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Bye-bye Bush?

38 comments on Bye-bye Bush?

Bye-bye Bush?
: Says a new Newsweek poll:

The survey released Saturday showed that 49 percent of registered voters would not back the president for a second term if the vote were held now. Forty-four percent would support Mr. Bush’s re-election.

The poll marked the first time in a Newsweek survey that supporters of Mr. Bush were out-numbered by those who would not like to see him back remain in office….

The Newsweek report attributed the decline in the president’s popularity to public disenchantment over the Iraq war. The poll found 69 percent of respondents said they were concerned that the United States will be bogged down for many years in Iraq without achieving its goals there. …

However, 61 percent still believe the United States was right to take military action against Iraq in March.

The war was a success. But the peace is hell.

38 responses to “Bye-bye Bush?”

  1. Jennifer Martinez Avatar
    Jennifer Martinez

    Oh I don’t believe in these silly “polls.” I’ve heard about them all my life yet I have never been called and asked these questions nor has anyone else that I know. How do we really know any of this poll related data is true? We don’t. I think someone makes it up periodically and then the left-leaning media runs with it.
    Jennifer Martinez sends

  2. Reid Avatar
    Reid

    I remember that, during the ’96 election, there were several polls, some from respectable polling organizations, predicting that Dole was actually drawing even with Clinton. Of course, in the end it was a blowout.
    One pollster who got it right then was Zogby, and it appears to me he has a pretty good track record. As a result, I usually pay most attention to whatever he comes up with.

  3. O'McSomething Avatar
    O’McSomething

    Exactly how was the war in Iraq a success? Because a couple INC guys were air-lifted in to help the Marines tear down a statue? And a guy in a blue and white striped shirt went around kissing soldiers and smashing Saddam’s head around? And please don’t start about all the mass graves that were found. We knew they were there and it is NOT the reason why Bush and the semug thugs in his administration lead us into this seriously miscalculated operation. This war was NOT and is NOT a success. Ever. Hundreds of our brave soldiers are dead and are dying by the day. It was a mistake to miscalculate the cost of this war in lives (not to mention the Billions it is costing us and will continue to cost us) BushCo and the rest of the arrogant smug thugs who prop him up.

  4. O'McSomething Avatar
    O’McSomething

    OK–I accidentally hit the post button in my anger, before I got a chance to finish it and clean it up a bit. Here’s the kissy smashy guy link. Sorry (but NOT really!) about the incoherent rant, but how can anyone call this war a success?

  5. beets Avatar
    beets

    Surprised VOA taking this tack.
    From the poll:
    “The biggest shift in opinion, however, comes in Bush

  6. Reid Avatar
    Reid

    O: As of 8/15/03, there were 155 Americans KIA in Iraq. According to this report, an average of 44 Americans are murdered every day and 117 die on our nations highways every day. Not to minimize the deaths of our brave men in service but, let’s get this into perspective.
    This war has been a huge success in removing an atrocious regime that supported terrorists and kept the entire region in a state of permanent anxiety. We have established hope that the first Arab democracy may become a reality, which would change the dynamics of the entire region and lift the people there to wonderful new heights. The Islamists know this, and that is why they are so keen to derail our progress there.
    Maybe you don’t care about people brutally murdered and buried in mass graves. I do. Guess I’m just funny that way.

  7. O'McSomething Avatar
    O’McSomething

    Maybe you don’t care about people brutally murdered and buried in mass graves. I do. Guess I’m just funny that way.
    Reid–Why do you have to put words in my mouth that I never thought, much less said? Yes, I was one of millions around the world protesting this operation on the streets before ‘shock’n’awe’ aka ‘shuck’n’jive’ began. I was talking about the reasons this administration gave for going to war against Iraq. They lied about the timeliness of the threat of WMDs, trashed the possibilities of having a real ‘coalition of the willing’, miscalculated what our troops would need to win the war and the peace, and our brave soldiers are taking the heat. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the lying crook some people call the potus is on vacation fundraising for his next grift between golf games. While the troops are having their tours extended. The least the bastard could have done was cancel his fucking vacation this year!

