News What can Bush do to gain back favor?

[pattylou]

...if you think their argument is invalid then explain why...

Deckart's argument is invalid.

Insofar as the middle east is a mess, it is hard to give a black and white answer as to "what to do" in the middle east.

But to pretend the democrats haven't been voicing alternatives for the past couple years is... invalid. It's also apparently an attempt to call the opposition brainless or ineffectual or some such, which is a pathetic maneuver.

Seems much more likely to me that Deckart knows what the administration wants to do ... simply because that's in the news. I'd be surprised if Deckart ever newsgoogles "John Conyers" or "Barbara Boxer" for example, to identify some ideas that are from the left end of the current congress.

Deckart? What do you have to say to this? I'm calling your bluff.

 

[SOS2008]

Please provide logical justification for demanding evidence. It would be a nice trick since deckart clearly said IMO...meaning the premises for his prediction are his opinion.

I don't see why people cannot reasonably discuss things based on their opinions. If you have some information which would better inform people and help them to form a better opinion then just state it. If you disagree with someone's premises then say so...if you think their argument is invalid then explain why...

I have responded more fully in the other thread. I understand your point about opinion, but even opinion should have some basis--especially in an academic forum. Those who oppose the war continuously provide evidence for why they feel the invasion is failing. If someone claims the war is succeeding, why shouldn't we expect similar evidence?

 

[deckart]

I have to say that I was mearly expressing my opinion. And not even an argument, pattylou. Though it could become one. I don't have a lot of published information to back up my opion either. So my arguments won't carry a lot of weight. My bluff is called, I lose. But, none-the-less I have an opion. :)

 

[BobG]

I think he's doing a fine job. One day Iraq will be a Democracy. Women will have rights they've never known. People will enjoy a freedom that they've never known. I see a lot of Bush bashing but not a lot of constructive solutions to issues he is addressing.

If Iraq's draft constitution is passed, I find it hard to see how women will enjoy a freedom they've never known.

I also find it hard to see how the Sunnis will ever accept it - it seriously disadvantages them. I can understand the Kurds and Shi'ites may not be that sympathetic towards Sunnnis after Hussein's Sunni Baathist regime, but it's almost a guarantee that Iraq will be fighting Sunnis for several more years.

Finding a constructive solution to Iraq is a little like applying for 20 some credit cards, selling your house and car, and investing every dime you have plus every dime of credit you have in lottery tickets. Just about every constructive solution to the problem you just created will take years and years. In that situation, some people would opt for the less constructive solution - declare bankruptcy.

The most likley solution to be adopted by the US is equivalent to declaring bankruptcy. Bush opened a huge mess by invading Iraq and the most likely result is that the US will become frustrated and just leave the mess behind.

 

[loseyourname]

I edited my post in adding more from the article. Sanger does provide a more exact quote later in the article... But Bush's continued claims that the war on terror is being fought in Iraq is really angering to me.

At this point it is, since many terrorists have gone to Iraq. I'm pretty sure that's what he means.

Don't get me wrong, though. There are still plenty of other things to piss you off.

 

[Informal Logic]

At this point it is, since many terrorists have gone to Iraq. I'm pretty sure that's what he means.

Don't get me wrong, though. There are still plenty of other things to piss you off.

I know what you are saying. As for Bush -

1) if he had not invaded Iraq in the first place terrorists would not be there
2) the majority of resistance continues to come from insurgents (Iraqi Sunnis)
3) continual linking of the "war on terror" and Iraq is NOT excusable anymore

Would someone please slap that man up the side of his head?

 

[SOS2008]

"Anti-war demonstrators stage day of protest
Tens of thousands rally in marathon day of song, remembrance"

Associated Press
Updated: 2:06 p.m. ET Sept. 24, 2005

WASHINGTON - Opponents of the war in Iraq marched by the tens of thousands Saturday in a clamorous day of protest, song and remembrance of the dead, some showing surprisingly diverse political views even as they spoke with one loud voice in wanting U.S. troops home.

The surging crowd, shouting “Bush out now” and “Peace now,” marched in front of the White House and then toward the Washington Monument in an 11-hour marathon of dissent.

They were young people with green hair, nuns whose anti-war activism dates to Vietnam, parents mourning their children in uniform lost in Iraq, and uncountable families motivated for the first time to protest.
---------------
From the stage...speeches were hard-edged and critical of Bush on far more fronts than Iraq. Groups representing a bazaar of causes attacked administration policies on the poor, on hurricane response, on the Cuban embargo and much more.

London protest
The protest in the capital showcased a series of demonstrations in foreign and other U.S. cities. A crowd in London, estimated by police at 10,000, marched in support of withdrawing British troops from Iraq.
---------------
Separately, hundreds of opponents of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund danced to the beat of drums in the Dupont Circle part of the city before marching toward the White House to join the anti-war protesters coming from the Ellipse.

