There is a lot of hand-wringing going on over in the GOP about President Bush's abysmal poll numbers, which are at the lowest point in his entire presidency. So, why are they so low?
There is, as with any president, an entrenched group that despises Bush and will never look favorably on anything he does. The problem for the president is that there is increasing disquiet among middle-of-the-road voters and among people who would usually be predisposed to favor Bush.
These are the people who (naively or not) took President Bush at his word when he ran on a platform of compassionate conservatism and fiscal responsibility. They take the war in Iraq and the problem of terrorism seriously. Unfortunately for them, the Bush administration doesn't seem to take much of anything seriously.
This is the administration, after all, that failed to adequately plan for a post-war Iraq and refused to provide enough troops to do the job. With each passing month, the shadow cast by that failure looms larger and is harder to ignore.
Some fiscal conservatives balked at the President's plan to go ahead with massive tax cuts even after the economic climate that made those cuts possible was obliterated by the post-9/11 recession. It turns out that these tax cuts were only a hint of the profligacy that was to come. Now that the budget deficit is enormous and cash is literally hemorrhaging out of the national coffers because of Iraq and Katrina (and, soon, Rita), the conservative establishment in this country is finally waking up to the disaster that the Bush administration has been for their ideals. Some brave conservatives, like Andrew Sullivan, have been sounding the alarm all along. Maybe now people will listen.
There's no question that Hurricane Katrina has a lot to do with the changing perceptions of President Bush. Budget wonks are freaking out about where the $200-odd-billion in disaster relief money is going to come from. It's getting so bad the there are Republicans in Congress actually willing to stand up and vote against legislation that Bush supports. It may sound pathetically inconsequential, but it wouldn't have happened a few months ago.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Bennett
Great post, Pete. You nail it with the question "Why are his numbers so high?"
Thanks!
2 - Porky
If those polls you're talking about actually meant something, then it might be worth worrying about. However, we all know that those polls, such as the Gallup, are merely made up of votes by the left.
Rarely do they ever allow outward conservatives participate in those polls so, to me they're about as worthless as John Kerry or maybe even more so.
3 - Pete Blackwell
OK, well what about all these right wingers like Malkin, NRO and even Ann Freakin Coulter piling on the criticisms of Bush. Is that a liberal ploy, too?
4 - steve
bush may not be the best public speaker...but he is a great president. Many people discredit him due to this...wish they didnt
5 - Steve S
This editorial from ultra-conservative American Spectator magazine should be added to the list of revolting conservatives.
(oh, that sounds bad)
6 - RogerMDillion
I wonder if george know how much a gallon of milk costs?
7 - Eric Berlin
I think it's becoming clear that 9/11, Iraq, and Katrina are becoming the defining moments for the Bush presidency, for good or ill. Even many conservatives agree that Bush's legacy (which I don't care that much about, personally) now hangs in the balance.
Novak's column today described a Colorado retreat of rich business-types, most Bush backers, who spent the weekend bashing the President. Bush aides wound up, in Novak's words, running up to him to thank him for his support.
It's a new political era now... even if many don't quite realize it yet.
8 - Doug Hannan
It's a new political era now... even if many don't quite realize it yet.
No doubt. Your post prompted me to read some of his recent columns. Holy shit! The self-satisfied toady is quite clearly readying his over-stuffed ass to leap from the sinking Bush ship. It's like watching Hitler's Generals in WWII finally waking up to the fact their beloved Fuhrer is a meglomaniacal fruitcake who must be stoped at all costs. The interesting sport for the next few months will be seeing how long the remaining loyal Bushites will continue to insist that No, our Emperor IS wearing clothes. (Note: If you are prompted to reply that this post is tantamount to comparing Bush to Hitler and therefore uncalled for, you are wrong. I am merely pointing out that the PROCESS of growing disillusionment with ones leader bears demonstrable similarities to the WWII antecedent.)
9 - Wild Bill
And then, mr. hannan, there are some of us who believe polls are meaningless no matter how they swing in favor or disfavor of someone.
I would have thought that the last two presidential elections would have proved that belief with all certainty.
10 - Pete Blackwell
The polls are one obvious measure, but the defection of prominent conservative voices from penumbra of the Bush administration's collective asshole (where they'd sought shelter and sustenance for so long) is another, and it's not driven by polls. It just so happens that the polls may be reflecting something that's happening in the real world (for a change).
11 - Pete Blackwell
PS. Doug, why do you think Bush is a Nazi?
12 - Eric Berlin
...penumbra of the Bush administration's collective asshole (where they'd sought shelter and sustenance for so long
Wow -- that's quite an image you painted for us there, Pete!
13 - Pete Blackwell
I imagine it as a Hieronymus Bosch painting. Lots of earth tones.
14 - Nancy
I've started thinking maybe for the Dems losing the 2000 & 2004 elections may be the best thing that ever happened to them, even if it's the worst that happened in the best interests of the US itself. I've started thinking that this time, the Publicans have gone too far, & aided by nature & their own greed & egregious arrogance, are going down - hopefully, for good, or at least for a long, long, loooooooooong time before anyone ever trusts them with a burnt-out match again. Problem is, the Dems are just as committed to the lavish out-of-touch-with-reality lifestyles of the political & wealthy, and as soon as they're in, are going to do pretty much the same pork-barrel stuffing shit as the Pubs do. Politicians change their parties, perhaps, but never their predilictions to live life high & exspensively (including being generous & caring) on Other Peoples Money. However, I must say I've never seen such blatant cronyism in ANY administration as there has been in this one, and a level of corruption that must reach all the way back about 150 years or so to equal that of Bush today.
