It came to my attention recently, my comments regarding the current administration have been off-putting to some people. The great thing about our country though, is the ability to voice ones’ opinions so I will do my level best to generate even more ire with this post.
I’m a little tired of labels these days. There are a lot of places where the words liberal or conservative are used to divide the population into two distinct camps. If it isn’t liberal or conservative, there’s always the handy Republican or Democrat. Talk about the need for simplification that some people have!
I have always resisted the compulsion to make the world a black and white place, I would think more of the intelligent and forward thinking among us would do the same but that doesn’t seem to be.
Anyway, back to pissing people off...
So, I garnered a certain amount of animosity because of my comments regarding the current administration. The fact is, I have watched this administration squander the goodwill of the American people over the last five years, a display which surpasses the performance of Bush 41. A remarkable feat in and of itself. After the events of 9/11, the government could have pretty much done anything they wanted to do, that’s how much support our government had. The one thing they couldn’t do was fail and it’s the only thing they have managed to accomplish consistently.
Whether it be on the domestic side with the federal response to Katrina or the failed strategy in Iraq there’s very little to point to over the last five years which can be claimed as successes by the current administration. Even the choreographed events such as Bush’s landing on the aircraft carrier and proclaiming victory in Iraq will undoubtedly be looked back upon through the lens of history as one of greatest blunders by a president.
So, even if you support Bush 43, do you think we’ve won?
The reason I bring this up at all is something I saw this week regarding the president’s polling numbers. Bush 43 is tracking downward and perhaps the only solace he can take from his diminishing poll numbers is the fact that Congress fares even worse! But remember, the Republicans have a majority on both houses right now so I have to imagine that it is something of an empty victory.
Stung by criticism, senior officials at the White House and the RNC are reminding GOP members of Congress that Bush’s approval ratings may be low, but theirs is lower and have declined at the same pace as Bush’s. The message to GOP lawmakers is that criticizing the president weakens him — and them — politically.
The current polling results have pollsters comparing Bush 43 to Nixon! Imagine that!
By comparison, Presidents Clinton and Reagan had public approval in the mid 60s at this stage of their second terms in office, while Eisenhower was close to 60 percent, according to Gallup polls. Nixon, who was increasingly tangled up in the Watergate scandal, was in the high 20s in early 1974.
So, as a registered Republican you would think I would be terribly upset but, I’m not.
I’m not upset now – if anything I was more annoyed when I was hearing all the histrionics during the 2004 campaign about the world coming to an end if Bush 43 won reelection. See, I won’t let anyone plant Bush’s failings at my feet. I didn’t vote for the guy - either time. As a matter of fact, I was quite disappointed when he became the Republican standard bearer in 2000. Of all the people, talented, educated, committed people to choose from, I was really upset when Bush 43 became the front runner. I much preferred McCain, Dole or Powell, three choices which somehow didn’t make it.
Looking at Bush now, I have to wonder if his name had been anything other than George Bush if he would have even made it out of the primaries but, that’s the way politics is in our country these days. A Johnson, Nixon, Eisenhower or Truman probably couldn’t get elected in today’s society - they’re just not telegenic enough. We pick our political leaders based around appearance rather than substance and this is particularly true on the national level.
I’m not upset because I think Bush‘s polling numbers prove that deep down, we’re not as stupid as we would appear at first glance and when someone does a bad job, we recognize it. Even if you like the guy (and I have to imagine he’s not a bad guy), he’s just done a bad job. We have a midterm election coming up in a few months and the onus will be to take the administration to task for its missteps.
I’m actually looking forward to it. It proves that things do work.
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