From the most recent CBS poll:
The Iraq Study Group described the situation in Iraq as “grave and deteriorating,” and Americans agree. 71% – the largest percentage ever - believe the war is going badly. 39% believe the war is going very badly – also the highest number ever. A majority of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents agree that the war is going badly.Worse yet:
The public’s overwhelming negativity about the war in Iraq extends to President’s handling of it -- which, at a mere 21%, is the lowest it has ever been. Three quarters disapprove.And:
Most of that drop has occurred among the President’s base – Republicans and conservatives. Last month, 70% of Republicans approved of how the President was handling the war; now, just 47% do. Few Democrats and Independents approve. Conservative support for President Bush’s handling of Iraq has also fallen, from 60% in November to 34% now.Oopsie. When your own party is jumping ship, you know you've screwed the pooch.
The President’s overall job approval rating has fallen slightly. 31% of Americans approve of the job he is doing overall, matching the President’s previous low of last May. 34% approved last month, the same percentage as before the election.So his support has dropped from the election - if ever so slightly.
Read the entire poll data here.
Fortunately and unfortunately, the Monkey Man will not be a candidate in the 2008 election. He will be cutting and running from the political scene. Although the damage he has done will live on for generations throughout the world, nothing can be done to change the past.
ReplyDeleteIt's time to stop concentrating on how to beat Mr. Bush. It's time to stop rejoicing each time he slips in the polls. Progressives in this country need to find a way to merely contain any further damage he might do and move on.
We need to keep in mind that Mr. Bush was the personification of a large minority of this nation -- one that still exists. In 2000 and 2004, this minority swelled its ranks with just enough "moderates" to make the elections close enough to steal. They leveraged those "wins" to make it easier for themselves to perpetuate their power through traditional political techniques such as the use of the bully pulpit, the spread of fear and hate through official agencies, and the institution of perpetual warfare, all of which tend to bolster support for the incumbent. But they also employed innovative tactics such as voter suppression and manipulation of the vote via electronic voting machines.
The large minority I refer to above will continue to support Messrs. Bush and Cheney regardless. Note that these abominable "leaders retain 30% to 40% approval ratings no matter what.
So what do progressives need to do in order to restore a Jeffersonian democracy in this country? I think they need to do three things:
-- Deny virtually all the so-called moderate swing voters to the extreme right. Now that the Democrats have temporary control of Congress, they have a podium from which to speak. The right-wing press will have to pay attention to them as they pound away at the numerous political, economic, and miliary failures of the past six years.
-- Pass popular, populist economic legislation that forces Mr. Bush to veto and contest each veto, forcing the remaining Congressional wingers to vote against it over and over again.
-- At the state and local level, spend money and effort to pressure officials to require that every vote be validated, confirmable by the voter, and recountable via a paper receipt of some sort.
The most likely Republican candidate in 2008 is John McCain, an elderly right-wing curmudgeon and opportunist whose conservatism will make GWB look like Adlai Stevenson. He goes beyond supporting Bush's disasterous adventurism in Iraq and wants America to go, in poker parlance, "all in." He must be denied the opportunity to take us even further down the road to "victory." We can't stand any more of this kind of victory. Since progressives can't beat him, it will be up to the Democrats to do it if they can.
Good points. The first 100 hours agenda is a great start. So is anything requiring a voting paper trail. And, if all of the media coverage of the food safety issues are any indication, it's about freaking time Congress addresses that issue. It is too serious to ignore any further.
ReplyDeleteI think it's also important for those of us in the netroots to hold these folks' feet to the fire. I voted for Altmire and Casey, but they better do the job we sent them there to do.
Thanks for the support, Whigs.
ReplyDeleteBut shame on you for voting for Casey. Schmuck Shitrock was a much better candidate. (:^)}
The guy is isolated, insecure, and spoiled. I think he's the worst person for the job at the moment. His entire life has told him that if he does nothing, everything will turn out ok.
ReplyDeleteHis presidency is an utter failure. Thanks Supreme Court, if you didn't write bogus decisions that "have no precedent" to install your favored candidate into the White House, this never would've happened.
LOL you actually believe the Supreme Court put him in there on purpose.
ReplyDeleteYou are such a kook! LOLOL!
I love it!
I gather you think they did it by accident?
ReplyDeleteWell, if it was sound legal reasoning that got Bush in office, why does Bush v. Gore clearly state, "This opinion has no precedential value."
ReplyDeleteAnybody who knows the slightest bit about the law--and how it values precedent--knows that that is a sign of a bogus decision.
Also, why did they not retire until after the 2004 election? The answer: doing so would've violated the seperation of powers clause of the constitution and they knew it.