While fixated solely on a massively deteriorating situation in Iraq, Bush continues his irreverence and refuses to listen to the voice of America. Now, in a shockingly candid and irrefutable rejection of Bush's imperialism, a new poll makes clear American's umbrage with their 43rd president.
As Americans grow wearier of Bush and his obsession with Iraq by the moment, his approval rating continues a grave and precipitous drop. Now, nearly three-fourths of the nation is in staunch disagreement with President Bush. Virtually in uncharted territory in terms of unpopularity, the only legacy Bush appears to have ensured for himself is unreserved failure.
Hours before President Bush's State of the Union Address, American's have finally grown overwhelmingly tired of a President who refuses to face reality or pay attention to the American public. Weary and drained over perpetual partisan bickering, an enormously unpopular war and a massive failure to tackle domestic and economic issues, a new CBS poll, taken January 23, 2007, reveals the disparaging depth of public displeasure for Bush.
Highlighted by a historic low in presidential approval rating, President Bush has managed to achieve the second lowest all-time approval rating by a modern-era president. This is second only to Richard Nixon, just before Nixon resigned amid the Watergate cover-up and scandal. Unlike politicians and presidents of the past and present, numbers never lie.
Indelible stained with a tragic failure to prevent the 9/11 attacks, rocked by immense intelligence meltdowns – that falsely led Americans to believe Iraq was a threat to the U.S. – a steady stream of disdain for the law and being forthright and honest, Americans are unmistakably fed up.
America voted for change in November. Now, they expect those changes, which the Bush administration has soundly ignored in an epic display of arrogance, contempt and hubris. As a result of Bush's scorn for the will of an unequivocal message sent by voters, America is now in full-throat opposition and resentment. Yet Bush, who has never deftly performed his job on nearly every level, remains enigmatically publicly deaf and politically defiant.
Below, is a somber look at the culmination of Bush's six years of perpetuating a climate of false fear, irrational faith over empirical facts and the absence of governance by logic and reason.
Noteworthy Numbers:
NUMBER OF AMERICANS WHO THINK THE WAR IN IRAQ IS GOING BADLY: 75 percent
DOES BUSH SHARE YOUR PRIORITIES? 69 percent say, "NO"
SHOULD U.S. SEND 20,000 MORE TROOPS TO IRAQ? 66 percent say, "NO"
NUMBER OF AMERICANS WHO APPROVE OF BUSH'S JOB ON HANDLING THE ECONOMY: 37 percent
NUMBER OF AMERICANS WHO APPROVE OF BUSH'S JOB AS PRESIDENT: 28 percent (A new, all-time low for Bush and only Richard Nixon faired worse at 23 percent, just before he resigned.)
NUMBER OF AMERICANS WHO APPROVAL OF BUSH'S WAR ON TERROR: 28 percent
NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO APPROVAL OF BUSH'S HANDLING OF IRAQ: 24 percent
NUMBER OF AMERICANS WHO BELIEVE BUSH HAS A CLEAR PLAN FOR IRAQ: 24 percent
NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THE U.S. IS SAFER FROM TERRORISM UNDER BUSH 17 percent
Frank J. Ranelli is an editorial writer, a research author and critic. He is also a former senior editor for OpEdNews. His erudite and chic style of writing has been lauded and extensively published in a variety of news outlets and across the Internet. These include the Naples Daily News, The Online Journal, Information Clearing House, Alternet, The Smirking Chimp, and the former progressive journal of thought, Wicked Philosophy. Frank is currently working on his upcoming book, Rise of the Authoritarians, and has been invited to participate in prominent philosopher Russell Blackford's anthology project, Voices of Disbelief.
This is an unattributed article sent to me in a private e-mail.
President Gore, Lame Duck
As Al Gore faces his final years in the White House, history will view his two terms as disappointing.
After a razor-thin victory over George Bush in 2000, the new President was ultra-cautious.
Republicans labeled him "Al Bore" for failing to pursue a muscular foreign policy and for endless consultations with UN members, NATO allies, even potential adversaries such as North Korea and Iran.
Then he overreacted to such criticism, using an intelligence report in August, 2001, as pretext for striking defenseless camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan, arousing protests throughout the Middle East over the death of a populist leader, Osama bin Laden, and his followers.
Even more controversial was Gore's expulsion of fifteen visitors from our ally, Saudi Arabia, for what Rush Limbaugh sarcastically termed "the heinous crime of taking flying lessons."
The furor drove oil prices to $30 a barrel, with public protest bringing the President's approval ratings down to 50 percent.
After that, Gore reverted to consensus by pushing for UN inspections in Iraq for weapons of mass destruction, which were never found. This diplomatic waffling, critics claim, diminished the U.S.'s standing in the world.
On the domestic front, the President refused to stimulate the economy with tax cuts, despite an ongoing budget surplus, and pushed for crippling limits on industrial emissions to reduce the so-called greenhouse effect.
Despite such gaffes, Gore narrowly won reelection in 2004 by reverting to Bill Clinton's ploy of "It's the economy, stupid." His opponent, Malcolm Forbes, never managed to stir voters with his proposal of a flat income tax.
As 2008 approaches, the blandness of the Gore years may end. Vice-President Joe Lieberman, with a lock on the Democratic nomination, favors an aggressive American stance in the world. He will likely face George W. Bush, who claims Gore's election sent the country into a downward spiral. Lieberman has become increasingly hawkish and is expected to promote war in the Middle East to prove he isn't bland like Gore.
A major issue will be terrorism which, relatively quiescent in eight years of diplomatic bumbling, may come to the fore again when a new President has America acting like a superpower again.
The question in 2008 will be: How do we let the rest of the world know we can no longer be pushed around?
Robert Chapman
Lansing, NY
by
Robert Chapman (28 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 557 comments)
on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 at 6:46:43 PM
