I'MMA LET YOU FINISH
I am a bit curious about the cause of the falling support
Republican strategists among Bush's Committee to Re-Appoint the King [CRAK] say that it's because of the "one-sided argument" that people are seeing now in the media with the Democratic primaries under way.
Just wait until the king starts spending his treasure, they say.
I think what we really need to worry about here is the Committee to Oppose Kerry's Election [COKE].
It's slowly building, all the shit, the mountain of shit. And I think that because the press has learned that their only role is to report what bigwigs say, the fact that there is a contested Democratic primary is getting some of these things out where the press has a harder time ignoring them. And people will talk.
"People are just goddamn sick of the low-level anxiety stuff, which has a certain perverse thrill for awhile. I think the Roveians were right that it was time to change the focus to something more positive..."
Sounds to me like an argument for Edward's electability.
"People are just goddamn sick of the low-level anxiety stuff, which has a certain perverse thrill for awhile. I think the Roveians were right that it was time to change the focus to something more positive..."
Sounds to me like an argument for Edward's electability.
Bush fatigue?
I don't know about middle America, but out here in Cali Bush's personality isn't compelling at all, forget politics. He's incredibly boring and uninteresting. You can recite his lines before he does, he says the same thing so much.
I think we really need to nominate someone with a compelling personality. Although politically I'm for Dean (I know, its over) I really think in the long run of the election campaign, Edwards is our strongest candidate, and must be on the ticket somewhere. I think Kerry may be a disaster, not politically, but just because he has such a non-compelling personality. But I guess we'll see.
Simple-
5 years ago people were calling the shots about their careers and had plenty of leverage when they had to talk to the boss.
In GW Bush's America they're supposed to feel lucky to have a job, and lucky to breathe the same air as Commander Smirk.
Sorry, forgot one thing.
I can't think of an election in my lifetime (post 1970) where a guy with a compelling personality lost.
I think people can just tell when they are being lied to. No amount of spinning and parsing can gloss over the fact that they told huge horror stories about Iraq and the WMD and those just aren't coming true.
dave
What this crap about Bush being the one to suggest going on MTP. Bullshite...more "tough guy" posturing to prove how tough he is. I bet he appears in flight suit to re-inforce the point...
HAve you read Brooks lates hitpeice in the NYT? Looks like it is straight dictation...
It's simple really: It's all personal not about policy.
Bush was popular because he was thought to be a straight shooter. That perception is changing. That's it. He 's being redefined not so much by all his policy failures but by the way he keeps reacting to then. He's failing personally. One cannot fake integrity for ever.
For my father, who has always voted Republican in my life, the tipping point was Mars. Seriously.
I would be a lot happier if it wasn't so early. Polls are fickle things, and opinions can change overnight.
My cynical part doesn't let me believe in any real drop in Bush's popularity. Rove is the Master Puppeteer, and he'll fix it with some combination of bread and circus for the masses. And there will probably be a jack-in-the-box surprise when Osama will be found two weeks before the elections.
Here is how you beat Shrubya:
Ask every voter, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?"
Gas costs more than before the war.
Heat costs more than before the war.
Milk costs more than before the war.
There's mad cow in the US now.
Insurance costs more, covers less.
Wages aren't rising, but layoffs are.
New jobs pay less than old ones did.
Good jobs are going overseas.
Soldiers are still dying.
Bush is still lying.
It's not about the economy. It's not about the war. It's about the simple TRUTH.
Atrios,
I think the slip also has to do with Bush's unverified WMDs argument and reaction to some of his other policies, namely immigration, spending, and medicare.
The proposal for an immigration overhaul, for example, was calculated to court the support of latinos. However, the plan was met with, at best, mixed reviews in the community. Meanwhile, Bush alienated his base and some moderates with the plan because they view it as amnesty for undocumented workers, which is ironic.
I tend to be cynical too -- but this time, I think the opposite is true: I don't think he's really as popular as the polls show.
According to an NOP poll, Blair's popularity is also going down-down-down (see www.independent.co.uk)... 51% of people polled would vote against Blair in a general election.
Problem is: who would they vote for?
I think that it's the new attacks on Bush coming from the right, specifically on the deficit, and specifically on spending. Look at crazy Andy as a proxy for the annoying unreliable right.
The massive spending, increases for NEA, etc have really pissed off right-wingers who blindly dislike spending. So they've started to criticize Bush (who else are they gonna go after) - they feel lied to. That is allowing the media to take a more brtual line on Bush, because now they can get quotes from Republicans as well as Democrats who disagree with the President.
Quietly losing the mantle of fiscal responsibility is one thing; openly mocking your entitlement hating supporters by stupidly expanding entitlements in a way guaranteed to confuse the group (seniors) you're trying to attract while paying off corporate cronies, well, that's quite another.
In other words, by setting no goals and getting everything he wanted, Bush has left himself nowhere to go. He should have tanked the 2002 midterms so he would have had a bogeyman to use in 2004.
America bit into the candy bunny and found it was full of air. Take of Georgie's head and look. Nothing there.
Man I hate those empty chocolate figures. The Easter Bunny better not f*&k up this year.
Atrios, these polls at this time are worthless.
Making anything out of them is a waste of time. You should have learned by now.
There is one thing for sure however, Dean is done.
You're 0 for 2.
If we depose Bush II, it will be hard slog. Expect to be exhausted, after. Don't be forced to look at your kid one day and say you didn't do everything you could have to give him a decent future. Sign up for the Swingstate Project, or Emily's List, or God knows what project will put your on foot in a neighborhood that can turn a Red state Blue.
Polls suck. If Bush had to rely on his national popularity in November 2000, he'd be in Crawford right now. The only benefit is this--they are the fruit of White House mis-steps, some in the past, some very recent. They are the product of a loss of Bush credibility, particularly among those conservatives who believe in small government and fiscal responsibility. They are prying Bush out of his spider hole and putting him into the unscripted, potentially unfriendly situations in which he scares the shit out of Dan Bartlett. Right now, they think that Bush can handle a few vulnerable appearances, and that he must.
They're calling you out, Tim Russert. You gonna let Bush repeat meaningless platitudes, or are you going to press him for specifics and hammer him with follow-ups? Are you going to put blood in the water, like Jeremy Paxman would? Are you a man, or mediawhore?
Since when did we, according to you, kick ass in Iraq. You've been saying alla long what a disaster it is. You're babbling on like the French. Speaking of French, here's one that makes sense.
"...Edwards is our strongest candidate, and must be on the ticket somewhere"
I heard tell that Edwards stated adamantly that he would refuse to be VP on anyone else's ticket. Anyone know if this is true?
In any big dip in the polls, there are almost always two components:
1. Bad news
2. Vocal criticism
In fact, the Bush administration has had more objectively bad news than any administration since Nixon himself. Yet, because Bush has enjoyed such popularity, the criticism has been mostly relatively constrained, and of low visibility.
Not any more. The Democrats have found their voice, and it is sharply critical. The drama of the nomination process has handed them a media megaphone that to this date had been denied them.
The Bush administration is a target-rich environment like just about nothing we've ever seen.
This can be a tipping point in history. NOW is the time for the Dems to go after Bush hell for leather, and send his adminstration into a death spiral, by creating a vicious cycle of criticism and unpopularity from which he will never recover.
Let's see to it that, like father, like son.
Maybe everything (economy, Iraq, WOT, etc.) is not absolutely terrible. But, it sure ain't great like W and his gang keep saying. And the terror meter and one's personal meter are out of whack. I think the people are getting sick of the constant used car dealer hucksterism of this Administration. They've set themselves up so that nothing they say can be taken at face value. I think its important for the Democrats once the candidate is decided to adopt a low, solid, reasonable, consistent, but hard as nails tone. The contrast in volume and tone can win the day.
Maybe everything (economy, Iraq, WOT, etc.) is not absolutely terrible. But, it sure ain't great like W and his gang keep saying. And the terror meter and one's personal meter are out of whack. I think the people are getting sick of the constant used car dealer hucksterism of this Administration. They've set themselves up so that nothing they say can be taken at face value. I think its important for the Democrats once the candidate is decided to adopt a low, solid, reasonable, consistent, but hard as nails tone. The contrast in volume and tone can win the day.