  8. Jeremy Avatar
    Jeremy

    Bin Laden was right. Americans are wimps.
    Bush will lose, and the next president will pull out the troops from Iraq, causing a huge mess.
    And Americans will have targets painted on their backs for the rest of eternity.

  9. Reid Avatar
    Reid

    Jeremy is right. The Islamists are pinning their hopes on people like “O’McSomething”.

  10. Matt McIrvin Avatar
    Matt McIrvin

    Strangely, as far as I know, not one of the major Democratic candidates is calling for the US to pull the troops out. I guess they have secret plans for secret wimpery.

  11. Reid Avatar
    Reid

    There is, however, some cause for optimism. The fact is that, due to the victories in the War on Terror and the absence of additional spectacular attacks at home, people are beginning to feel safe again and starting to focus more on their pocketbooks. To those who do not connect cause with effect, the Clinton administration created the wonderful internet bubble, but were safely gone when it popped. These folks mistakenly believe that, like a magic talisman, the good times may yet roll again if those who were there when they last rolled are there again.
    But, thanks to the administration’s expansionary fiscal policy, which spared the US a really severe recession from the twin shocks of the bubble bursting and the 9-11 attacks, the economy is swiftly rebounding. By election day, Iraq will be in good shape, the Islamists will be on the run all over the Middle East, and the economy will be perking madly along.
    I only regret that people like “O’Mcsomething” will never experience the pain and suffering they so heartily deserve after making things so difficult for the rest of us who are supporting the President in doing the right thing.

  12. O'McSomething Avatar
    O’McSomething

    I don’t think Americans are wimps. Quite the contrary. There are Americans all over the world proving their bravery every day. I think Bush’s foreign policy is a bloody tragedy. I pity the next president who inherits the mess he has made. I certainly don’t spend much time worrying what terrorists are hoping for. As for what “Islamists” hope for, I’m sure the majority of them hope for the same things that Christians, Jews, Buddhists or Atheists do.

  13. O' Avatar
    O’

    And I don’t feel safe.

  14. linden Avatar
    linden

    “I certainly don’t spend much time worrying what terrorists are hoping for.”
    You probably should.
    “As for what “Islamists” hope for, I’m sure the majority of them hope for the same things that Christians, Jews, Buddhists or Atheists do.”
    Only if Christians, Jews, Buddhists, etc. are hoping to cause your death, which I doubt. There is a real difference between the “Islamists” and most “Muslims”. I suggest you learn it.

  15. Reid Avatar
    Reid

    Bravo, linden. Well said.

  16. O'McSomething Avatar
    O’McSomething

    Merriam-Webster:
    Main Entry: Is

  17. linden Avatar
    linden

    Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism.
    Thanks, Reid.

  18. billhedrick Avatar
    billhedrick

    In the Blogosphere the term “Islamist” is interchangable with “Islamofascist” not “Muslim”
    FYI. It is asserted that most Muslims are not Islamofascists. I am agnostic on that matter.

  19. cmonks Avatar
    cmonks

    I only regret that people like “O’Mcsomething” will never experience the pain and suffering they so heartily deserve after making things so difficult for the rest of us who are supporting the President in doing the right thing.
    Lines like this do a world of bad for the right, Reid. Try to make a point next time without sounding like some uninspired vitriolic loser. You really want those who disagree with you to feel pain and suffering? If so, you’re no better than the terrorists you oppose.

