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Nobody Loves A Loser: Bush at 31%

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Elections 2006
Posted on Sat Nov 11, 2006 at 10:33:24 AM EST
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Via DemfromCt, Bush sinks to new low:

President Bush’s job approval rating has fallen to just 31 percent, according to the new NEWSWEEK Poll. Bill Clinton’s lowest rating during his presidency was 36 percent; Bush’s father’s was 29 percent, and Ronald Reagan’s was 35 percent. Jimmy Carter’s and Richard Nixon’s lows were 28 and 23 percent, respectively. (Just 24 approve of outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s job performance; and 31 percent approve of Vice President Dick Cheney’s.) Worst of all, most Americans are writing off the rest of Bush’s presidency; two-thirds (66 percent) believe he will be unable to get much done, up from 56 percent in a mid-October poll; only 32 percent believe he can be effective. That’s unfortunate since 63 percent of Americans say they’re dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country; just 29 percent are satisfied, reports the poll of 1,006 adults conducted Thursday and Friday nights.

And why did the GOP lose? Americans say:

85 percent of Americans said the “major reason” was disapproval of the administration’s handling of the war in Iraq, 71 percent said disapproval of Bush’s overall job performance, 67 percent cited dissatisfaction with how Republicans have handled government spending and the deficit, 63 percent said disapproval of the overall performance of Republicans in Congress, 61 percent said Democrats’ ideas and proposals for changing course in Iraq. Tellingly, just 27 percent said a major reason the Democrats won was because they had better candidates.

I love the last line - because elections are lawys choosing the better of two goods. You have heard that right? Why Newsweek wants to play the Pollyanna game about politics is beyond me. It matters not. In 2 years the country decides whether it wants to throw the Dem bums out or keep them. As it always is in politics.

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    Nobody Loves A Loser: Bush at 31% | 3 comments (3 topical)

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    PPJ? (none / 0) (#1)
    by Repack Rider on Sat Nov 11, 2006 at 10:57:27 AM EST
    Where is Jim?  Now is the time when we desperately need PPJ to explain to us why this is devastating news for the Democrats, and shows why we will never beat the GOP.

    If ever we needed you Jim, the time is now, because all we can see is good news for Democrats.

    Highly rated? (none / 0) (#2)
    by HK on Sat Nov 11, 2006 at 02:13:05 PM EST
    Just 24 approve of outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's job performance

    Is that 24 percent or 24 people?  Because if it's percent, it's a higher level of approval than I expected ;0)

    Exit polling that might help (none / 0) (#3)
    by ThatLawyerDude on Sun Nov 12, 2006 at 11:02:40 AM EST
    I'd like to see what the figures are with the following filter: Deduct those that describe themselves as liberal, then run the numbers to see how many of the middle voters (I am assuming self described conservatives stayed in the Republican party)had Iraq up that high. I am of the opinion that this election was not a up and down vote on the war. I think it was a rejection of social and neoconservatism that has permeated the Republican party. In their efforts to stimulate the base (the 20% of voters who describe themselves as members of the religious right) they alienated the 15% percent who are classical liberals. These classic liberals led other moderates in the waltz to the Democrat side.
    I predict that while many of these voters will also cite the war as a reason for their vote, I think if you take out the left, the number of voters who left the Republican party over the war will go down considerably. I also predict that with this middle right swing vote the figures dealing with spending and with general disapproval with the Republican congress will stay exactly where they are. If I am right, then that is the real lesson of the election of '06

    Nobody Loves A Loser: Bush at 31% | 3 comments (3 topical)

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