Bush is done for, no matter how much shit CRAP (Committee to Re-Appoint the President) comes up with.
I was never afraid, only angry about The Day That Justifies Everything. And I was embarrassed by the fear many Americans expressed. I was ashamed that locally, nobody wrote against the Patriot Act. I was the only one. And I'm a gay guy. No big tough heterosexual guys spoke out against it early in its passage. They still haven't. These men did say that we should accept loss of liberty if it makes us more safe. So I wrote against it from the beginning in our newspaper. I imagined 100 years from now, future historians will be looking at this period of American history at how things began to go wrong. They would search old newspapers digitally stored across the country. And they would perhaps come across my 'letters to the editor' and guest columns written locally and think, that at least, some spoke against what was happening. And if they researched closer, they would also discover that that someone was gay.
Well Mars isn't Terra 
It was the WMD declaration by Kay. Even though those of us who have been paying attantion already knew what Kay was going to say months ago, the believers in a Saddam-9/11 connection -- particularly the Independents -- had still been operating with a hazy "we did it because of WMD" notion. Kay's shattering proclamation -- the first such by any official of or related to the Bush administration -- snapped these sleepwalkers out of their slumber.
Since when did we, according to you, kick ass in Iraq.
In terms of a military victory, we did. The disaster is nearly everything that has happened afterwards.
"I heard tell that Edwards stated adamantly that he would refuse to be VP on anyone else's ticket."
This is how you talk when you are a presidential candidate. When you are not the nominee and are asked to be the VP you are dancing with joy.
You don't here Olympians saying they would be pleased with silver, even though they would be.
Mark Shields nailed it on the NewsHour -- Bush's credibility is his most important asset, and his credibility is crumbling, under the weight of WMD lies, Tax Cut lies, Budget lies, and all the rest of the crap that passes for policy.
The meme of the year:
"Bush is a Liar, who cannot be trusted."
Just imagine what Georgie would look like in a space suit. Just like in on the book cover.
Sorry that was CURIOUS George, wasn't it.
Still, bet he'd love to try it on.
Well, let's not forget that the son of G. 'vision thing' H. W. bush is good on physical fitness - that and the transfer of wealth, as Krugman says, from the have nots to the haves. A bunnypants classwarrior of the first water.
Who said he is a complete loser?
Not me. I don't want to go to Gitmo.
The turning point was when Bush asked for an additional 87 billion for Iraq,followed by Medicare,Mars,Medicare re-adjustment costs.Sadaams capture was a mere blip.The SOTU was a flop.His ass is getting kicked on WMD,AWOL and unemployment,outsourcing of jobs,the Valerie Plame affair and finally he committed the worst sin of all:Hes a bore.
I'm a big believer in group psychology. I think the slip is coming because the level of cognitive dissonance needed to maintain belief in the credibility of the Bush administration has always been high--they are after all such blatant liars.
So, pushing that kind of knowledge back down into your unconcious, day after day, requires a lot of effort, even when the whore media is constantly whispering sweet nothings into your ear. Eventually, people just get fatigued from actively repressing what they know in their hearts to be true.
When that happens, and I think it is, the whole situation becomes very unstable, and the national mood can swing drastically.
Jill: We've missed you! God, it seems like years since you've blogwhored this particular dimly-lit corner of the Internet. Tricking over on Free Republic must have gotten a bit sparse, probably when hints started to go around about the chance of a new military draft in the United States and the regulars started jockeying the queue at the Canadian Embassy immigration window and spenind their Internet time trying to hook up with an online UK English dictionary to use when prepping that Ontario resume. Of course, how do we know that you're the real Jill, and not someone just fanning our nostalgia? Well, we can't, I suppose, but thanks for the memories, nonetheless!
Ah Jill, ever heard of sarcasm? He's saying what the Bushies say, not what is true.
Bush's credibility is his most important asset, and his credibility is crumbling...
Indeed. In fact, following on from my previous post, one could say it was his only asset. People said "sure he's dumb as a rock, and incompetent to boot, but at least he's a straight shooter".
Well, they are now having to admit that he's anything but.
CNN Poll: Is the government doing enough to create jobs?
GO!!!
OT
Who says irony isn't dead...the recent Ricin attacks are most likely from a domestic source. Meanwhile, Iraq was invaded and justified in accordance with the War on Terror because we thought they had WMD. Iraq doesn't have them, we do. The latest attack was not from "them" it was from "us."
meanwhile, on CNN, a republican strategist just said that we are all safer because of Bush's actions. Further irony: the ricin attacks and the anthrax attacks aren't considered terrorism. WTF is going on here?
I've been pushing the "Bush isn't trustworthy" meme for a bit. It's better than "Bush lies." I mean, if your surgeon amputates the wrong leg, who cares whether he was deliberate or merely incompetent? Trust means competence, a seriousness of purpose, too.
It's still long to go, I'm not letting myself get excited. So much can happen to swing things either way.
People are realizing that Bush is not serious and his policies aren't serious. The most pressing issues in America today are the War in Iraq, Al Qaeda, giant deficits and stagnant employment.
Bush has recently spent a good amount of time talking about:
Going to Mars
Steriod use in baseball
The Asian sex trade
Legalizing illegal immigrants.
He has not been able to come up with a serious endgame in Iraq, a way to avoid deficits, he has only talked about Al Qaeda in terms of Saddam, people don't think he cares about their jobs, etc.
These sudden policies plans are transparently election-year crap and it's transparent that Bush doesn't plan to implement them. We are not going to Mars and the immigration thing won't happen for years if it ever does. There is no money budgeted for it this year.
A guy I sit next to at work, who describes himself as fairly conservative has just worked his way through Al Franken's book and is not working on Joe Conason's book.
The failures are piling up and people are not willing to give Bush the benefit of the doubt anymore.
Does this seem right?
Feds Win Right to War Protesters' Records
http://www.startribune.com/stori...09/
4364116.html
I hate to say this, but although Bush is down now, this could easily be as low as he'll go in the polls. Why?
1) Pretty soon the democratic race will be locked up and there will no longer be half a dozen noisy critics of the administration locked in battle and garnering headlines, news time and tons of attention. When it's Kerry or Edwards alone, the criticism will no longer be 'newsworthy.' All along, the corporate media used the lack of public criticism to justify its own lack of critical coverage; once they've got only one guy to deal with, there's no way they're going to make a big deal out whatever he says against Bush.
2) Campaigns live and die by CASH. Bush has more than a hundred million bucks already. Kerry's skimping on ads in Michigan and other places. The financial support for the democrats has been spread across several campaigns. Sure, lots of people want to see Bush out of office. Enough to give Kerry a hundred million dollars? He'll be under a cap, anyway, for federal matching funds. What Bush did to McCain in 2000, he'll do to the democratic opponent in 2004.
3) This race's outcome DEPENDS not on democrats but on those "swing voters" in the center; the indecisive ones who don't see their own interests clearly enough to commit to the left.
4) Although Kerry and Edwards are both talking about the "two Americas," they aren't talking about the REAL two Americas: the wealthiest one percent vs. the rest of us. That's the problem, and anyone who doesn't see it is going to come across as a watered down version of Bush. That's the issue that would draw out the disenfranchised, the disinterested, the millions who stopped voting because they could see that no candidate would stand up for them. Tap into that vote, while holding the democratic moderates, and you've got a winning candidate. I just don't see it happening.
But I like to hope.
-Eric Bosse
Co-Editor
BushWhackedUSA
and
BushWhackedUSA: THE BLOG
when are we going to start hearing the spin from "the interview"?
Since when did we, according to you, kick ass in Iraq.
In terms of a military victory, we did. The disaster is nearly everything that has happened afterwards.
