What can Bush do to gain back favor?

[Astronuc]

People are asking why we don't have an Apollo type program for alternative energy. I agree, though I would say it should have been started years ago, so in this sense it isn't Bush's fault. But that he has blocked efforts regarding the environment, and supports big business, specifically oil, it makes him all the more culpable.

Why do we need energy independence when the oil companies and Bush's buddies are making record profits? :rofl:

So what if 40+ million Americans can't afford health insurance?

So what if the Federal debt keeps increasing?

So what if record numbers of people live in poverty?

So what Rumsfelf makes huge capital gains from Tamiflu?

Rumsfeld's growing stake in Tamiflu

NEW YORK (Fortune) - The prospect of a bird flu outbreak may be panicking people around the globe, but it's proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that's now the most-sought after drug in the world.

Rumsfeld served as Gilead (Research)'s chairman from 1997 until he joined the Bush administration in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/31/news/newsmakers/fortune_rumsfeld/?source=aol_quote

So what if the war in Iraq lasts indefinitely and there is no strategy but 'stay the course'?

What have I left out?

 

[Astronuc]

Maureen Dowd, NY Times, November 5, 2005
Fashioning Deadly Fiascos

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Men are simply not biologically suited to hold higher office. The Bush administration has proved that once and for all.

These guys can't be bothered to run the country. They are too obsessed with frivolous stuff, like fashion and whether they look fat. They are catty, sometimes even sabotaging their closest friends. They are deceitful minxes and malicious gossips.

And heaven knows they're bad at math. Otherwise, W. would realize that a 60 percent disapproval rating, or worse, means that most Americans would like some fresh blood in the administration. It's appalling to see ringleaders of the incompetent, mendacious crew who rushed into Iraq but not New Orleans getting big promotions and posh consulting jobs.

Let's first consider the astonishing new cache of Brownie e-mail released by the Congressional panel investigating the heartbreaking Katrina non-response.

Batting away the frantic warnings of death and doom in New Orleans, bubbleheaded Brownie boasted of his style sense, replying to a staffer who told him his outfit looked "fabulous" on TV: "I got it at Nordstrom."

By Jove, I think she's got it!

By Sept. 4, with disaster apartheid in full view, Brownie was getting e-mail advice from his press secretary: "You just need to look more hardworking," Sharon Worthy wrote the FEMA Fashionista. "ROLL UP THE SLEEVES!"

It may seem unfathomable that W. has kept Brownie, one of the biggest boobs in U.S. history, on the federal payroll as a $148,000-a-year consultant.

But President Bush may be empathetic to Brownie's concerns about looking good. Obsessed with losing the seven pounds he'd gained around his waist, W. was so focused on getting back his hourglass figure that his staff had to compile an emergency DVD of Katrina news stories before he could be dragged away from biking.

. . . .

The former Powell chief of staff, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, who often verbalizes what Mr. Powell does not say because the ex-secretary of state does not want to be in a public catfight with the cabal, charged on NPR that the cabal issued directives that led to the abuse of prisoners by U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It was clear to me," he said, "that there was a visible audit trail from the vice president's office through the secretary of defense down to the commanders in the field that in carefully couched terms - I'll give you that - that to a soldier in the field meant two things: we're not getting enough good intelligence and you need to get that evidence - and, oh, by the way, here's some ways you probably can get it."

Colonel Wilkerson called David Addington, the shadowy Cheney counsel who has been promoted to Scooter's chief of staff job, "a staunch advocate of allowing the president in his capacity as commander in chief to deviate from the Geneva Conventions."

Dowd concludes with

Colonel Wilkerson said that there was an N.S.C. memo that made a compelling argument for a large number of troops being necessary in Iraq, "and to this day, I don't know whether that memorandum ever got to the president of the United States."

Women are affected by hormones only at times. Vice's hormones rage every day.

 

[Gokul43201]

A nice picture :

http://www.pollkatz.homestead.com/files/pollkatzmainGRAPHICS_8911_image001.gif

 

[Informal Logic]

A nice picture :

http://www.pollkatz.homestead.com/files/pollkatzmainGRAPHICS_8911_image001.gif

It is hard to make out the details, but I assume the peak is after 9-11. Too bad there was not more time elapse prior to that to provide a baseline - Because approval prior to 9-11 looks pretty low, and this would be America's real perception of Bush. It really makes one question all the more how he was elected in 2000.

 

[Skyhunter]

It is hard to make out the details, but I assume the peak is after 9-11. Too bad there was not more time elapse prior to that to provide a baseline - Because approval prior to 9-11 looks pretty low, and this would be America's real perception of Bush. It really makes one question all the more how he was elected in 2000.

If memory serves me correctly he was appointed, not elected.

 

[SOS2008]

Washington Post-ABC News poll shows

Bush's Popularity Reaches New Low
58 Percent in Poll Question His Integrity

By Richard Morin and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, November 4, 2005; Page A01

A clear majority -- 55 percent -- now says the administration deliberately misled the country in making its case for war with Iraq...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/03/AR2005110301685_2.html

And the latest on SC nomination, Alito?

 

[McGyver]

A Solution to Bush's Quagmire: Get Out the Hatchet

Bush's problems are now really coming to a head, but where he fails, is that he continues to back people in his administration who have failed he and the U.S. so miserably.

VP aid Libby is done, and it appears the White House has cut him loose - then VP Chenney goes and picks an equally culpable aid in this investigation. My prediction is that either Chenney will have to go, or Carl Rove. Still, both could be pressured to resign. Chenney is mainly responsible for the Iraq war fiasco, whereas Rove is partly intermingled in Fitzpatrick's investigation, some pre-war intelligence failures, and in the many rediculous efforts by the extreme religious right to form a new U.S. union. Bush will not be able to withstand the heat from both fiascos. So, it may be a "softer" blow to the administration if Chenney resigned, I mean of course, because of his ailing health. That's a good way to save face, and he better do it before the Libby trial gets underway in February.

