--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Peter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > When you behave like an arrogant, idiot asshole there > are consequences, yes?
Is that a judgement? Is there possibly any projection in that judgement? (Thats a non-judgemental and non-leading question. We like you either way.) > > --- Robert Gimbel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Disfavor for Bush Hits Rare Heights > > > > In Modern Era, Only Nixon and Truman Scored Worse, > > Just Barely > > By Peter Baker > > Washington Post Staff Writer > > Wednesday, July 25, 2007; A03 > > > > President Bush is a competitive guy. But this is one > > contest he would rather lose. With 18 months left in > > office, he is in the running for most unpopular > > president in the history of modern polling. > > The latest Washington Post-ABC News survey shows > > that 65 percent of Americans disapprove of Bush's > > job performance, matching his all-time low. > > In polls conducted by The Post or Gallup going back > > to 1938, only twice has a president exceeded that > > level of public animosity -- Harry S. Truman, who > > hit 67 percent during the Korean War, and Richard M. > > Nixon, who hit 66 percent four days before > > resigning. > > The historic depth of Bush's public standing has > > whipsawed his White House, sapped his clout, drained > > his advisers, encouraged his enemies and jeopardized > > his legacy. Around the White House, aides make > > gallows-humor jokes about how they can alienate > > their remaining supporters -- at least those aides > > not heading for the door. Outside the White House, > > many former aides privately express anger and > > bitterness at their erstwhile colleagues, Bush and > > the fate of his presidency. > > Bush has been so down for so long that some advisers > > maintain it no longer bothers them much. It can > > even, they say, be liberating. Seeking the best > > interpretation for the president's predicament, they > > argue that Bush can do what he thinks is right > > without regard to political cost, pointing to > > decisions to send more U.S. troops to Iraq and to > > commute the sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, > > Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff. > > But the president's unpopularity has left the White > > House to play mostly defense for the remainder of > > his term. With his immigration overhaul proposal > > dead, Bush's principal legislative hopes are to save > > his No Child Left Behind education program and to > > fend off attempts to force him to change course in > > Iraq. The emerging strategy is to play off a > > Congress that is also deeply unpopular and to look > > strong by vetoing spending bills. > > The president's low public standing has paralleled > > the disenchantment with the Iraq war, but some > > analysts said it goes beyond that, reflecting a > > broader unease with Bush's policies in a variety of > > areas. "It isn't just the Iraq war," said Shirley > > Anne Warshaw, a presidential scholar at Gettysburg > > College. "It's everything." > > Some analysts believe that even many war supporters > > deserted him because of his plan to open the door to > > legal status for illegal immigrants. "You can do an > > unpopular war or you can do an unpopular immigration > > policy," said David Frum, a former Bush > > speechwriter. "Not both." > > Yet Bush's political troubles seem to go beyond > > particular policies. Many presidents over the past > > 70 years have faced greater or more immediate crises > > without falling as far in the public mind -- Vietnam > > claimed far more American lives than Iraq, the > > Iranian hostage crisis made the United States look > > impotent, race riots and desegregation tore the > > country apart, the oil embargo forced drivers to > > wait for hours to fill up, the Soviets seemed to > > threaten the nation's survival. > > "It's astonishing," said Pat Caddell, who was > > President Jimmy Carter's pollster. "It's hard to > > look at the situation today and say the country is > > absolutely 15 miles down in the hole. The economy's > > not that bad -- for some people it is, but not > > overall. Iraq is terribly handled, but it's not > > Vietnam; we're not losing 250 people a week. . . . > > We don't have that immediate crisis, yet the anxiety > > about the future is palpable. And the feeling about > > him is he's irrelevant to that. I think they've > > basically given up on him." > > That may stem in part from the changing nature of > > society. When Caddell's boss was president, there > > were three major broadcast networks. Today cable > > news, talk radio and the Internet have made > > information far more available, while providing easy > > outlets for rage and polarization. Public > > disapproval of Bush is not only broad but deep; 52 > > percent of Americans "strongly" disapprove of his > > performance and 28 percent describe themselves as > > "angry." > > "A lot of the commentary that comes out of the > > Internet world is very harsh," said Frank J. > > Donatelli, White House political director for Ronald > > Reagan. "That has a tendency to reinforce people's > > opinions and harden people's opinions." > > Carter and Reagan at their worst moments did not > > face a public as hostile as the one confronting > > Bush. Lyndon B. Johnson at the height of Vietnam had > > the disapproval of 52 percent of the public. > > Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. > > Kennedy and Gerald R. Ford never had disapproval > > ratings reach 50 percent. > > Truman and Nixon remain the most unpopular modern > > presidents, though barely. Truman's disapproval > > rating reached 67 percent in January 1952 and > > matched Bush's 65 percent a month later. Nixon > > reached 66 percent on Aug. 5, 1974, four days before > > he resigned amid Watergate. George H.W. Bush came > > close before losing his bid for reelection in 1992, > > with 64 percent disapproval. > > The current president, though, has endured bad > > numbers longer than Nixon or his father did and > > longer than anyone other than Truman. His > > disapproval rating has topped 50 percent for more > > than two years. And although Truman hit 67 percent > > and 65 percent once each within a month-long period, > > Bush has hit his high three times in the past 14 > > months. > > Bush advisers clutch at Truman as if he were a > > political life preserver. If Bush has experienced a > > similar collapse in public support while in office, > > they hope he will enjoy the same post-presidential > > reassessment that has made Truman look far better > > today than in his time. A 2004 poll by Greenberg > > Quinlan Rosner found that 58 percent of Americans > > viewed Truman favorably. > > And the president's team takes solace in the fact > > that the public holds Congress in low esteem, too. > > More than half disapproved of Congress generally, > > and Democrats in particular, in the latest Post-ABC > > survey, though their ratings were still better than > > Bush's. > > The deep antipathy to Bush has fueled grass-roots > > support for impeachment. Democrats have resolved not > > to do that, remembering the division when a > > Republican Congress impeached Bill Clinton in 1998 > > for perjury and obstruction of justice to cover up > > his affair with Monica S. Lewinsky. His public > > support, though, never fell as far as Bush's. > > Clinton's worst disapproval rating, 51 percent, came > > during his first term, and he soared to his highest > > approval rating days after the Lewinsky scandal > > broke. > > As much as Bush advisers dismiss polls, their > > predecessors in the White House said public > > rejection invariably drags down the whole > > institution. "It colors everything you can do," > > Donatelli said. "Psychologically, it wears on you." > > Caddell describes a White House down in the polls in > > one word: "Awful." "People start going through the > > motions," he added. "The energy is gone." > > Assistant polling director Jennifer Agiesta > > contributed to this report. > > > > > > --------------------------------- > > Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and > > hotels with Yahoo! FareChase. > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with Yahoo! FareChase. > http://farechase.yahoo.com/ >
