I've been a proud "Bush-bot" for years. He's a decent man, has some good policies, and has done fairly well on the WOT..; however, count me as one who has turned increasingly sour on President Bush...
Sure, I have issues with his (lack of) borders issue, his "spending-like-a-drunken-sailor", etc. I look at his record holistically, I'm not a single-issue voter, nor do I blast the President or turn on him because he doesn't think or act in lockstep with my views.
The turning point for me is his (and the GOP leadership's - Cheney, who's a DISASTER, IMHO, Frist, Hastert, etc) reticence to fight back. For those that know me, I've been complaining about this profusely, ever since none of these guys ever disputed Kennedy's "lie after lie after lie" outrage, and his comment that the war was "staged in Crawford for political purposes"...
Not challenging them only emboldened them. Kerry, a lying traitor, almost became President because Bush allowed him to lie time and again, and through the debates, without challenging him. The whole Katrina mess, where Bush just turned the other cheek... It goes on and on... Much of America believes many of these lies, and yesterday's results, to some degree, reflect this.
It may be too late to get the record straight at this point, unless Bush gets rid of Cheney (Condi), replaces McClellen, and FIGHTS BACK AGAINST THE OUTRAGEOUS CHARGES!
"Kerry, a lying traitor, almost became President because Bush allowed him to lie time and again, and through the debates, without challenging him."
And that's where, if there's any doubt from someone on the left, that they believe the lies--by Bush not fighting back.
Now, by not fighting back they're going to get away with making this war look "false".
And no matter how well we can debate joe-six-pack liberal voter and send him running; it's this weakness of Bush that confirms their convictions about the president.
When the president caves, or is silent about something that is SO FREAKING EASY TO NUKE INTO POWDER, it gives us no option but to give up. It makes our words of truth useless to the people we might debate in everyday life.
All they have to do is look at he actions or inaction of the president, and there's no convincing anyone at this point.