Bush Re-Election Sunnier Than Father's

Newsday ^ | January 23, 2004, 2:41 PM EST | NANCY BENAC, AP

[A_Niceguy_in_CA]

WASHINGTON -- A political snapshot of America taken from the White House window couldn't look more different for President Bush than what his father saw from the same vantage on a cold January day 12 years ago.

In hard statistics and a harder-to-define sense of how the country is doing, today's view is one Bush's father could only have envied as he entered the re-election year of 1992. And, likewise, the public's impression of this President Bush is much kinder than was the assessment of his father at the same point in his presidency.

[ohioWfan]

Isn't that BEAUTIFUL news, onyx??

What that means is that the future looks brighter.

I heard an analyst say that older Americans had Hoover, and then FDR as their two first Presidents of memory, and became lifelong dems.

These young people have had xlinton, and now GEORGE W. BUSH as their first Presidents, and many will become lifelong Republicans! Go W!!

I know that pundits are trying to make something of Kerry's 42% to Bush's 49%, but IMO, that means nothing right now, other than that some of that 42% perceive that he might be able to win after Iowa.

I don't think he can with the Bush political juggernaut.

I say landslide. Work like it's going to be razor thin, and then enjoy the election returns on the night of November 2nd!

[onyx]

That's our ethic: work like it's going to be razor thin.


Don't miss the good news stats in post #60.

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks for the ping !

"If you were a poker player, you would want his hand," Democratic strategist Jim Duffy says of the current president.

And Bush is a great poker player ! He will play the hand he's dealt just fine ...

[BigSkyFreeper]

Bush is ticking off his base on two fronts: *snip*

Another "alienating the base" alert

[BigSkyFreeper]

Definately good news. :) Thanks for the ping!

[BigSkyFreeper]

Furthermore, Bush has yet to do any campaigning or has yet to run a political advertisement touting his agenda. :) I figure once the convention is over, Bush will come out onto the campaign trail with guns blazing.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Saddam underestimated Bush, and any one of his political opponents will make the same mistake. :)

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

Here's a hypothetical tinfoil hat type question. Suppose the nominee were to not be able to fulfill his duties, would his running mate take over? Suppose the running mate declined, who would run then? I'm just looking at order of succession issues here -- thinking about what happened in NJ with Lautenberg.

[gatorbait]

If Free Republic existed in 1984, many of our favorite posters would be complaining about how Reagan had completely alienated his base by actually raising taxes in 1982 after the 1981 Tax Reform Act, was spending money like crazy, withdrew from Lebanon, etc. They would all be longing for Goldwater

You're right and I'll give odds that sat on their hams then and whined anyway. They can take a flying leap at several rolling doughnuts.

[discostu]

I don't know. I'd guess the running mate would take it, otherwise it's probably up to the party but also the states since they'll be a ballot issue. It would probably be too messy a situation for a good conspiracy. Remember most of the nomination process is rule but not law, each part makes their own rules up until names actually wind up on ballots. So anything before ballot deadline dates is pretty much up to the party, after ballot deadline dates though you've got 51 different sets of laws to contend with. Situations like that fracture organizations, smartest bet if a nominee bit it after ballot deadlines would be to just throw in the towel, regroup for next time around and don't create some sort of Lutheran reformation schism.

[nopardons]

But many of the whingers, today, weren't even born back then, some of them were still in grade school, and they haven't the glimmer of an idea what President Reagan did. LOL

[gatorbait]

Oh man, I may get the vapors..an alienated base oh , oh .oh . whatever shall we do? BigSky, I have the answer, let's have them pray to St Pat for holy Ross and blessed Browne to come from Goldwaterhalla to show us our errors.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

Thanks for the reply. I'm sure you're right, I just keep remembering thinking that NJ was in play, and then they pulled a rabbit out of the hat.

Then again, they blew it with the Wellstone memorial service.

[nopardons]

LOL,LOL,LOL !

[gatorbait]

But many of the whingers, today, weren't even born back then, some of them were still in grade school, and they haven't the glimmer of an idea what President Reagan did. LOL

Big words and complex ideas confuse them too. Think we ought to provide pictures and crayons?

[onyx]

LMAO! Very funny comments.

[LoudRepublicangirl]

While I am apprehensive about his illegal worker plan, I intend to vote for GW. I realize that while he is a great president, he is still a man and is not perfect. I just fear that by allowing illegals to work legally(did I just say that?) it opens a portal for more entitlements for them. The welfare and hispanic lobby will demand that all illegal workers receive healthcare, food stamps,etc. I see illegal Mexicans in my office who are pregnant and getting free health care during their pregnancies. Then once the citizen child is born they immediately get free health care and food stamps, etc for the citizen child.

[nopardons]

Yes, but the washable kind of crayons. LOL

[latina4dubya]

Maybe the Lord was telling the father not to campaign too hard, because if the father hadn't lost in '92, his son wouldn't have run in 2000. Not circumstantial to those of us who understand that he has been called to lead us right now, at such a time as this.....

i do believe he was called to lead this nation at this time, as i believe that John Ashcroft was called to be the AG at this time, and Rudy Guliani was called to lead NYC during 9/11 instead of being in the senate... however, why would Dubya not have run for prez in 2000 if his father won in 92?

[ohioWfan]

It was their father's loss in 1992 that was part of the motivation for both George W. and Jeb to run for Governors of their respective states. Bush 41 would still have been President in 1994 when George W ran for Governor.

It was his incredible leadership in Texas that led OTHERS to beg him to run for President in 2000, and it was during a sermon sitting in church with his Mom that he began to feel God's call to run........and praise the Lord that he said 'Yes' to God's call!