PapaJijo | Email | Homepage | 02.07.04 - 2:16 pm | #
I agree with you and it was just a series of relentless stupidities and obliviousness and compounding errors by Bush and the duffers like Wolfowicz, Rummy and Bremer, the prime bunglers of the process.
Even though I have huge issues about why they busted in at just the moment and even huger issues on the way they made the troops march on reduced rations and without adequate support, they had a window of opportunity after the 3 week overthrow.
That was the moment they coulda seized and brought everyone on board, instead they threw the elbow and busted out everyone and now there are huge issues with the trajectory and they are playing kissy face with anybody they think they will help bail their sorry tuchas.
.....
i think the lack of credibility (although why anyone thought he had any to begin with sutns me) is a good place to start. The arrogance of this crowd makes it impossible for them to squeak out even the weakest mea culpa when they are proven wrong. And they're being proven wrong more and more.
The sign on Bush's desk, besides the one reading "Please Don't Feed The Chimp", should say, "The Buck Stops Anywhere But Here".
Apparently, terrorism in GOP terms only comes from evil A-rabds and not from good God-fearing white Christians. Pathetic. Some of the worst potential terrorists among us are on the far right. Have all of these GOP idiots forgotten Timothy McVeigh so easily? Then again, some of these guys, like that crackpot Laurie Myrloie, think Saddam was behind that.
The economy isn't as good as the Lucky Duckies crowd likes to claim, but it definitely isn't abysmal. Iraq is a mess, but support for it hasn't exactly fallen through the floor yet.
I'm not so sure. While numbers can deceive, the economy is not good for Americans on a personal level, and support for Iraq has dropped below 50%. I wrote a lengthy, hopefully somewhat coherent post on this just this afternoon (blogwhore
The reason for falling support is media coverage, pure and simple.
The pressure of campaigning has caused some Democrats to actually *criticize* the President.
The Democratic horserace has dominated the news for a month, so some of the critical message gets through, despite the best attempts of the talking head pundits to frame it, and "keep it in a box".
When the coverage shifted, from the President's daily schedule -- always the top of the hour intro on news shows -- to the Democratic campaign, his numbers began a free fall.
And as the lies of Tipsy and his cronies become more apparent to all, the assault on those who fought to get the truth out will increase:
In what may be the first subpoena of its kind in decades, a federal judge has ordered a university to turn over records about a gathering of anti-war activists.
In addition to the subpoena of Drake University, subpoenas were served this past week on four of the activists who attended a Nov. 15 forum at the school, ordering them to appear before a grand jury Tuesday, the protesters said.
Federal prosecutors refuse to comment on the subpoenas.
In addition to records about who attended the forum, the subpoena orders the university to divulge all records relating to the local chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, a New York-based legal activist organization that sponsored the forum.
The group, once targeted for alleged ties to communism in the 1950s, announced Friday it will ask a federal court to quash the subpoena on Monday.
"The law is clear that the use of the grand jury to investigate protected political activities or to intimidate protesters exceeds its authority," guild President Michael Ayers said in a statement.
Representatives of the Lawyer's Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union said they had not heard of such a subpoena being served on any U.S. university in decades.
Those served subpoenas include the leader of the Catholic Peace Ministry, the former coordinator of the Iowa Peace Network, a member of the Catholic Worker House, and an anti-war activist who visited Iraq in 2002.
They say the subpoenas are intended to stifle dissent.
"This is exactly what people feared would happen," said Brian Terrell of the peace ministry, one of those subpoenaed. "The civil liberties of everyone in this country are in danger. How we handle that here in Iowa is very important on how things are going to happen in this country from now on."
The forum, titled "Stop the Occupation! Bring the Iowa Guard Home!" came the day before 12 protesters were arrested at an anti-war rally at Iowa National Guard headquarters in Johnston. Organizers say the forum included nonviolence training for people planning to demonstrate.
Bushboy lies because it's:
1. Pathological.
2. He's gotten away with whoppers all his life.
3. He can't imagine anyone questioning his "word!"
4. It invariably boosts his ego and makes him richer.
5. He's impudently confident that even if his "word" can be contradicted by the facts, he will deny the facts and in a few days neither the press nor the electorate will remember or care.
"3) This race's outcome DEPENDS not on democrats but on those "swing voters" in the center; the indecisive ones who don't see their own interests clearly enough to commit to the left."
Partly that is true, but I think that the swing voters break the same way the polls do, so it's a toss-up.
From what I hear most in the middle are fed up with the "up is down, black is white" Bush Administration modus operandi.
I think it will also depend greatly on the turnout. The religious right will be out in droves and the Democrats are going to have to get as many of their people out as possible. 2004 is all about GOTV in my opinion.
Another big trouble Bush has had. Matthew Dowd and other strategists have said that if Bush gets the same percentage of minority votes he did in 2000, he will lose by a considerable margin. African-Americans are more hostile to him than they were in 2000 (when he got a pitiful 9% of the black vote), Asian-Americans are against him more than 2 to 1 and his outreaches to Hispanic voters have not only failed to win more support, but have antagonized members of his base. And Bush got 25% of the gay vote in 2000. Think he'll get even a tiny slice of that if the GOP starts demonizing gays? Numbers like this have to be one of the myriad things keeping Karl Rove up at night. The GOP still doesn't seem to understand that it can't keep winning elections on the votes of white guys.
My evangelical boss got back from a trip to Texas (from Minnesota) and said he was tired of 'Homeland Security'. Said he didn't feel any safer. Wanted to know just when we became the 'Homeland', anyway. Coulda knocked me over with a feather.
I think also one thing that appeals to folks like him about the Republican Party is their alleged thriftiness with public money. It's becoming clear to anyone with a brain that this admin is anything but thrifty.
The same thing happened to Bush's role model, Ootah the Terrible in 'The Man Who Would Be King'.
I am against playing polo with human heads by the way...
Sorry, but what is GOTV?
The swing vote at the center has always been baffling to me--not as baffling as the sheer number of people on the right who CONSISTENTLY VOTE AGAINST THEIR OWN INTERESTS, but baffling nonetheless. When they're so indecisive, what is it that finally, ultimately makes up their minds?
-Eric Bosse
Co-Editor
BushWhackedUSA
I think there is cumulative effect here. No one thing, but the steady drip drip drip of many things. Even if these things are relatively unimportant, or even forgotten. They do add up to a overall impression. In no particular order:
Mischaracterization/exageration/lies about WMD. The Niger/yellowcake claim may not be in the news, but I'm sure it contributes to the perception of Bush's honesty in this matter.
The lack of a post war plan for Iraq. People will support the action, because American lives are on the line. But every soothing prediction that doesn't pan out, illustrates how unrealistic the 'plan' was in the first place.
Everchanging justification for the Iraq war. His base may happily bounce along from one reason to the next, but a lot of people are shaking thier heads. I think the admin has hit a point where the more they try to justify, the worse they look.
Bush's inabilty to form coherent sentences. It's easy to forgive someone for mis-speaking. It can even be a likable trait, in a goofy sort of way - ala Yogi Berra. It's becoming painfully clear that Bush has enormous difficulty stringing 2 sentences together that don't disintegrate into utter gibberish. And that's on a good day. It's embarrassing from a president.
Paul O'Neill's comments about Bush cement the perception that Bush is neither particularly intelligent, or honest.
It's like a dam that starts sprouting leaks. The admin be able plug them all and muddle through somehow. Or, it may suddenly burst. In either case, they seem pretty wobbly right now.
mondo dentro,
I think we're on the same wavelength. I was going to call it 'faith fatigue'. Bush insisted that the economy would improve once his taxcuts went through and people believed him. Then he told us it would take a while for the tax cuts to trickle down and asked for patience. Whenever we started losing patience, he pointed to stock market gains or a 'levelling off' of unemployment as evidence that prosperity was just around the corner, but the more time that passes, the harder that is to believe.
Same with Iraq. After 'victory', the White House scoffed at critcs who pointed at the danger and chaos of post-war Iraq. "What do you expect?" they asked, "It's always that way right after a war." As months went by and things didn't settle down, they pointed to all their accomplishments -- school rebuildings, etc. -- and assured us that they had it under control. Again and again they told us to give it a little more time, then a little more, then a little more. I think a lot of people are simply running out of patience.