“Probably the justification offered for most wars is tied in with economics,” said Jack Brady, 57, a Washington architect in the anti-IMF protest. “And the losers are the people, for the most part.”
---------------
Supporters of Bush’s policy in Iraq assembled in smaller numbers to get their voice heard in the day’s anti-war din. About 150 of them rallied at the U.S. Navy Memorial.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9463993/
Uh-oh.

 

[McGyver]

Become a Democrat!

 

[Mk]

Analogy: if you are financially viable and your children are sick, you should not be going to work until they are recovering. If you love your kids, you will not be able to work with a clear mind anyway. If you do not take care of your children, your children will not take care of you.

Then again, if groups of people all around the world are undercover and waiting for the moment you turn your back you may want to stave them off.

Is the child sick? Or does the child just think he is?

 

[BobG]

Well, maybe Bush has decided the best way to gain back favor is to turn into Jimmy Carter.

Now he's urging Americans to conserve gasoline, helping poor people, talking about the importance of diversity on the US Supreme Court, and he actually seemed to learn something during the time he spent with NORTHCOM generals in Colorado Springs.

In no time at all, all the Republicans on the forum will despise him and all the Democrats will love him.

In all seriousness, there does seem to be a drastic change in tone over the last week or so. I'm starting to wonder if popular opinion has dropped so far that his administration has decided a change in direction might be in order.

 

[McGyver]

Well, maybe Bush has decided the best way to gain back favor is to turn into Jimmy Carter.

Now he's urging Americans to conserve gasoline, helping poor people, talking about the importance of diversity on the US Supreme Court, and he actually seemed to learn something during the time he spent with NORTHCOM generals in Colorado Springs.

In no time at all, all the Republicans on the forum will despise him and all the Democrats will love him.

In all seriousness, there does seem to be a drastic change in tone over the last week or so. I'm starting to wonder if popular opinion has dropped so far that his administration has decided a change in direction might be in order.

So true - the comparisons to Jimmy Carter. In a matter of several weeks, the man who thought he had a free and clear pass/mandate to enact his own agenda - has been humbled to that of Jimmy Carter.

He keeps taking Presidential trips to the hurricane region, but it doesn't appear to be helping his poll numbers. Today, it was announced that Senator John McCain met with the demonstrating mother (forgot name) of a boy killed in Iraq. That could have been Bush in that one on one! Big points for McCain for 2008 run.

I think Bush is finally going to have to stand up and make his case over his policies and appointments in his administration. He looks worse each day on camera. He could really use Colin Powell right now! Powel could be the guy capable of overseeing the rebuilding of New Orleans - but I believe his interest in working with Bush or any public office is not favorable.

Making sense amidst chaos requires patience, tolerance, and vision.
www.diaceph.com

 

[faust9]

He can try putting his wife on a stupid TV show:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/television/2002522643_weblaura26.html

 

[pattylou]

Oh my God.

Are the American people stupid enough to respond positively to this, or is just Bush stupid for doing it?

WASHINGTON — Facing criticism that he appeared disengaged from the disaster wrought by Hurricane Katrina, President Bush has been looking for opportunities to show his concern. But the White House will take the effort a step further Tuesday, venturing into untested waters by putting the nation's first lady on reality television.

Laura Bush will travel to storm-damaged Biloxi, Miss., to film a spot on the feel-good, wish-granting hit "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Mrs. Bush sought to be on the program because she shares the "same principles" that the producers hold, her press secretary said.

And... doesn't it still seem more than a little "disengaged" to re-do a single home with all the hoopla of national TV/popular reality series, in light of the thousands of homes that should benefit from such a thing?

This is nuts.

 

[Burnsys]

He should say this:

Http://200.49.210.251/chasco/bush.wmv[/URL]
(Right Click on the link and then Save Target As.. Then Watch the video)

Yo has to see this speech.

 

[SOS2008]

Oh my God.

Are the American people stupid enough to respond positively to this, or is just Bush stupid for doing it?



And... doesn't it still seem more than a little "disengaged" to re-do a single home with all the hoopla of national TV/popular reality series, in light of the thousands of homes that should benefit from such a thing?

This is nuts.

Laura has been used a lot to improve Bush's image--for example Bush has been coached to place her in front of him when the news media shoots footage of them. Whose house will they re-do, Trent Lott's?

 

[pattylou]

He should say this:

Http://200.49.210.251/chasco/bush.wmv[/URL]
(Right Click on the link and then Save Target As.. Then Watch the video)

Yo has to see this speech.[/QUOTE]
Mui bien. Gracias.

 

[pattylou]

Laura has been used a lot to improve Bush's image--for example Bush has been coached to place her in front of him when the news media shoots footage of them.

Has it ever worked? Her trip to the ME was a laughingstock, wasn't it?

 

[SOS2008]

Has it ever worked? Her trip to the ME was a laughingstock, wasn't it?

I've really felt sorry for her. That must have been stressful, and I must say she was a trooper about it. Interesting though how Hillary was criticized for intervening in her husband's affairs, but when Laura is put to the task it is considered a positive thing.

 

[2CentsWorth]

Whose house will they re-do, Trent Lott's?

Who will get the contract, Halliburton?