So, the rats on the Hill & in the media are bailing from the sinking SS Smirk; with any luck, they'll all drown in the undertow anyway. They sure won't be able to take refuge w/the Dummy Dems.
15 - Eric Berlin
Yes Nancy, it often takes being on the outs for a while for a party to truly gets its house and message in order. The Dems have a ways to go to quite do that, but success (which in some measure seems likely) in '06 will propel the nominating process for '08, where hopefully a unified and successful message/theme will be found that resonates with people.
16 - Pete Blackwell
Well, the Democrats seem bereft of ideas themselves, and the Republican ideological exodus seems to be calculated to distance 2006 and 2008 candidates from the errors of the current administration. A democratic vistory in the midterm '06 elections is by no means guaranteed.
17 - Nancy
A major part of the problem has nothing to do with either political party: it has to do with the fact that congress has pretty much written the laws at this point so that they are almost totally insulated from accountability, investigation, prosecution, removal, and/or loss of privileges & the huge package of retirement & benefits they've bestowed on themselves. They can (and do) lie, steal, cheat, & get away - sometimes almost literally - with murder, and there's not a damn thing anybody can do about it. They ignore 'ethics' rules - which are already flimsy, laughable, & mostly unenforced - constantly & blatantly. Unless their colleagues - their fellow thieves & liars in congress - slap their wrists, any wrongdoing is simply glossed over and written off as being misunderstood, misrepresented, or a mistake. Any other person in any other position would pay with their lives for these 'mistakes', 'misspeaks', etc. or at the very least lose their jobs or go to jail for a very, very long time, yet these monsters of privilege go on and on, immune & smug in the knowledge that they are so.
What can be done about this? How can congress be forced to rescind all these special exemptions that render them above the laws and beyond the rules? I may like to fantasize, but I recognize that the Terminator is not likely to show up and blow all these maggots to smithereens like he should, if they were to get what they all deserve. Some brave, patriotic soul DID try to poison them all with anthrax, but picked a very slow-acting, not very efficient disease & an awkward way to disseminate it. So, realistically, how do we go about forcing them to pull down the walls they've erected for their own comfort & ease of misbehavior?
18 - Pete Blackwell
Well, the Terminator just might come to Washington, God help us all. Just a little tweak of the election laws and we'll have our first Austrian emper--I mean, president.
BTW, not sure about your praise for the anthrax attacks. I prefer the ballot to the bullet or the spore as my weapon of choice.
19 - Nancy
If you're trying to rid a place of vermin, you have to fumigate & get all of them, or they just come back. Besides, as I said, the problem isn't actually one of party; I've come to agree with others on this site who opine that there is no substantial difference between Dems & Pubs; both sides are dedicated ultimately and totally to their own aggrandizement & subsidization at the expense of the public.
20 - Pete Blackwell
Let's fumigate them with the fresh air of freedom and democracy. Better that than a sheep-shearer's disease that, as we all learned, doesn't work so well anyway.
21 - Nancy
How? There is no virtue so strong that politicians cannot corrupt it or pervert it to their own use. Look at how BushCo perverts "patriotism", "freedom" (for whom?), religion, and so many others. The Dems haven't done much lately, but then they've been out of power now for 5+ years. I'm sure they'll do a bang-up job of perversion, too, when they get back in.
22 - volt
Nancy, you are right about accountability, but it is the republican majority that has continuously blocked every investigation or oversite over the last 5 years not the dems. Today, they are essentially blocking any serious investigation into Katrina which makes sense since it is more important to protect themselves than save lives the next time around.
But what do you expect when the republican leadership are criminals? how delay is not yet in jail is one of life's great mysteries. and if frist does not go to jail after the latest revelations of his insider trading, well than martha stewart should be very angry. these people are so corrupt and act with such impunity and hubris that their carelessness is finally catching up with them.
The only reason why delay is still standing is that he could pull down too many members of congress with him. he will fall though by way of jack abramoff who is likely to take many congressmen with him. rove and or bolton look to be indicted soon in plame gate. rove also has connections to abramoff. the head of procurement at the white house was arrested this week. he too had dealings with abramoff.
but those are only the tip of the iceberg. the corruption is pervasive througout. one of my favorites examples is san diego rep. duke cunniham's flipping of boats and houses for great profit, well above market value, to a defense contractor who he helped secure contracts for. but im sure there was no quid pro quo.
it is actually hard to read too much of this stuff because the corruption and graft is so blatant, gross, and disgusting. it sickens me.
23 - Nancy
Yeah, but you notice that, arrests or not, none of them ever goes - is going - has gone - to jail, dontcha? They buy their way out. Or get presidential pardons - AND medals for doing a "heckuva good job!"
Scumbag bastards.
24 - Jim
You freaking moonbats, go hug a sheehan. Once again you are being outsmarted by the right. You will never learn. 62 million people disagree with you and you still think you are right. I am very happy, keep sheehan under your wing, and dean at the helm, we won't even have to campaign. America is in touch and you are not, thats why you can't get elected. The polls are a farce and everyone knows that except you. I love America!!
25 - Pete Blackwell
Jim, I'm curious to know why you're prattleing on about Sheehan when she's not mentioned *at all* in this post. Generally these comments are used to respond to what's actually written in the post itself.
Your nonsequitor about the Democratics fails to recognize that this post is about *Republicans* increasing criticisms of the Bush administration.
Who's the moonbat now?