I think it's kind of a big deal that noone seemed to give a shit about the Ricin attacks last week.
I think they've overplayed the fright card.
That said, the ball is in the democrats' court. If they pound him, they can win.
Case in point: On Yahoo News today, you can see photos of McCain yucking it up with Rumsfeld. As you know, McCain also said Bush didn't do anything wrong. Democrats should be out there, loud and constant, saying chimp's commission is a setup, and INSIST (if they know what that means) on a real inquiry.
Not just once. Every damn day.
Enough to give Kerry a hundred million dollars? He'll be under a cap, anyway, for federal matching funds.
I thought Kerry opted out of federal matching funds. Didn't he?
The mars thing didn't work because Bush et al. have nothing to contribute to science. Science is nothing to them except another club to use to maintain power. People saw through them and they lost that point.
I think this palpable drop began at the State of the Union address. I think the press fileted him over the WMD program related activities- and I honestly think that the more rigth wing pundits keep repeating the lies and the talking points, the more ideologically they seem and the less connected to even their own constituencies they really are
Sorry, but what is GOTV?
Get Out the Vote
I've been pushing the "Bush isn't trustworthy" meme for a bit. It's better than "Bush lies." I mean, if your surgeon amputates the wrong leg, who cares whether he was deliberate or merely incompetent?
Excellent point, Brian C.B. We should all remember it and use it.
Ever since last spring, I've thought the medical analogy was the most apt: I think of the post 9/11 world as a heart patient who the Neocons insisted on treating with an amputation of a limb. When sane people protested, they said, "What? Don't you want this guy to get better?!".
"Primum non nocere" (First do no harm) has had a prominent place on my desktop since before the invasion. That they failed to follow this dictum is the most succinct explanation of why all the Iraq hawks were wrong, no matter where they were located on the ideological spectrum.
I think it's kind of a big deal that no one seemed to give a shit about the Ricin attacks last week.
I'm afraid not. The story dropped like a stone the moment it became clear that Arab terrorists were not the likely culprits. If the ricin could have been traced back to al Qaeda, this would still be front page news.
I noticed that after watching the primaries, which are suspenseful and a bit exciting whether or not you are a Dem, Bush just seems so drab.
I saw him giving yet another speech in yet another navy suit with red tie in front of yet another blue background repeating the topic of the speech ad infinitum.
And then the speech in Charleston- he looked like a wreck- needed a haircut, looked beaten down.
I think people are bored with him, his same way of doing everything, the constant mounds of things that are finally starting to stick.
I was going to call it 'faith fatigue'.
Spot on. We keep hearing "trust me", and after 2 years of that, even partisans start to feel a bit abused. And just as Marion punched Indiana Jones when he said it (with a smirk, no less), people are starting to punch Bush.
I think people are bored with him...
I hope this is not the case, but fear it could be true. Bush's least offensive trait is that he is boring. He needs to go down because he is a liar. Because he is a thief. Because he is a killer of innicents. Because he is stupid. But boring? That's a real tribute to our celebrity culture, if that's the thing that finally defeats him
And it wouldn't bode well for future president's, either. Policies won't. matter, as long as the electorate isn't bored.
I hate America, if that is true.
If the ricin could have been traced back to al Qaeda, this would still be front page news.
Yeah, it's pretty sad that domestic terror is still getting the short end of the stick. Makes me wonder what exactly would cause us to go to Code Red...
Bush's State of the Union address was certainly a factor in his sinking numbers. I can't remember the last time a SOTU speech actually HURT a president's poll standings. But then, I can't remember a president giving such a nakedly partisan speech that seemed geared soley towards his base and was downright hostile towards those he deemed as "enemies." Factor in his ridiculous policy initivatives (Steroids? Please!) and it's no wonder the speech was a flop.
I remember a cartoon I saw after the speech which had an aid telling Bush, "Nice speech, but that was for the convention, not the SOTU." That cartoon hit the nail right on the head. Bush's SOTU was more a speech for partisan GOP loyalists than the whole nation. Pity Bush didn't know that, but given that he doesn't read the papers, I guess no one told him.
who cares whether he was deliberate or merely incompetent?
And this is the choice that the administration is setting itself up for with the intelligence investigation committee: Either the regime is mendacious or it is incompetent.
Either option means that they cannot credibly lead.
i think people are sick of hearing a president speaking a foreign language.
The present administration is like a Ponzi scheme of politics. Lies built upon lies. When Ponzi schemes collapse, they do so quickly. See Enron. I'd like to think that is what is happening now.
I think it is the war. Somehow, the populace became resigned to the inevitability of the war and foolishly put its faith in these fuckups could pull it off.
Now, more and more understand it wasn't necessary, counterproductive from a terror standpoint, never ending, expensive in lives and treasure and profitable to well contected corporations.
The awareness in compounded by realizations that everything else the fuckups have champion -- No Child Left Behind, prescripiton drugs, Patriot Act, tax cuts -- were based on lies.
Unless the bastards can change the script, they're in trouble.
Hello, gay marriage.
Yeah, it's pretty sad that domestic terror is still getting the short end of the stick. Makes me wonder what exactly would cause us to go to Code Red...
Beth and NTodd,
From a political perspective, the Dems should be all over this shit. They should hire Neiwert for a short course or something.
Other than the very real public security issue, attacking the JD's laissez faire attitude toward domestic terror would create major internal stress in the RW coalition. We'd be safer, and we'd give the GOP a major wedgie.
Meanwhile, Fox News's polls show Bush doing much much better, beating Kerry 47-43 with any other Democrat in the 30's. Maybe nothing Fox News does surprises anyone anymore, but I'd expect them to at least be able to keep their polls objective.
I think the beginning of the end was to O'Neill book. It ripped open the curtain and showed that the emperor really didn't have any clothes on. Add to that the SOTU and the constant drip, drip, drip of Halliburton fraud, cronyism, stupid policy, arrogance, and lies- suddenly people can't avert their eyes anymore and pretend that this administration is somehow moral and good.
The original argument was that Bush was a straight shooter, and he'd surrounded himself with competent grownups and that he would govern as a moderate. None of that was or is true.
And there is terra fatigue. Their little big brother routine hasn't made us any safer, it's just made us less free and more hated around the world.
Dr. Pedant, I agree with your boss, I fucking HATE that word "homeland", it sounds like something out of Nazi Germany or the soviet union. Couldn't they have just said domestic security and left it at that?
For this administration, Code Red would mean that Armageddon was in process.
The present administration is like a Ponzi scheme of politics. Lies built upon lies. When Ponzi schemes collapse, they do so quickly. See Enron.
Hmmm.... I wonder if the similarity that is just a coincident...
I think the drop in numbers is due to a variety of reasons, pretty much what everybody's outlined above. What I'm more concerned about is how the Dems are going to keep things this way. I fear that Kerry's somewhat dry personality (I saw him on Hardball after winning five primaries and he looked dour) stacked against the *image* that is George Bush may not be appealing to wavering voters. Moreover, Dems need a way to address the social issues Repubs are going to drag out of the closet for this election. What's a coy way to respond to the gay marriage thing?
In the meantime, it's obvious to me something is happening. My father, a Bush man, is starting to re-evaluate the President. Dems must do something to keep him and others like him in a more critical mood when the Repub machine starts rolling in full attack mode. Creating a buffer zone of criticism now is essential to keep the dent in Bush's numbers, I think.
Don't get too excited, it might all be wiped out by his visit with the MediaWhore tomorrow morning.
Hmmm.... I wonder if the similarity that is just a coincident...
WTF? Sorry. I was eating peanut butter when I tried to type that.
I like "Bush isn't trustworthy"
You are right, it's better that "Bush is a liar" (probably because he is not perceived as smart enough to lie. "Lying" indicates that you really know what's actually going on)
"Bush isn't trustworthy" -- It has the ring of truth in it.
