Posted on 02/06/2007 8:34:24 AM PST by jamese777
Bush's poll numbers are not so much about the "job he's doing" as it is about the percent of weenies in our population.
I am very glad that President Bush is a real leader who does not give a damn about polls. In times of war we need a Leader President not a politician President.
"What does it matter about his approval rating? Did I miss a big change in the way things work now and he is eligible to run for office again?
What he needs to do now is tell us all this, "Hi America. I come to you now to explain how I am going to be handling the situation in the Middle East from now on. Congress isn't going to like it, the House isn't going to like it and a lot of you citizens aren't going to like it. But, I don't give a damn. It needs to be done. First off, we are going to be killing a lot of terrorists/insurgents/upset natives (What ever it is you like to call them now.) Secondly, we are going to be blowing a lot of shit up. This is how it is going to go until I feel it is time for us to pull out or until I am replaced as COMMANDER!"
Presidential Job Approval Ratings and Personal Favorability Ratings translate in how much of a bully pulpit the President has to implement his programs at any particular point in time. The fact that there are so many Republicans "off the reservation" right now and that the Democrats are so emboldened to take him on are directly related to his popularity with the American people. A very approved of and popular President can wield considerable influence just through his personality. An unpopular and weakened President, not so much.
a Fox News poll is your idea of authoritative?
Correctamundooo.
No, but lots of his allies are, and these low approval ratings are bad news for us in 2008, just as they were in 2006. Somebody mentioned Truman's low approval ratings. In 1952, backlash voters voted Republican across the board and gave the GOP control of the Presidency and both houses of Congress for the first time since 1930. If Bush doesn't do something to change his standing we'll probably be enduring the same thing next year.
I agree, and his refusal to pardon wrongfully convicted border agents Ramos and Compean, or rein in his "justice" department, shows how committed he is to open borders and destroying our sovereignty.
What conservative can approve of a such a president?
To the MSM, this is a clear sign of Deaniacs hating Bush 2x as much as before. 100% disapproval among Marxists --> 200% disapproval among Marxists. Thus, approval 50%/(150%) --> 33%. According to this Paul Krugman-like analysis, the only answer is more socialism and even more "progressive" taxation. Duh.
Nah, couldn't be possible that that such an overall loss in support is instead due to either:
(1) a loss of support at several tables under the conservative tent. If FR is any indication of conservatism at-large within America, the WOT does not render unto Bush blanket absolution for all domestic policies.
(2) a loss of support from independents, some that you should not even hope to try to please (especially the "we want low taxes and lots of government services and handouts" crowd of 'moderates').
Some will say there is no difference between (1) and (2). They are part of the problem.
Well .. Rasmussen still has Bush above 40% - and even they are oversampling dems by 7%. So .. actually Bush is even closer to 45% than ANYONE IS WILLING TO ADMIT.
And .. it was recently discovered that some pollsters were oversampling dems by as much as 22% (which is way out of line) - and is an increase over the 16% they were using during the 2006 elections.
If these idiots are having to increase their oversampling by 6% in order to get the low numbers they want .. then Bush MUST BE INCREASING IN APPROVAL .. NOT DECREASING.
How about a few letters to the editors around the country pointing out these FAKE NUMBERS.
Whatever else can be said about the President, he's governed as he campaigned. Anyone who thought he was a Reagan Conservative on all issues in 2000 wasn't paying attention to what the man was saying.
It only shows what happens when a politician tries to please everybody.
If it isn't zero, he isn't trying hard enough. ;)
Frankly, I think he missed the boat after the 2004 election. He came back in on a wave of popularity, and millions of extra voters turned out for him. He had a lot of momentum. The Dems and their pundits were terrified. Then he did . . . nothing.
Oh, he put all his political capital on social security reform, and that predictably went nowhere. He wasted months and months while the press and the Dems pulled themselves together again, and his supporters lost heart. He has spent far too much time stroking the left and cozying up to them, which has gotten him exactly nowhere. They still hate his guts. But in the process, he managed to lose his base.
I don't see how he can pull it together now. It's too late. the only thing he can do is rally the Republicans in congress, prevent the Democrats from passing stupid bills, and make them look radical and stupid. But he's not doing that too terribly well, either.
A couple of basic political rules he never seemed to understand. The most basic of all: reward your friends and punish your enemies. Clinton understood that, and in spite of producing a new scandal every week he managed to ride the resulting waves of popularity. Bush seems to think that you win by rewarding your enemies and punishing your friends. No, it doesn't work that way.
President Clinton had high personal approval ratings in his Second Term and didn't accomplish a thing. He had no "bully pulpit" despite his personal popularity.
Reagan also lost the Senate in his sixth year and in his last two years he couldn't get anything done.
The REAL issue is that there is only one person in Washington who wants to get anything done and that's the President. Everyone else is running for 2008, and it's been that way since December 2004.
32% Oh no! Does he still get to be president?
Well he is at 91% with me..... The more I think about what the media has done to harm our country the more I dispise the liberal left loons.
Clinton punished his friends and rewarded his enemies. HE managed to stay popular at the cost of losing control of Congress and weakening the 'rat party in general.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.