 

[outsider]

Then again, if groups of people all around the world are undercover and waiting for the moment you turn your back you may want to stave them off.

Is the child sick? Or does the child just think he is?

MK, I don't know how you read my post... u must be heartless to imply that the victims of hurricane katrina only thought they were sick. My point was that there was a disaster on the homefront. Protecting your home does not necessarily mean attacking your neighbors (which is what the Bush Administration is doing). Attacking others to free their people feels too much like social services gone mad. The children lose their birth parents, become children of the state until new parents are found and the new parents may not be the best either... sing along: what a wonderful world.

 

[Polly]

So, what do you propose?

Be tried for war crimes, do time in a zoo in Iraq living with apes in a shed and subsisting on the banana skin people spare him.

*right polly dream on*

 

[Skyhunter]

He keeps taking Presidential trips to the hurricane region, but it doesn't appear to be helping his poll numbers. Today, it was announced that Senator John McCain met with the demonstrating mother (forgot name) of a boy killed in Iraq. That could have been Bush in that one on one! Big points for McCain for 2008 run.

He met with Cindy Sheehan, and afterward she called him a "warmonger".

 

[Astronuc]

Bush's Job Approval Remains Low
Key Groups Unhappy With President's Performance

WASHINGTON (Oct. 8, AP) - Critical elements in President Bush's political coalition have grown less enthusiastic about the job he is doing, an AP-Ipsos poll found. That's a troubling development for a president trying to firm up his base of support.

Evangelical voters, Republican men, Southerners and Protestants have lost some intensity in their support for the president since the beginning of this year.

The White House is already struggling to keep the Republican base from eroding because of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, hurricane-recovery spending projects, immigration and other issues.

"Politically, this is very serious for the president," said James Thurber, a political scientist at American University. "If the base of his party has lost faith, that could spell trouble for his policy agenda and for the party generally."

The president's overall job approval is at 39 percent - with 21 percent strongly approving.

The number of people who strongly approve of Bush's job performance has eroded over the last year, most notably among key groups like evangelical voters, down from 49 percent who strongly approved in January to 33 percent now; Republican men, down from 57 percent to 42 percent; Protestants, down from 36 percent to 25 percent; and Southerners, down from 32 percent to 22 percent.

While four of five Republicans say they approve of Bush's job performance, enthusiasm in that support has dipped over the last year.

Funny, most of the Republican/conservatives with whom I've spoken regret voting for Bush.

 

[BobG]

Bush's Job Approval Remains Low
Key Groups Unhappy With President's Performance


Funny, most of the Republican/conservatives with whom I've spoken regret voting for Bush.

Stranger still was this poll from CBS News poll:

"What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?"

War in Iraq.......18
Economy/Jobs.....16
Gas/Heating oil crisis.....5
The President/George W. Bush..5
Terrorism (general).....4
Other.......45
Unsure.......7

Bush is moving up the list. He's now considered a bigger problem than terrorism.

 

[pattylou]

Stranger still was this poll from CBS News poll:

"What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?"

War in Iraq.......18
Economy/Jobs.....16
Gas/Heating oil crisis.....5
The President/George W. Bush..5
Terrorism (general).....4
Other.......45
Unsure.......7

Bush is moving up the list. He's now considered a bigger problem than terrorism.

Wow! Of course, a direct matchoff between 'terrorism' and 'Bush' wouldn't see him getting more points... but WOW!

 

[faust9]

Stranger still was this poll from CBS News poll:

"What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?"

War in Iraq.......18
Economy/Jobs.....16
Gas/Heating oil crisis.....5
The President/George W. Bush..5
Terrorism (general).....4
Other.......45
Unsure.......7

Bush is moving up the list. He's now considered a bigger problem than terrorism.

OMG how hilarious! It seems we will have a lame duck president sitting in office for two years instead of the usual 2 months.

 

[Lapin Dormant]

What can Bushy do to gain back favor?

RESIGN!


LD
Needed to lengthen the message .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. hops off[/color]

 

[loseyourname]

RESIGN!


LD
Needed to lengthen the message .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. hops off[/color]

I think if you take a historical perspective, it seems that presidents who fall deeply out of favor (Hoover, Nixon) only begin to have good things said about them once they die. Everybody is a friend at your funeral. Simply leaving office doesn't seem to do the trick, though.

 

[Lapin Dormant]

I think if you take a historical perspective, it seems that presidents who fall deeply out of favor (Hoover, Nixon) only begin to have good things said about them once they die. Everybody is a friend at your funeral. Simply leaving office doesn't seem to do the trick, though.

All the more reason then .. .. .. .. Right?

 

[SOS2008]

I think if you take a historical perspective, it seems that presidents who fall deeply out of favor (Hoover, Nixon) only begin to have good things said about them once they die. Everybody is a friend at your funeral. Simply leaving office doesn't seem to do the trick, though.

I don't recall much discussion on Hoover, but Nixon (C/O Kissinger) does have achievements to his name. I've posted before that it is often the other way around, using FDR and JFK as examples. I’m not sure how Bush will ever be seen as doing anything good for our country.