Look, I am from South Carolina, but I don't live there anymore. I have relatives there, still. Bush will win South Carolina, but the state's economy has been hit hard. There's little enthusiasm for him, particularly because he's a big free trade guy and that free trade has gutted the textile industry.* Sending him to South Carolina to speak is putting him in the most favorable audience he could get, and that bodes poorly for his following. But he'll still win the state.
*I lived in Charleston, but my wife is from Upstate, so we end up visiting relatives there. Seeing the empty mills there, and the ones in North Carolina, on the way, is awful, literally. My grandfather was a linthead, he went to work in a textile mill when he was 13 years old, to support his family, and worked there until he joined the Army at 19 or 20. The mills have been there that long, most of the time running three shifts. Now, at Clemson and North Carolina State universities, each of which used to offer degrees associated with the trade, the word I have been told is that you don't want to study anything that depends on textiles unless your family is heavily invested in some mills in China. And this is a red state?
At this moment, Timmy and Georgie are probably rehearsing...
"So you oppose gay marriage...."
"Because of your deep faith..."
"And you plan to keep America safe from terra and gay marriage..."
(I should have said that Bush is a big support of free trade, except he's quite fond of protective tarriffs for goods produced in swing states.)
On a winger message board I terrorize, one poster listed all the things we mention as negatives of Bush's on this board including the gargantuan deficit as "disappointing." But then stupidly added, "But we don't have any other choice but Bush." I reminded them that there are democrats who are campaigning.
Unless the bastards can change the script, they're in trouble. Hello, gay marriage.
I heard on NPR this morning that Kerry was asked about gay marriage and said that his position "is the same as Dick Cheney's."
Limbaugh's EIB is saying that the boy king should steal the issue from Democrats by coming out in favor of gay marriage during his chat with Tim-MEH.
GOTV= Get Out The Vote.
As far as I am concerned, the SuperBowl is tomorrow morning at 10:30 EST on NBC. How can you hide your ignorance, mendacity, shallowness, and petulance for one solid hour with Tim Russert?
There's little enthusiasm for him, particularly because he's a big free trade guy and that free trade has gutted the textile industry.
But we need to remember the big mystery of right wing populism: people do not necessarily vote for the economic interests. See, for example,
">Let them Eat War. This is not peculiar to the South, but it is typical of it. "Honor", "Values", "Tradition" are all things that resonate very strongly with people, even to the point of getting them to vote to slit their own economic throats.
The Dems can not just come at this using the old policy wonk, "our programs our better than the GOP's" approach. They need to construct a story of America that conveys values and gives the wonkish stuff actual meaning.
We'd be safer, and we'd give the GOP a major wedgie.
I love it. And it really shouldn't be that hard to convince people that nutjobs with cyanide bombs are more of a threat than homosexuals with marriage licenses. (Note, though, I said 'shouldn't be', not 'won't be'.)
November 1, 2004: John Kerry is up on George Bush in national polling 59-40 with one percent undecided.
"Polls don't mean anything this far out," said RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie. "The American people still stand behind this president 100%."
Drip, drip. Nibbled to death by ducks. According to Paul O'Neill, you can tell a lot about a man by how he plays golf.
From a political perspective, the Dems should be all over this shit. They should hire Neiwert for a short course or something.
Oh, nonono, see that would be *politicizing* homeland security. What's the phrase? It's okay if you're Republican?
Meet the Whore is aired live. I'm sure producers for the show have sent Rove the softball question that will be asked or the Whitehouse would never agree to allow the stumblebum before cameras script-less. But what is Russert tricks him and comes out swinging with the hardball questions? Could happen.
It's a full hour so Atrios will probably create a thread for live comments. Should be fun.
A lot of it is Kerry ripping the sock out of Bushes flight suit. I don't like Kerry much myself, but Bush measures up unfavorably to him in the 'courage under fire' category. Take away Bushes Steely resolve after 911, and you really don't have a very sucessful presidency.
Meet the Whore is aired live.
But in this case, the chat is taking place at the Oval Office today, and an edited version will be broadcast tomorrow.
Are you sure they're doing the chimp interview live? He's so important, and busy, and all, you know.
What's a code red situation to this administration? Sadly, further declines in Bush's popularity may force them to show us.
How about:
"Bush: Fool me once, shame on—shame on you... Fool me—you can't get fooled again."
I think it has at least something to do with coming down off of the hype of the Iraq War following the hyped exploitation of 911 by this administration. The climax was the capture of Saddam Hussein. Since Bush steered everyone away from the fact that the "war on terror" was supposed to be about Bin Laden and associated Saddam with Al Queda so much the people that were for the war subconsciously thought it was supposed to be over when Saddam was captured.
This administration's own propaganda is now backfiring because Bush created an artificial closure on 911 by capturing Saddam. Now the people are focused back on some very abysmal domestic situations and are hearing a president who really has no solutions or the capacity to develop any. The SOTU speech drove that home. In other words, the people have come down off the high and now see things as they really are.
I also think that the outspokenness of some of the Dems is hurting. The Dems had not "allowed" themselves to criticize this president in any way because we were "supposed" to be a united country against an incidious enemy. The Dems sacrificed legitimate opposition in order to be seen as strong on national security and as patriotic. I think all of that started to come undone when people like Al Franken and Howard Dean started speaking out and the world didn't come to an end. Now everyone is speaking out and Bush is finally on the receiving end of some very well deserved criticism.
I think the time is finally became right when the capture of Saddam ended his ability to exploit 911 anymore. He basically did it to himself.
"But in this case, the chat is taking place at the Oval Office today, and an edited version will be broadcast tomorrow."
Well, there went any hope I had for Russert. If they had Bush on the line, they should have reeled him into the studio. It would have been a piece of cake, for a real reporter-producer. In stead, they go to the Oval Office so Bush can "look presidential" instead of looking like a guy on a stool a Formica conference table.
"Meet the Whore is aired live.
But in this case, the chat is taking place at the Oval Office today, and an edited version will be broadcast tomorrow.
monica_nyc"
Should have known. I posted that with a little voice in the back of my head saying there has to be some catch.
NTodd: Oops. Sorry. I didn't mean to suggest that we shouldn't be "civil". Heaven forbid! I have to remember to be content with just asking Mr. Delay to use more lube. I kiss afterward would be nice, too.
Beth: Great observation about the tactical link with the gay marriage issue. There's no question that this is a potentially effective wedge issue for the left (Rove is a schart cookie, after all). You need only look at our arguments here to see that. But a good, aggressive, attacking campaign (many variations on the "Bush is untrustworthy" theme; The Real Americans vs. The Crony Capitalists; and attacks on the extremist Bush base) would go a long way toward blunting GOP efforts to distort and exploit the issue.
Lost my name. Anonymous = me
Just wait until the king starts spending his treasure, they say.
Given the way Dean burned $40 million, Team Bush must be wondering if even $200 billion is going to go very far. And, as far as I am concerned, we have not even begun to hit this guy.
OT:
Our fascist government at work:
Feds Win Right to War Protesters' Records
BY RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press Writer
DES MOINES, Iowa - In what may be the first subpoena of its kind in decades, a federal judge has ordered a university to turn over records about a gathering of anti-war activists.
http://tinyurl.com/3grlh
The minority vote was already mentioned upthread, but I think it has been overlooked. The black community in Dallas has quietly been working overtime to get the vote out in November against Bush. Really working. In 2000, Bush got the Muslim vote, but he won't get it this year. Muslims have been working overtime, too, to get out the vote against him.
Bush screwed himself badly with a lot of the redneck vote with the immigration initiative. There have been letters in the paper almost daily since the proposal was made and they all say: "I'm a Republican, voted for Bush the first time, but he lost me with the immigration initiative." Then there are all the real fiscal conservatives who are simply aghast at what this administration is doing, as others have pointed out already.