  20. CharlesWT Avatar
    CharlesWT

    “I pity the next president who inherits the mess he has made.”
    Hmmm…seemingly a good argument for Bush critics to vote for Bush so that he forced to inherit his own mess… :)

  21. John Avatar
    John

    One key point in the pole is that Bush is paired against an undetermined Democratic opponent, so at this time, there are niether any specific positive or negatives about his opponent with which to measure opposition support (i.e. what is a positive or negative in the eyes of the voters about Howard Dean in a match-up with Bush would likely be far different then a potential Lieberman-Bush match-up).
    I would think in the next couple of weeks as the current gas shortages get worse, there will probably be further erosion in Bush’s numbers, though as has been proven over time, polls in September or October a year before an election often bear little resemblence to the final results (though a rising negative on Bush in the fall could entice Hillary into the 2004 race).

  22. Jennifer Martinez Avatar
    Jennifer Martinez

    O’McSomething, your kind words are pretty much the same words that were uttered in the 1960s-1970s to another generation of returning warriors. Have you ever stopped to think about how a Veteran of the Iraq War might feel were you to tell him to his face that the war he just fought in was a total failure? He may not appreciate it. I think it’s pretty rude. As one who has worked with Veterans for many years, rude and negative words like yours serve no purpose other than to harm our Veterans. They don’t need that.
    Jennifer Martinez sends

  23. Jennifer Martinez Avatar
    Jennifer Martinez

    “I pity the next president who inherits the mess he has made.”
    Yeah McSomething, that’s what we were thinking as Herr klinton’s term (FINALLY) came to an end.
    Martinez sends

  24. Rootbeer Avatar
    Rootbeer

    Haha, you spelled Clinton’s name with a K! That’s some quality political commentary there.

  25. Reid Avatar
    Reid

    cmonks – Oh please. The vitriol the left spews is 100 times worse. I have no intention of unilaterally disarming.
    This is not a game we are playing, you know. Three thousand Americans died on 9/11/03. If Mcwhatsits gets his way, it will happen again and again. I rather think I am entitled to wish him ill for that.
    You think you can persuade people to take the threats against us seriously while playing nice with the other side and acting like it makes no real difference whether his point of view or ours prevails? Wake up and smell the coffee, dude! Look over the asshole’s posts, will ya’? Here’s a selection:
    “Bush and the semug thugs in his administr”
    “BushCo and the rest of the arrogant smug thugs who prop him up”
    “The least the bastard could have done ”
    “the lying crook some people call the potus ”
    Get it? Look, if you don’t have the cojones to take these guys on, just leave it to those who do and keep oughta’ my face, OK?

  26. Bill Quick Avatar
    Bill Quick

    Who cares what the results of a questionable poll (all telephone polls are questionable) says about an election more than a year hence? Bush hasn’t even begun to campaign yet.
    I’m on record predicting a Bush landslide in 2004, and I don’t even like the guy all that well. Nothing in this poll gives me any reason to change my mind.

  27. Rootbeer Avatar
    Rootbeer

    Reid, I’m sorry to hear that another 3000 Americans will die next month (according to your post).
    I’m also sorry to hear that there’s still people who need no further justification to support the toppling of any other nation’s established government, right or wrong, than “we were victims of a [largely unrelated] terrorist movement”.

  28. neimen Avatar
    neimen

    disenchantment.
    served up properly, that cake looks good.
    but not everyone wants to look at the scales the next morning.
    what did these poll-people *think* the consequences and aftermath of the war would be? in the middle east, of all places…
    i won’t mind if bush isn’t reelected–if a better candidate is elected.
    but is there a stronger presidential candidate out there, at present? these poll-people can’t just vote *against* bush. they have to vote *for* someone…
    one would hope.
    newsflash at eleven. stay tuned.

  29. Reid Avatar
    Reid

    Rootbeer – hope that isn’t prophetic. I expect to be in NYC that day.
    And, I’m sorry you can’t see the oh-so-obvious links between the action in Iraq and the War on Terror.

