Posted on 04/05/2008 4:43:11 PM PDT by Kaslin
People are bumed, at least according the latest Ny Times poll.
“Americans are more dissatisfied with the country’s direction than at any time since the New York Times/CBS News poll began asking about the subject in the early 1990s, according to the latest poll.
In the poll, 81 percent of respondents said they believed “things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track,” up from 69 percent a year ago and 35 percent in early 2002.
Although the public mood has been darkening since the early days of the war in Iraq, it has taken a new turn for the worse in the last few months, as the economy has seemed to slip into recession. There is now nearly a national consensus that the country faces significant problems.
A majority of nearly every demographic and political group — Democrats and Republicans, men and women, residents of cities and rural areas, college graduates and those who finished only high school — say the United States is headed in the wrong direction. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said the country was worse off than five years ago; just 4 percent said it was better off.
The dissatisfaction is especially striking because public opinion usually hits its low point only in the months and years after an economic downturn, not at the beginning of one. Today, however, Americans report being deeply worried about the country even though many say their own personal finances are still in fairly good shape.
Only 21 percent of respondents said the overall economy was in good condition, the lowest such number since late 1992, when the recession that began in the summer of 1990 had already been over for more than a year. In the latest poll, two in three people said they believed the economy was in recession today.
The unhappiness presents clear risks for Republicans in this year’s elections, given the continued unpopularity of President Bush. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they approved of the job he was doing, a number that has barely changed since last summer. But Democrats, who have controlled the House and Senate since last year, also face the risk that unhappy voters will punish Congressional incumbents.”
Pssst, Ny Times……Republicans aren’t in charge of congress. As pointed out here much of the decline in the economy has occurred since Democrats took control of congress. Much of the economy is fueled by legislative acts of the House and Senate, more so in the House. Yet since 2006 how much “fixing” has the Democratically controlled congress accomplished?
Yep, nothing at all. Instead this Democratically controlled congress has spent it’s fist year chasing after phantoms and faked scandals all while the economy took hit after hit.
Point of fact the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn, who ran a “never going to happen” presidential bid throughout 2007, yet almost no time chairing his committee. Prompting Bob Novak to note in a Nov. 2007 column:
“Sen. Christopher Dodd’s absence from Washington while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination has not only created a backlog of House-passed legislation at the Senate Banking Committee that he chairs. It also has resulted in unconfirmed presidential appointees, including three governors of the Federal Reserve Board.
The three proposed Fed governors — financier Larry Allan Klane, banker Elizabeth A. Duke and economist Randall S. Kroszner (now serving on the board) — all were nominated in May. Hearings were held by August, but the Banking Committee has taken no action on them.”
The only “backlash” that might happen would be against the dead weights that voters put into office in 2006. The GOP needs to get this message out to voters.
I see, that I am not the only one who puts the blame on the bad economy where it belongs
perception is reality, though. And the public, with the MSM’s help, blames President Bush, and buy extension, all Republicans. I don’t know what we can do about it. Thakfully Osama Obama a Hitlery ar the opposition, and I don’t think either of them is electable. It may get ugly in downticket races, though.
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the GOP needs to be much more forceful in getting this message across.
They’re too busy claiming that nothing is wrong with the economy - in between massive bailout plans and proposing new regulatory bureaucracy.
-- snip --
Pssst, Ny Times……Republicans aren’t in charge of congress. As pointed out here much of the decline in the economy has occurred since Democrats took control of congress. Much of the economy is fueled by legislative acts of the House and Senate, more so in the House. Yet since 2006 how much “fixing” has the Democratically controlled congress accomplished?
Yep, nothing at all. Instead this Democratically controlled congress has spent it’s fist year chasing after phantoms and faked scandals all while the economy took hit after hit.
-- snip --
The economy is perceived as bad by the majority of Americans who live at the median income and below. They perceive it that way because in their lives inflation is considerably affecting their lives. Gasoline and food have dramatically increased in the last few years, and it makes their outlook gloomier.
The inflation measure used today looks only at “core inflation” and doesn’t include energy (oil) and food. So, while the politicians say everything is rosy, the average Joe is having a hard time making ends meet.
I would encourage everyone to remember the “misery index” of Ronald Reagan. It combined inflation and unemployment. He used it to batter Jimmy Carter into a presidential loss of historic proportions. Inflation at that time included energy and food, IIRC.
Reagan defeated BOTH core inflation and Volatile inflation with a steady hand, honesty, and tax cuts.
Any contender for the White House better be prepared to address this issue or to lose lots of middle/lower middle class votes.
The “democrat controlled” congress isn’t even worth paying attention to lately, because as you stated from the article, they are chasing phantoms and creating PR situations.
Meanwhile, Bush appointees Paulson and Bernanke are the ones “working” on a solution that is going to cost half a trillion and a massive new bureaucracy by the time its done.
The GOP getting a message out? How about spineless? Wimp? Dishrag? Impotent? Thats the only message they successfully get out year after year!