There are a lot of things working against him now. It has helped that the media lockstep has broken down somewhat in the face of all the negatives. I agree with the steady drip drip drip - but I think it could potentially turn into a torrent of negativity, depending on what happens during the rest of the campaign. Bush can't possibly fix the things that are hurting him between now and November. So in order to gain back any lost ground he will have to pull off a miracle. And I don't think that Osama bin Laden is enough of a miracle to make that much difference.
Because a polished turd is still a turd. Sooner or later, even the blind can tell.
Edited means they'll cut out his Porky Pig stammers and Steppin Fetchit pauses. The result will doubtless look like an early Godard movie -- jump cuts galore.
Given the way Dean burned $40 million, Team Bush must be wondering if even $200 billion is going to go very far. And, as far as I am concerned, we have not even begun to hit this guy.
I agree. The only good thing about Bush going virtually untouched for 4 years is that when his underbelly is finally exposed, we have a lot of slings and arrows. And every grievance is magnified in intensity by the frustration of being ignored.
[BTW: Theme song to go along with my suggested anti-Bush slogan: Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who.]
Take away Bushes Steely resolve after 911, and you really don't have a very sucessful presidency.
You mean supposed, mythical steely resolve, don't you. And "not very successful" doesn't even begin to cover it, but it's a start.
I think TheoLogie and others hit on it. Until the Dems started to campaign, people didn't have another choice. Now they do, and because of the coverage they're getting, many people are being given Dem solutions to the problems we have in this country. All we get from Bush is, *it's getting better because I say so*. As the Dems travel from state to state, Bush's numbers should drop even further.
It was very busy at the polls today in this small town. Surprisingly busy. They were predicting a lower turnout than expected in Michigan because of Kerry's lead in the polls. It'll be interesting to see if that really was the case.
People are angry.
Oh, I also think that too little attention has been paid to the fact that Bush, on 22 October 2000 declared the beginning of The Era of Responsibility. It's our job to remind him, if he forgets.
Well, there went any hope I had for Russert.
Should have known. I posted that with a little voice in the back of my head saying there has to be some catch.
Yeah, guess there was about zero chance that Russert would actually have the king at his table and read off paragraph-length, accusatory "questions."
I'm wondering now whether the CRAK-COKE forces will pre-emptively leak something about the chat later today.
Another problem for Bush has been his refusal to speak to crowds that aren't specially selected. Free speech zones, etc.
How on earth is he going to reach the masses if he refuses to confront the masses? He's a coward who's afraid and unwilling to face criticism.
pie - I sure hope Michigan doesn't go against the trend of high turnouts. That has been the most encouraging thing I've seen so far in this primary season. The record turnouts, if repeated in November, will almost guarantee a Democratic win. The trick is to keep people stirred up - we cannot let any of this die quietly - I think we have to keep up a steady and relentless campaign of reminding people about what the Bush presidency has really done to the country.
Rove is a schart cookie
Is that some sort of German confectionary? Or a portmanteau, perhaps (scheming + smart = schart)? 
Tena,
Excellent point. Could the immigration issue have been Rove's first stumble? It seems like most liberals saw it as just more hot air, while to conservatives it was a major step in the wrong direction.
Bush may need a miracle and he may have it in the form of...
...John Kerry.
The Democrats have predictably chosen an establishment Democrat every bit in the tradition of an Edmund Muskie or Walter Mondale...
What's even more depressing is that once again liberals are embracing another pro-war candidate which once again underlines the liberals motto:
"1 degree to the left of center in peacetime, 89 degress to the right of center in wartime."
Kerry voted for the war and wants to continue the occupation. Liberals will predictably try to shape that into some sort of antiwar stance in fine Orwellian fashion.
The same old story.
Kerry will be ripped to shreds. The right will only have to show images of Kerry standing with Jane Fonda or images of his once principled anti-war stance of a generation ago.
One thing Dean got right - if you nominate someone who is Bush-lite, then why reject the real thing?
I got Haloscanned! I guess it's sort of a rite of passage, eh? The actual lyrics to the aforementioned song.
Beth, that was supposed to be "schmart cookie". Faux yiddish.
Ims abadd tipist.
One more thing to take into account...
Has anyone seen Mrs Kerry recently?
Have there been any one-on-one sitdowns with Diane Sawyer, the Senator and his wife?
Any Oprah appearances?
Wondering why?
As superficial and demeaning and irrelevant as this is, Kerry's wife will insure his defeat.
The fact that she was born in another country and speaks with an accent will be jumped on by the Rove machine.
The fact that she sometimes appears aloof and spaced-out will make her a liability...
Face the facts folks, it will be a factor whether you like it or not...
Brian C.B. - I agree with your Era of Responsibility, and I raise you one "I am a uniter not a divider," and one "I intend to bring integrity back to the White House." I want to see those two things thrown back in his face repeatedly.
Tena, I don't think it means people won't vote in November. It's unfortunate that the Democratic Party did its part in handing the primary to Kerry. It's no fun when you take the horserace aspect away. It's a beautiful day, so maybe people went out and voted anyway, just to send a message.
Quite a few absentee and internet votes I heard. 40,000 before today.
One thing Dean got right - if you nominate someone who is Bush-lite, then why reject the real thing?
Ashcroft [http://tinyurl.com/3grlh], Cheney, Rumsfeld, Chao, Wolfowitz, Perle, Negroponte, Veneman, Norton, Evans, Powell, Paige, Rice, Snow, Thompson, Principi, Ridge, Abraham ...
But, hey, I'm not a Kerry supporter. Among the Democrats who are running for preznit, I prefer Kucinich.
They're hiding her, it's that simple...
It's no fun when you take the horserace aspect away. It's a beautiful day, so maybe people went out and voted anyway, just to send a message.
Heard on the radio this morning that some Michigan voters were saying that they went to the polls specifically to "deliver a surprise" -- because they resent being told that the nominee has already been selected.
More factors:
1. I question whether he was really that popular to begin with. I'd say that he was the beneficiary of a mighty PR campaign by the entire US media. What did Chris Matthews call him? Was it the young warrior king? Don't hear that one too much these days either.
2. His anti-environment, anti-fiscal restraint, anti-working people, anti-peace, anti-civil liberties policies are making it harder and harder for his true believers to defend him - and I mean true believers, not sluts like Krauthammer et al.
3. The Democrats are finally providing an alternative and the media is finally having to give them some ink. Whoever in the Democratic party came up with the turn the other cheek/lay low strategy must be the biggest fuckup on earth this side of aWol himself.
4. Bill Clinton's blow job ain't the distraction it used to be. Arrogant. Secretive. Right-wing extremists. Word's getting out!
5. Unemployment was down close to 4% under "a previous administration" and that took a dramatic, unmistakable turn north on January 20, 2001. Employee's market to employer's market overnight, and all there in black and white in the graph. No bullshit, no spin. It cannot be explained away or blamed on Clinton. I probably should have made Christmas cards out of the graph, I use it so often, but it's that effective. The Democrats need to use that early and often and relentlessly.
Of course it has nothing to do with the fact we are in the middle of a Democratic primary and Bush and Co haven't even started campaigning yet.
Beth - on the basis of the Immigration Proposal, I have been saying since I started seeing the reaction to it that Rove is hardly the political genius he is supposed to be. That was one of the stupidest things Bush could have done right now. If he needed it for some reason (like to get a piece of Pemex out of Vincente Fox,) he should have waited until after the election. That Rove didn't see that, or the Mars thing reaction, tells me that Rove is not such a genius. He is a nasty little man who will use any nasty trick he can think up on his candidate's behalf. But he is no genius.
Another member of COKE just weighed in, I see.
Bush's unpopularity is easy to explain: job insecurity, total war, continuing mendacity, stonewalling and whitewashing commissions, AWOL, Plame, scandal scandal scandal, drip drip drip.
Right now Democrats should be hammering Bush on knobbling the 911 commission.
And in general no-one should forget the role the media has played in taking the Bush unmitigated disaster so far.
Kerry will be ripped to shreds. The right will only have to show images of Kerry standing with Jane Fonda or images of his once principled anti-war stance of a generation ago.
