Ain't that the truth. (and the problem)
Bush's low poll numbers come from conservative disappointment in a number of his positions. Democrat hatred of him has been unchanged since his first day in office, a solid wall of noise that never varies, neither more nor less, and consequently can be safely ignored.
Democrats may thrill to his low numbers, but they shouldn't. They gain nothing from the fact that conservatives are mad at him. Conservatives are mad because he's too much like them, too willing to compromise with them, too many of his values align too easily with them. Conservative anger will not translate into a single vote for their side.
We want a conservative who will fight, who will spit in their eyes. Bush is never stronger than on those rare occasions when he's up for a fight. He wins almost every time. Its the rest of the time, when he's trying to woo the other side, when he's trying to split the difference with them, that his numbers fall to the point of disappearing.
So let that be a lesson to anyone planning to succeed Bush in the White House. I want bold. I want someone who is conservative, who understands conservative principle and isn't afraid to explain it and defend it. I want someone who isn't afraid of a fight; we'll be there with you, don't worry.
I want bold.
>>>>Bush rejects limited government and many of the philosophical assumptions that underlie that position. He favors instead strong BIG government.
Nothing wrong with favoring a strong government. Just cut the overall expectations down to size.
Here is a story I remember from decades ago. It pertains to Nixon when he got started in politics.
He said it didn 't matter. He could be a Democrat or Republican.
Now go back in time. California was probably MORE Republican, then. Hence Nixon became a Republican.
But give Nixon credit. He was willing to confront totalitarianism; then called "communism." His democrat opponents were less willing to.
Likewise Bush today seems willing to confront islam's worst side. His opponents seem less willing.
Nixon led a fascinating life. Like him or hate him, he was "In the Arena."
All the President's Men 8:00 PM, 2 hrs 30 min Sat 05/06/2006 WPTD 16 Other/Drama PG, Strong Language, English, 1976 Alan J. Pakula's account of the Watergate scandal as uncovered by Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman). Jason Robards (Best Supporting Actor), Martin Balsam, Jack Warden, Hal Holbrook, Jane Alexander. Oscar-winning script by William Goldman, who adapted Woodward and Bernstein's book. Cast & Credits: Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam
Yawn ... yet another calculated attempt to disenchant the base. This will increase in fervor as we get closer to November.
Ah, Jonah...another Bot falls by the wayside. Have you taken down your altar yet?
And perhaps Johah is twisting history to try to make a point.
Is that really true? Reagan and Reaganism are the ideal type, but Nixon and Bush are closer to the reality. To some extent that was even true during the Reagan administration. The administration and the party fell short of what the ideologists and Reagan himself wanted.
If ideology is all you do, it's not so hard to be ideologically pure and consistent. Bush comes out of 1) his father's government world, and 2) the business environment, so it's natural that he isn't as staunchly in favor of small government as Jonah is.
Girly Boy Goldberg, also, fired Ann Coulter for her comments about his Islamic buddies after 9/11.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/537772/posts
Fired Conservative Columnist Anne Coulter Getting 'Great Publicity'
CNS News ^ | 10/2/01
Posted on 10/02/2001 9:14:04 AM PDT by truthandlife
Conservative columnist Ann Coulter, fired from her contributing editor perch at the National Review Online, blames it on free-speech hysteria in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. In a recent online column, Coulter opined that the United States should respond forcefully to the terrorist attacks: "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity," she said. The comment provoked an uproar, and the National Review Online subsequently refused to run another Coulter piece in which she referred to "swarthy males." When Coulter complained, she was fired. Tuesday's Washington Post quotes Coulter as saying she doesn't need friends like that. "Every once in awhile they'll throw one of their people to the wolves to get good press in left-wing publications," she told the newspaper. National Review Online Editor Jonah Goldberg told the Post, "We didn't feel we wanted to be associated with the comments expressed in those two columns." Coulter told the Washington Post she's getting great publicity as a result of the flap.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/537772/posts
Don't badmouth President Nixon by comparing him th gw.
I supported GWB because after the stink of the Clinton years this country desperately needed a good and decent man in the White House, regardless of his political orientation. Bush was that man; and though he has been conservative enough in some regards, in others he has been sadly lacking. I'll vote for him again if it's a choice between him and a liberal Democrat, and don't try to tell me there's no difference between the two.
While Reagan looks like the perfect President through the soft lens of history ... I suspect if there had been a Free Republic back then, we'd be having these same arguments about him.
Spending too much, retreating from Lebanon, granting amnesty to illegals, etc.....
I've been comparing Bush to Nixon for weeks, now. I'm glad Goldberg has given the obvious Bush-big-government-Nixon similarities more visibility to minimize the blasphemous Reagan comparisons.
Patches Kennedy, Lisa Minelli (pleeze!), the Nelsons, Lisa Marie.
Thank goodness Liberace didn't produce any offspring or we might have a Senator Liberace, Jr. now!
This explains everything.
Confident Democrats Lay Out Agenda
"Democratic leaders, increasingly confident they will seize control of the House in November, are laying plans for a legislative blitz during their first week in power that would raise the minimum wage, roll back parts of the Republican prescription drug law, implement homeland security measures and reinstate lapsed budget deficit controls.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) said in an interview last week that a Democratic House would launch a series of investigations of the Bush administration, beginning with the White House's first-term energy task force and probably including the use of intelligence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. Pelosi denied Republican allegations that a Democratic House would move quickly to impeach President Bush. "