Pew poll shows that Bush’s approval rating rose in April. "President Bush’s approval ratings have improved over the month of April even as Americans continue to express strong concerns about Iraq and the way the president is handling that situation. The latest nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center finds 48% approving and 43% disapproving of Bush’s overall job performance. This is slightly better than the 43% rating he received in early April, conducted in the days immediately following the murder and mutilation of American contractors in Falluja."
Bush’s Approval Rating at All-Time Low
’Nuff said.
Hey, Starbuck! Good to have you back, buddy! You’ve been away so long I’ve been concerned you were recovering from surgery or something.
From the just-released CBS/New York Times poll:
"The struggles in Iraq appear to have hurt assessments of the President. His overall approval rating (46 percent), his rating on handling Iraq (41 percent), and his rating on handling foreign policy (40 percent) are at the lowest points ever in this administration. In each case, more disapprove than approve."
If there is any such thing as political justice, the cost of George W. Bush’s war will be borne, in large part politically, by George W. Bush.
I never left, Stevie boy. The more likely reason you haven’t seen my posts is because the managers of this blog are apparently proponents of censorship. Ironic, ain’t it?
Even if the president’s approval ratings are down, it doesn’t necessarily help Kerry. The more he tries to reach out to moderates who don’t like the way things are going in Iraq, but who are committed to staying there, the more Deaniacs he loses to Ralph Nader.
And then, course, there is the old saying, "You can’t beat something with nothing." It’s possible that a John Edwards could win in November, but, as even many liberals are pointing out, Kerry is proving to be a disastrous candidate.
Of course, different polls will say different things, and the "talking heads" will interpret it with spin. But, I think that the larger point has not been addressed. President Bush is staking his presidency on a very clear vision of leadership against terrorism and evil regimes (with prudence and diversity dictating the response to those evil regimes). He has a lot of character for standing up for what he perceives to be the right policy for America. He may be right or wrong (I think that he is in the right), but he
has the courage of his convictions to allow the people to decide for themselves about whether or not to vote him out of office for his decisions and vision. I’m not sure that anyone would reasonably argue that Mr. Kerry has a clear vision about Iraq. He’s for the war but against it. He voted for it but not for appropriations. He would strengthen the international commitment though so many countries are not supporting the effort. I think that the Bush attack ads are right on target, and the American people are sick of Democratic vacillation and waffling on issues. I wish they would have the courage to articulate a clear vision and allow the people to decide whether or not they agree with it.
He has a lot of character for standing up for what he perceives to be the right policy for America.
Do you HONESTLY believe this???
Kerry is proving to be a disastrous candidate.
Keep repeating that to yourself John, and you might just start to believe it! Tell me, if he’s such a "disastrous candidate," why is he leading Bush in the head-to-head polls? And what does that say about Bush?
Bucky - are you HONESTLY going to try to argue that John Kerry has one iota of Bush’s character and can match him in a character debate??? Maybe you and him can get together to burn a flag and throw some medals away. That’s a real expression of patriotism!
Tony,
I completely agree with you about the importance of character. But I also believe that intelligence is important too(in managing the world, resolve isn’t enough). What is your evaluation of President Bush’s intelligence?
Thanks.
I guess it depends what you mean by intelligence. I think that President Bush may not be the most well-read or well-spoken president, but that does not mean that he is unintelligent. I think that Bush is an intelligent leader who has also assembled a good team for the most part around him - Rice, Powell, Rumsfeld, etc. Also, I’m not sure that intelligence is necessarily more important than other kinds of leadership qualities. For example, wise leadership includes prudence, wisdom, a willingness to listen to advisers but make firm decisions, determination, courage, and a host of other qualities that a political scientist or Aristotle might be able to tell you. Finally, I think that Bush’s ability to see the objective reality of evil regimes terrorism rather than a supposed "complicated view" (read: appeasement) does show a lot of intelligence, whatever some academicians might tell you.