have been accurate if he had said “More people BELIEVE in UFOs than approve of Bush’s presidency.” But because he said it the way he did, we find his claim to be False.