Bush is a lousy communicator, stubborn as a mule, and deaf to his constituents (you know, the people who like voted for him). The oil crisis is my favorite case in point. The guys been on the job for seven years, during which time no new domestic production was brought on line and no new refineries were built (OK a couple of old ones were enlarged BFD). ZERO new nuclear plants. Instead Bush prattles on like Al Gore about Älternative Energy, Addicted to Oil, yadda-yadda-yadda. I won't even bore you with his inattention to the border with Mexico and illegal immigration... and oy vey the spending!
All told, Bush has led the GOP to the absolute brink of its demise. What are we looking at here? 20 years of Democrat rule?
Blame the Democrats? OK. But where's the leadership? We had a Republican Congress for a while, too. Now he's leaving behind a very messy legacy; leaving the door wide open to the likes of Algonquin J. Obama, aka the Golden-Tongued Anointed One, the half-assed half-caste marxist wannabe gangsta from Harvard.
Thanks George. Let's pray that McCain, (JHC, Open Border McCain!)can beat the best the politburo chooses as their candidate.
Bush is a lousy communicator, stubborn as a mule, and deaf to his constituents (you know, the people who like voted for him). The oil crisis is my favorite case in point. The guys been on the job for seven years, during which time no new domestic production was brought on line and no new refineries were built (OK a couple of old ones were enlarged BFD). ZERO new nuclear plants. Instead Bush prattles on like Al Gore about Älternative Energy, Addicted to Oil, yadda-yadda-yadda. I won't even bore you with his inattention to the border with Mexico and illegal immigration... and oy vey the spending!
All told, Bush has led the GOP to the absolute brink of its demise. What are we looking at here? 20 years of Democrat rule?
Blame the Democrats? OK. But where's the leadership? We had a Republican Congress for a while, too. Now he's leaving behind a very messy legacy; leaving the door wide open to the likes of Algonquin J. Obama, aka the Golden-Tongued Anointed One, the half-assed half-caste marxist wannabe gangsta from Harvard.
Thanks, George. Enjoy the ranch. Let's pray that McCain, (JHC, Open Border McCain!)can beat the best the politburo chooses as their candidate.
btt
The econmy was great when we had control in congress but since the Rats or liberals took over it went downward
Bush has lead well—particularly in the areas he controls such as the military.
Congress has lead poorly— particularly since Democrats took control in 2006.
The media has lead effectively in its area— to propagandize the public as to why Republicans are bad.
This article drips with that reality. The public oddly holds negative views out of sync from other economic cycles?
Silly.
The media tells the public what to think. They did it with Bush 1 and they did it with Bush 2. Thanks to the internet the Media failed in round 2. They are failing again in the current cycle. Dems do not have strong prospects of winning this election.
“...and the public, with the msm’s help, blames president bush, and by extension, all republicans...”
democrats and the msm....american insurgents in action.
correction: american scu&bag insurgents in action.
He utterly fails as a communicator and a persuader. No matter how well-intentioned he may be, he simply cannot defend ... or even explain ... his own policies.
The Democrat Congress was a direct result of that poor leadership... both from the White House and the Congressional Republicans. The GOP has dug its own grave and covered us with the dirt.
Bush has 8 months to turn around 8 years of the public's perception of his bumbling. Sure the MSM is against him. That's a given. But the Republicans have a disease: communicophobia. We arrogantly feel that being good or doing good is enough. It isn't. This is America: ya got something good, ya gotta SELL it... in competition with others who have other stuff to sell.
The media has lead(sic) effectively in its area— to propagandize the public as to why Republicans are bad.
Apparently the Republicans, aka The Party of Business (?) have never heard of advertising or public relations. They should. They have been victimized by the other team's more skillful use of tools available to all.
I have to admit that they do communicate those attributes well.
Oh yeah, ya also gotta listen to your customers. Remember when we asked George to clean up illegal immigration and defend our borders?
Look, we have a crucial election coming up. We can't hang around beating up this unfortunate creature in the WH, because that will hurt us by costing votes. This is a marketing meeting ... our customers are about to elect the Marxist Illegitimate Crown Prince of Kenya ... instead of our candidate (no prize there).
What do we do now?
Bush has lead well.
Bush has lead well.
Wait. . .let me fix this. . . Bush has lead well.
Anyway.
I doubt you have ever read or heard a Bush speech in the last three years. His speeches are excellent. When the media attacks him for saying the Mandelas have been killed in Iraq portraying him as as a stupid idiot it verifies that we are collectively contained in a pathological War on Bush.
This war is lead by Faux Conservatives and Liberals. Faux conservatives are outraged by Mexican bombing of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They cannot understand why President Bush has chosen to focus on far away land of the Joooooossss.
The “reality” is that President Bush needs to secure our borders and protects us from Mexicans who are illegally entering our sovereign space and blowing up buildings.
Following this brilliant logic, faux conservative gave us a New Congress in 2006 which has now repaired the border and brought to an end the poor focus and communication of our President.
Wait. . . that hasn’t happened.
So actually, because faux conservatives are so much more effective at communication than our President, they nominated Tancredo and Hunter who are now a joint ticket for the REpublican nomination this fall. Immigration softies like John McCain were decimated by the stunning rhetorical Surge of the faux conservatives.
I will now throw in a series of additional typos so that you fetch the sic like the grammar dog that you are:
demoncrats arq nyot butter than prezidint buish
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