  30. Eric Deamer Avatar
    Eric Deamer

    Bush vs. an unspecified Democrat is not a meaningful poll number, which even Tim Russert pointed out when discussing the poll on Sunday. What is meaningful for an incumbent president is approval rating, which is also slippin for Bush, which is to be expected with the economy not recovering and with the mainstream media relentlessly hammering away at negative news from Iraq. All of the bad news of course comes from Baghdad, where the old government was the main employer in town, and in the rest of the Sunni triangle, where everyone benefited from the Saddam Hussein regime. Its amazing that the media have already set up camp in the biggest city in Iraq and the surrounding area and act as if that’s the entire country, just like they do here. The front-page story on the sunday NYT was filed from a Shiite city only 2 hours away from Baghdad, and the reporter found a completely different story there, with little violence and everyone supporting the Americans. If the big media reporters are now willing to leave the Sunni triangle, I think you’ll find that the average American will have a completely different impression of how things are going in Iraq.

  31. Diana Avatar
    Diana

    1. Jeff, Bill: Some peace.
    2. Eric: if things are so great in the rest of the country (really?), and so bad in the Baghdad protectorate, that doesn’t say much for Iraq’s cohesiveness as a nation, does it?

  32. Eric Deamer Avatar
    Eric Deamer

    Diana:
    I’m not sure what you mean by the “Baghdad Protectorate”. The entire country is an American protectorate of sorts right now, right?
    Anyway, what you say may or may not be true but the mainstream media reports have not said anything about the country’s “cohesiveness”. They have reported almost entirely on the situation in and around Baghdad in order to create their grand “quagmire” narrative. If the headlines read “Iraq: Too incohesive to Govern?” as opposed to “What’s Plan B?” then that comment would be more relevant.

  33. Diana Avatar
    Diana

    I meant nothing by it, other than it is the part of the Iraq protectorate that has Baghdad as its center. It was just another way of saying “Sunni triangle,” which as far as I can determine is a media-created term.
    Does it make a difference to the core issue, which is that Iraq has no cohesiveness as a country?
    I don’t understand the point you’re making, so rather than bicker I’ll let my questions/comments stand.

  34. Tom Avatar
    Tom

    49 percent is not a majority of Americans. It is a plurality. While this poll is telling, it doesn’t mean Bush is going to lose. If 49 percent of Americans vote against him (and assuming there is no challenge from the right, like Perot), he still wins the election. (Also assuming it’s not a repeat of 2000’s debacle.)

  35. some guy Avatar
    some guy

    It would be genuinely amazing if Bush loses. I would give odds of about 1-15 against that happing.
    1)He won (well, tied) last time, and now he’s an incumbent — almost always a boost.
    2) He’s a Republican, and since the Republican party was founded, they have almost always won the Presidental elections UNLESS there was a special situation (third-candidate etc.)
    3) He’s cut taxes, which is usually popular.
    4) His party PICKED UP seats in the by-elections, which is unprecedented in recent history. This shows that tide is still strongly Republican.
    George Bush is NOT going to lose Florida in the next election. The fact that he only tied in Florida last time is pretty amazing, probably due to people not knowing him. in 2004 only Edwards would have a ghost of chance in Florida, and he doesn’t look to be the nominee.
    So what states are the Democrats going to pick up? I don’t see any.
    The economy will sputter and shed more jobs, but it won’t COMPLETELY tank for a few years, not with tax cuts and deficits of this magnitude.
    I don’t say this a Bush supporter. I think he’s just awful. I just don’t see how he can lose.

  36. Reid Avatar
    Reid

    “some guy”, obviously, you aren’t keeping up with the latest financial and business news.

  37. Diana Avatar
    Diana

    LOL. I make no predictions about the next election, but Florida is one state Bush WON’T win.

  38. Q Avatar
    Q

    In America, only a few hundred thousand Americans, out of 280 million, protested the war in Iraq. The concept of minority rule is deceptive. The silent majority is tired of the vocal minority bullies, the tide is turning.
    Remember, it was in Florida that the major news agencies falsly reported that Gore had won the election before the polls were even closed. This should have been challenged by the voters in Florida, not the chad crap.
    Let us not forget that hundreds of thousand of military votes were not counted either!

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