When 9/11 happened, Bush quickly declared war, and his poll numbers shot upwards (deservedly so). But his conduct of the war has been disgraceful. Part of that was simple incompetence, we now know they didn't have a plan for the occupation of Iraq. But much of that is timidity, every time we begin operations against people like al Sadr, we don't finish them. We are "respectful" of mosques and other strongholds of the enemy, who take that as a sign of weakness; they still hold us in contempt. If I see Bush hold hands with a Saudi sheik again, I will go berserk.
"Bush and his team have done an absolutely excellent job of positioning him as a conservative, when on critical issues he is nothing of the kind. They deploy the usual wedge issues (gay marriage, desecration of the flag constitutional amendment) to deflect attention away from his liberal positions on budget deficits and immigration."
***
Ah, they're taking the lessons from the playbook of LBJ during his 1948 senatorial bid. Ol' Lyndon (with generous backing from Brown & Root et al.) hired several PR firms to canvas Texas constituents' views. He learned what each segment of the population believed, what they wanted and hoped for, etc., and then had his speechwriters create the appropriate speech for each group before whom he would elicit votes. Such tactics had never been seen in Texas before that election that he reportedly stole from his more ethical Democratic rival, ex-governor Coke Stevenson.
I agree with you assessment of Bush. Voters simply trusted his word that he was a conservative. He is more fluff than substance.
Also, seeing him hand-in-hand with Arab sheiks ruffles me to, but what really ruffles my feathers are the annual Ramadan celebrations he hosts in OUR WHITE HOUSE!
Please warn me before you do. I have 32 years left in my life expectancy, and I want them all, and more...