Actually, Elias, I don't see that happening. A woman representing Viet Nam vets was interviewed today, and she said that vets are more involved in this election than they ever have been before. They worry about the Iraq war and the troops, and they don't want these guys to be treated the way they were. Bush's service record also does not compare favorably to Kerry's.
I'm sorry Kerry voted for the resolution, but I just don't think it's going to hurt him, except among the principled minority. We've got to vote for someone, Elias. And it certainly won't be Bush.
...Bush and Co haven't even started campaigning yet.
What do you call all those fundraising dinners?
Campaign on what record?
Unemployment was down close to 4% under "a previous administration" and that took a dramatic, unmistakable turn north on January 20, 2001. Employee's market to employer's market overnight, and all there in black and white in the graph. No bullshit, no spin. It cannot be explained away or blamed on Clinton.
The forces working against employment and standard of living gains were launched in the Raygun/Bush the Elder years, secured a stronger foothold during the reign of the Clenis, and have advanced exponentially on the boy king's watch.
The current administration has exacerbated what already had the potential to be a very bad situation.
Atilla the neo-con - the pundits were all claiming, no doubt based on WH press releases, the the SOTU laid out Bush's "roadmap for (re)election." I hope that is the case, because that speech contained nothing, absolutely nothing, that is going to help him.
I don't think Bush's campaign is going to consist of more than trying to run on his record (hahahaha!) and a lot of dirty tricks. If the Democrats stay sharp then the tricks won't work. Kerry has already said that if they haul out the dirty stuff, he is prepared to fight back in kind. And as Atrios pointed out, Kerry knows where a couple of the bodies are buried.
I do wish the Democratic race had stayed closer and that the press hadn't annointed Kerry so soon. Fucking media. Either it cleans up its act, or it gets marginalized, and soon.
I am a bit curious about the cause of the falling support
Forget polls, pundits and political beliefs: just look among your own family and friends for the answer. Everyone I know -- even the ones that like the Fuckup in Chief -- are stressed, depressed, and haven't had a decent night's sleep since Clinton was in office. It's not even about the War on Terra and Whatever.
Among those that aren't on the verge of losing their jobs, no one is sure anymore that hard work and training will feed their families. With profits-first cheap labor conservatism now directing policy, your family and friends are probably working harder and longer for the privilege of being hugely in debt to stay afloat. BushCo has poisoned your kids' future by eroding their access to a good education and healthcare, and placed on their shoulders the burden of paying off tax giveaway to fat-cats' ... those lovable patriots who have offshore shelters anyway and are making even more profits by outsourcing jobs to India. (Heck, even the GOP does it with their phone banks!)
The country is circling the bowl and Bush administration's biggest concern is that -- waaaaaahhhhhh! -- people are criticizing their Shining Boy. Waaaaaahhhh, saying that people are losing their jobs, homes, businesses and future in droves is political hate speech.
It's not even a partisan issue: if this administration promoted traditional Republican values, at least it would be fiscally responsible. (HAH!) Instead, the Bush administration has regressed past the workhouses of industrialism and embraced medieval feudalism -- and his administration keeps finding new ways to blame anyone but themselves for the fiasco. We need a real leader in office and some grownups in Congress. November won't come soon enough.
Bush and Co haven't even started campaigning yet
They never stopped campaigning and have been running a "permanent campaign," y'know, like they said the Clenis did.
monica_nyc - Nail, hammer, head.
What we see and have seen is what we're gonna get.
Of course it has nothing to do with the fact we are in the middle of a Democratic primary and Bush and Co haven't even started campaigning yet.
Good point, Attila the Neocon. And don't forget, Bush hasn't had a chance to use any of his customized Diebold voting machines yet! That'll make a big difference, too!
Interestingly enough, when the Dallas paper had the story on FMA, they ran another next to it that Bush could really wind up shooting himself in the foot with this issue. The article (wish I'd kept it,) said that Bush I had purposely campaigned for his 2d term by using an anti-gay rights approach, and it was one of the things that got him defeated. I didn't remember that, though I do remember Clinton using gays in the military during his campaign. So all those who are convinced that Bush can still win by playing the homophobia card might find out that that is dead wrong. Americans don't seem to be all that big on campaigns that contain pro-hate issues or pro-discrimination issues.
Well, on the Kerry-with-Fonda meme, I've always found it productive to suggest that I'd like for Bush, Cheney and Jane Fonda to be interviewed together. Jane could explain why she went to Vietnam, and Dick and Dubya could explain why they didn't. After Bush's "President Codpiece" moment on the USS Abraham Lincoln, this line of attack got weaker.
Then, anyone read George Will's column today-tomorrow? Says nothing good about the Democrats, of course, but what's startling it's all about quietly accusing Bush of giving up on being a Republican, of selling out. Welcome Will aboard, everybody, even though I doubt we'll score his vote and even though some of us realized this about Dubya some time ago.
As for Ms. Heinz being a drag on the campaign, if Kerry is the guy, I don't think Teresa takes shit off of anybody, and I say that in admiration, and as a strong Clark supporter. That woman will kick back, and I don't think that Rove will take the risk of pissing off someone that wealthy.
I'm with you Magnum, where do you start?
Ending overtime--the Labor Department even supplying tips to circumvent it
Steel tarrifs. free trade yoyo
Fuzzy math: i want to see that one reprised as a democratic ad. lots.
Betty State & Local: Sales, Property and excise taxes headed north
Joe Bagodonuts: Outsourcing--crickets, dog's barking in the distance
Seniors -- Pissed at AARP and Bushco for the Pharma Guaranteed Future Profits Act with the Medical Insurance Company Balance Sheet anti-gravity rider.
Vets - Benefits cut. And cut.
Active duty miltary: Enlisted housing and base improvements headed south. Death benefit ping-pong. Wait list for domestic and Iraq theater inbound non-trauma medical care. Stealth graves and registration at Dover.
Technologists-- Mars for Hubble? Clean Skies? WTF?
Everbody -- Iraq: $150+ billions for rebuilding somebody else's schools and bridges.
Everybody else: Florida 2000
Vote early, vote often.
Brian C.B. - I agree with you. On Mrs. Kerry having an accent - oh puhleeeeze. And I suppose the governor of California doesn't have an accent?
Jane could explain why she went to Vietnam, and Dick and Dubya could explain why they didn't.
Brian C.B., That's just brilliant. I love it.
I think it was an excerpt from O'Neil's book that mentioned Bush is obsessed with the upcoming election and being president another four years. And that he spends almost all his free time with Rove and others plotting campaign strategy. By the tone of his SOTU speech, when he mentioned that he would codify the Constitution, I know that fomenting homophobia was certainly discussed in those campaign strategy meetings with Rove and I'm certain Bush actively supports that tactic. And not discussed just in passing but well mulled over. It's an important part of their strategy. I can see the bastard huddled with Rove callously plotting how best to hurt gays in this country to increase his election chances. Really is sickening.
Maybe Karl Rove isn't such a genius after all.
Suskind's book puts a lot of the responsibility for early Bush PR successes on Karen Hughes, not Rove. She apparently knew just how to soften the spin to make it more appealing to more voters. (A tad surprising, since I, at least, found her own demeanor stodgy and charmless.)
But the Bushies have been making mistake after clumsy mistake lately, from lying outright about their famous banner (and getting caught) to their flat-footed response to the Kay statements about WMD. Maybe when Hughes left, she took their mojo with her.
Bush, Cheney and Jane Fonda to be interviewed together.
No, no, no! About the only thing that would make Bush's war record look good to middle America is comparing him with Fonda.
I like where you're going with it, though. How about this:
Dig up an old photo of Bush from his NG days (preferably in a flight suit), and combine it with images of Vietnam vets, coffins, etc. Then shift to an aircraft carrier photo of Bush with similar vet and coffin photos from the Iraq war. No voice over, just 'Fortunate Son' playing in the background, and maybe closing with Bush alone and the words, "Would you entrust YOUR son's life to this man?"
Hughes still advises Bush, and does a lot of shilling for the White House generally.
