Bush’s Approval Ratings at 30%
This CBS poll certainly won’t make George W. Bush very happy:
- How is the war going? Well, 23%; badly, 76%.
- Did the US do the right thing going to war with Iraq? Right thing, 35%; should have stayed out 61%.
- Is the country headed in the right direction? Yes, 24%; no, wrong direction, 72%.
- Approve or disapprove of the job Bush is doing? Approve, 30%; disapprove, 63%.
Republicans are still, mostly, rallying behind Bush / the war in Iraq and the surge, but the polls show that Americans think quite differently. They disapprove of the job Bush is doing in general and they disapprove of how he’s handling Iraq.
In other words, the moment is there for the anti-war crowd to push through legislation / bills. They can now put pressure on Bush, they can now demand of Bush to accept ‘benchmarks’ (or deadlines), etc. Sadly for before-mentioned crowd, the Democrats just gave up… and it pisses liberals off. For some examples, read:
- this post at MyDD
- this post at Daily Kos
- this post at TPM Café
Especially the second one is a must-read: quite some Daily Kos readers received an e-mail from the DCCC about the Iraq war spending bill. The DCCC tries to convince ‘the base’ that the bill is a victory for the Democrats. Sadly for the DCCC, the base is having none of it. Read both the post and some of the comments: I fear that the DCCC’s mailing list has become a little, umh, shorter.
It is crystal clear: the Democrats are afraid of Bush / the GOP. They fear that whatever they do, it will be used against them.
If I were American, I would most certainly not be a Democrat for several reasons: this cowardice is one of them (I respect you if you stand for what you believe, even if I disagree with you).
Cross-posted at my own blog.
11 Responses to “Bush’s Approval Ratings at 30%”
I admit that I don’t see the bill as a victory for the Democrats, but it isn’t an abject defeat, either. Something in the middle.
The Democrats knew that they didn’t have the votes to override Bush’s veto, and they would have to pick up Republican support. The Republican base, however, still supports the war, so their representatives have stuck with the president. The Democrats didn’t get us into this by themselves, so I don’t see them getting us out of it by themselves. Unless the Republican base becomes unhappy with how the war is being fought, I don’t expect much to change. If the war takes a turn for the worse by September, there may be some change in Republican voting patterns. Twelve House Republicans voiced their discontent with the policy last week, and apparently there is a lot more where that came from.
My major point is that BOTH parties are responding to pressure from their base-that’s what is supposed to happen in democracy. But do you really blame the Democrats for not wanting to take the heat for this turkey?
I didn’t think you favored the timelines- if that had passed, wouldn’t you have condemned the Democrats for forcing it through???
Cowardice?
kritter is right–you’d condemn the Democrats no matter what they did.
Or do you support defunding the troops?
The problem with the Democratic response to the bill is actually something that goes beyond the labels “liberal” or “conservative” or “prowar” or “anti’war.” The problems is that the party is responding with the same kind of baloney spin that the White House does on many issues. It creates a credibility for THEM politically, just as the Bush White House’s credibility has suffered and suffers repeatedly. Rather than minimize the vote and move on (excuse the expression) they’re trying to claim it as a victory which is not going to convince anyone. The official response looks as if the same spinmasters are handling the White House and Democratic party operations. Truly a mistake politically.
Kritter said:
> it isn’t an abject defeat,
> either.
The war funding surrender is, definitely.
What also has been happening is that Bush has been experiencing (self-)defeat insofar as his administration has reversed its position about willingness to talk to Iran.
I had a mini poll which confirms where Americans are.I posted the results on my Blog today, since Congress has already passed the legislation
Are the Democrats actually trying to pass this off as a “victory”?
It seems to me that they’re passing this off as the step in the journey. Even the letter from the DCCC that the pissed-off guy at KOS is quoting says:
“As the President’s resistance shows, there is no quick and easy way to end this war.”
And a little further down:
“I will need your help again to take the next step in our fight to end this war.” [Emphasis added by me.]
Years of what Joe called “baloney spin that the White House does” have gotten to this point in our history. I believe that Reid and Pelosi have a plan that will take time to unfold–and will depend on unpredicable circumstances. Because the Democratic Congressional leaders declined to force a Constitutional confrontation this week, does that really make them guilty of what MvdG called “cowardice”?
I’m asking that question seriously.
I am not an idealist. The shortcomings of our institutions are all too obvious to me. But I don’t see a rational way around them.
As kritter said, “BOTH parties are responding to pressure from their base-that’s what is supposed to happen in democracy.”
So is the implication that you would be a Republican because they are courageous legislators?
Where was the Republican courage when they could have stopped the destruction of Habeas Corpus and the codification of torture? Where was the Republican courage to oversee their own President who has done nothing but screw up everything in his path? Where was the courage of the Republicans to stand up for the paiges and kick out Mark Foley?
The list goes on and on…. Don’t pretend like the Democrats have some kind of monopoly on cowardice.
i agree with George Sorwell- no one is declaring victory – Rahm Emmanuel framed it as an initial “step”. The real problem is that there is no consensus even among the Democrats about what to do about Iraq. Even if there were, they have a slim majority in the House and a majority in name only in the Senate because Lieberman votes GOP on the war, and Tim Johnson is still in rehab.
It is a step because the benchmarks were put in and also the minimum wage bill was put into the bill- that will pass as well. The GOP has dedicated itself to puffing up a failed president and making sure the 110th is a do nothing congress – so that they can pave the way to retake congress in ’08. But I don’t think the Democrats view it as a success.
Unfortunately, right now we have two parties in Congress who lack courage.
The case against the Democrats is obvious following this vote. But it’s been Republicans who’ve followed the president slavishly on virtually every issue since he took office. Even those who publicly express outrage at his actions, like Specter or Hagel have been unwilling to voting against him when he’s wrong.
This is unprecedented in American politics. Members of the House and Senate have typically defended their interests against any president regardless of party. It’s that tension between the branches that helps keep the country from disastrous choices.
By acting like sycophants instead of allies, they’ve ensured him victory in all his battles and failure in the end.
I totally agree, Mike F. Reagan’s 11th commandment prevails in todays Republican party , and it has enabled the minority GOP and the president to resist pressure from the Democrats, who are not as unified. A party that puts its own interests ahead of the nation should be vilified- and its cowardice revealed.
But I do agree that the Democrats were not exactly profiles in courage on this vote and after.
One of my brothers sent this Thoreau quote to me yesterday with a note saying: (post-election Democrats, sounds like). I thought of it when reading this TMV article.
“There are some who, if they were tied to the whipping-post
and could get but one hand free, would use it to ring the bells
and fire the cannon to celebrate their liberty.”
I realize the D’s have to work within the existing constitutional structure, but find it dismaying to see just how ineffective they are in countering the continuing power abuse by the R’s. I guess after 6 years of the Bushies I’m very very short on patience..