I can see the bastard huddled with Rove callously plotting how best to hurt gays in this country to increase his election chances. Really is sickening.
Wild Eyed Lefty, I think something as simple as ramming his whole "uniter not a divider" schtick down his throat every time he brings this up would be very effective. I mean, people will see the hypocrisy, won't they?
I attended my local precinct caucus this morning to a record turnout. people are very pissed at Bush. I was really surprised to see a lot of older people there and they were the maddest of all. Almost all of these people were first time caucus goers, me included. I work graveyard shift but i was determined to stay up way past bed time. yes i'm old too. Kerry got 2 delegates, Dean one and I think Kucinich got one or maybe 2.
I hope that is the case, because that speech contained nothing, absolutely nothing, that is going to help him.
Typical librul reality denial. You have no idea how much the Heartland swings on steroids in pro sports, an important issue that Bush raised in his speech. This is not to even mention Tom Brady, who I'm sure Bush believes has a pretty face, and might carry South Beach alone.
All of you know that when you mention that woman's name (K.H.) you need to spit immediately to get rid of the hex saying it aloud will bring down on you, don't you? I hate her way way more than I ever have hated Karl Rove. Everything about her just spells "bad" to me.
merl - great encouraging news. Nobody votes like the seniors vote - those people vote like their lives depended on it, because they realize they do. I am thrilled that so many older Americans are mad. They are one of the Republican voter bases, along with vets and fiscal conservatives, that Bush and Rove have just apparently decided not to worry about. Instead, they are concentrating on the already committed - the RR. They are such a minority, that one really has scratch one's head over that.
I wish Judge Moore would decide to run, 'cause he could really split the RR vote.
"I mean, people will see the hypocrisy, won't they?
mondo dentro"
He'll get a free pass playing the homophobia card. Most heterosexual pundits just can't manage to defend gays. At least not too vigorously lest they be perceived as too sympathetic or gay themselves. 'Murcans don't mind gay-baiting in the media but cringe when there's an actual gay person aggressively speaking up for themselves. That's why there isn't a gay voice in the mainstream media. So Bush and his fundamentalist allies will slam us without much rebuttal or political grief.
The present administration is like a Ponzi scheme of politics.
I like that simile. All such schemes eventually collapse of their own weight. The only question is how long people are foolish enough to keep buying into it. That's the nail-biter.
Low poll numbers for Bush in late October would be even nicer than in February, but at least they signal that it is possible for Bush's opponents to defeat him. Now we just have to make that into a reality by reminding people of all the reasons they have to distrust this man: Conservatives, does this spendthrift represent you? Liberals, have you been kicked around enough? Libertarians, do you feel free? Veterans, do you like having a commander-in-chief who plays dress-up in flight suits and meets the definition of AWOL? Yeah, there's a mountain of stuff.
Bush has Joementum! Let's hope he can keep it going...
Nobody votes like the seniors vote - those people vote like their lives depended on it, because they realize they do.
Except for Arab Americans, many of whom aren't thrilled with Dubya, either.
This picture has been released of aWol and Russert. First, they gave him home field advantage, then they go to the Oval Office so he can look "pResidential".
Does this look like the scene for a tough interview?
http://search.news.yahoo.com/
sea...p=george+w+bush
There's too much dead silence between words. I can't stand listening to * speak.
Huge turnout in Washington State today. Democrats are chomping at the bit to get into the voting booth in November. I talked to the precinct chairperson, she said about 50 people showed up for Gore in 2000. She also said the crowd was "magnitudes" bigger than she has ever seen. For the first time, I think it is BYE BYE BUSHIE in November.
Huge turnout in Washington State today. Democrats are chomping at the bit to get into the voting booth in November. I talked to the precinct chairperson, she said about 50 people showed up for Gore in 2000. She also said the crowd was "magnitudes" bigger than she has ever seen. For the first time, I think it is BYE BYE BUSHIE in November.
Huge turnout in Washington State today. Democrats are chomping at the bit to get into the voting booth in November. I talked to the precinct chairperson, she said about 50 people showed up for Gore in 2000. She also said the crowd was "magnitudes" bigger than she has ever seen. For the first time, I think it is BYE BYE BUSHIE in November.
The FTN thing is another one of those Rove specials. This is not for the FTN nation audience its for the 99.99% of America that never watches FTN. He is not really going on Face The Nation to reach that audience he is just providing an pre-planned prescripted interview in the Oval Office. Fox and CNN will get the snips as use them as the basis for talking heads to comment on out of context. The crawls across the bottom will have micro quotes like "Presdent Says 9-11 Means No 2004 Elections". Fox will be gushing all day to the 99% of the audience who would never sit through an hour of FTN. The guy sucks at press conferences so they needed to invent a new format for 2004 so Bush can go over the heads the the WH press corp and out into cable TV watchers brains directly without getting ambushed by facts and difficult two-part questions.
It's simple. A lot of big-wigs have weighed the costs and benefits of the Bush cabal and have decided that they can do better. Bush's crowd is partticularly avaricious, the kind of folk who don't want to share the spoils and the kind that eat away at civil culture and inspire revolt. An adjustment needs to be made. Hence, more negative shit -- stuff that should have been there ages ago -- is making its way into the media. In short the little sheeple are now permitted to dislike the boy king since many big people don't like him either.
And really, look who they're pushing as replacement. Another rich war-monger with spy ties from Yale. An improvement, certainly, but I'll leave the cheerleading to others.
I'm struck by the assertion in the graf that "Bush would have clear wins" over Edwards, Dean, and Clark. At the end of the linked article it's revealed that the margin of error is plus or minus 3 points--which of course means a 3-point range around *each number." Bush's margins over Edwards and Dean are within 6 points--a reasonably likely lead, but hardly "clear," if "clear" means "unlikely to be the result of random sampling error" as normally determined. Isn't it about time reporters learned this stuff?
Nickname, I'm not quite as cynical about it as you are, but I think you're on to something. If Russert's interview tomorrow is not the creampuff we're expecting, then we will know that The Forces of Nature have decided that Bush has fucked up and has to go.
One mistake us anticorporate types can easily make is to think of "big business" as monolithic. It isn't.
The Bush Mafia benefits certain businesses, namely the crony-capitalist, rightist-socialist non-consumer ones (e.g. defense, energy, civil construction). But is not as good for forward-looking industries (green technologies, life sciences, information-media-entertainment complex) as an establishment Dem would be. You can probably tell from my wording that I don't therefore think Kerry's rich bastards would be the same as Bush's--and the difference is nothing to sniff at.
I think any viable revival of a progressive movement has to have it's own set of rich bastards. Otherwise, there's no body to bankroll the revolution! Thus it has always been.
You may have hit on a very important point: Americans are tired of being kept on the edge. The only thing I'm afraid of now is my own government.
Isn't it about time reporters learned this stuff?
Didn't you get that memo? According to Judith Miller, journalists aren't supposed to "learn" stuff. They're just supposed to echo whatever the government tells them.
Somebodysaid the Karl Rove was all offense and no defense. I think that nails it.
Look at these recent thrusts:
Mars
Immigration
*puts on tinfoil hat*
and ricin.
This is not a carefully orchestrated campaign.
This is not working.
My favorite is Mars. (It pains me as a space freak, but...) Doesn't the name Jerry Brown ring any bells with them at all? Didn't they know what the comedians and editorial cartoonists would do with it? But they did it.
All offense. No defense.
He's goin' down.
A question for Dick Cheyney:You mean if your gay daughter wanted to marry her lover you would tell her it was WRONG,even if it caused her tremendous greif?
it was a mile wide and a milimeter thick. thin ice indeed.
is it getting hot?
I think the reason the American people no longer want Bush to be President is that they recognize the war is lost and want the Democrats to give us an honorable surrender.
Kerry with his VVAW experience is recognized as just the man for the job.
The sooner America leaves the Middle East alone and forces the Israelis to give up the sooner we will all have peace.
Characters Remaining:
Commenting by HaloScan