As for Rove, if the Democratic Senate can muster up enough courage, and with support from the news media, they might push Rove into a corner. Bush then would be left with no VP, and a wounded senior aid.

Bush must start looking for a new VP, top advisors, and even a new Secretary of Defense to take over the failed Iraq war. Fellow Republicans in the House and Senate, who are up for re-election next year, will not stand with his administration. It's time for a house-cleaning. Get out the hatchet!

 

[Informal Logic]

Bush's problems are now really coming to a head, but where he fails, is that he continues to back people in his administration who have failed he and the U.S. so miserably.
VP aid Libby is done, and it appears the White House has cut him loose - then VP Chenney goes and picks an equally culpable aid in this investigation. My prediction is that either Chenney will have to go, or Carl Rove. Still, both could be pressured to resign. Chenney is mainly responsible for the Iraq war fiasco, whereas Rove is partly intermingled in Fitzpatrick's investigation, some pre-war intelligence failures, and in the many rediculous efforts by the extreme religious right to form a new U.S. union. Bush will not be able to withstand the heat from both fiascos. So, it may be a "softer" blow to the administration if Chenney resigned, I mean of course, because of his ailing health. That's a good way to save face, and he better do it before the Libby trial gets underway in February.
As for Rove, if the Democratic Senate can muster up enough courage, and with support from the news media, they might push Rove into a corner. Bush then would be left with no VP, and a wounded senior aid.
Bush must start looking for a new VP, top advisors, and even a new Secretary of Defense to take over the failed Iraq war. Fellow Republicans in the House and Senate, who are up for re-election next year, will not stand with his administration. It's time for a house-cleaning. Get out the hatchet!

Several Republicans have been distancing themselves, most recently Rick Santorum. Rats jumping off a sinking ship.

 

[BobG]

Bush seems to have reverted to the one thing he and Rove are good at - attack dog campaigning. He seems to be hoping another campaign against Kerry will revive his presidency. He quoted Kerry in his Veteran's Day speech, saying Kerry backed the Iraqi invasion - "because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hand is a threat and a grave threat to our security."

That probably means three years of Swift Boat Vet ads trashing Kerry's military record. Actually, it's probably more likely we'll see three years of different, but similar, ads against anyone who stands up to Bush. It wouldn't surprise me to see someone come out of the woodwork to start trashing McCain if he keeps up being such a pain to Bush and the religious right.

If you rule out any change of direction, which Bush has apparently done, it's probably the smartest move left to him. If he makes radical changes in his agenda, he loses his current political base and has no guarantee he'll be able to generate a more moderate base. In fact, even if a radical change in agenda would prove successful in the long run, it would almost be guaranteed to push his poll numbers down into the twenties before it started rising again. By time he did establish a new base, there wouldn't be time to do anything with it.

About the best possible scenario left is if Bush's poll ratings stay so low that moderate Republican Congressmen quit fearing the repercussions of overriding Presidential vetoes. We could live through three years of a weak presidency.

 

[Skyhunter]

About the best possible scenario left is if Bush's poll ratings stay so low that moderate Republican Congressmen quit fearing the repercussions of overriding Presidential vetoes. We could live through three years of a weak presidency.

There are signs of them doing just that. I was slightly stunned when the budget vote was delayed. The leadership in the house is was not able force all their members into line.

In the past the Delay leadership used a stick and carrot. The stick being personal and political destruction. The carrot being, once enough threatened congress persons agreed to vote their way, they would let the others vote their conscience.

 

[BobG]

There are signs of them doing just that. I was slightly stunned when the budget vote was delayed. The leadership in the house is was not able force all their members into line.
In the past the Delay leadership used a stick and carrot. The stick being personal and political destruction. The carrot being, once enough threatened congress persons agreed to vote their way, they would let the others vote their conscience.

That just sounds so economical.

"If you oppose me on this I'll beat you with the stick."

"Do I get anything if I help you?"

"Yeah, once in awhile I'll beat someone else with the stick instead."

"Do I get to watch?"

"Yeah, but it'll cost you extra. Think you could actually campaign for this instead of just not opposing it?"

:rofl:

 

[SOS2008]

Since Bush supporters admire him for sticking to his guns (though recent polls show some are now referring to this as "stubborn"), he can't appear to flip-flop on positions, in particular he must stick with his base on things like SC nominations.

Where he has gone wrong—especially most recently—is being loyal to people in his administration. He should have shown leadership and replaced individuals causing damage. But the #1 problem is and will remain the war in Iraq, which he has little control over. Of course, since he started the mess, I have no sympathy if it proves to be his ultimate destruction.

Autumn of Discontent
The latest NEWSWEEK poll shows serious political trouble for President Bush.
WEB EXCLUSIVE
By Marcus Mabry
Newsweek
Updated: 2:00 p.m. ET Nov. 12, 2005

...President George W. Bush is sinking deeper and deeper into political trouble, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll. Only 36 percent of Americans approve of the job he is doing as president, and an astounding 68 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the direction of the country—the highest in Bush’s presidency. But that’s not the worst of it for the 43rd president of the United States, a leader who rode comfortably to reelection just a year ago. Half of all Americans now believe he’s not “honest and ethical.”
----------
The president can take some solace in the fact that 42 percent of Americans believe he is honest and ethical. Only 29 percent believe that Vice President Dick Cheney is. And more than a quarter of Republicans, 26 percent, believe the vice president is not honest and ethical.
----------
In a Veterans Day address on Friday he accused critics of his Iraq policies of sending “the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America’s will.” But Democrats aren’t the only ones questioning the administration’s Iraq policies—almost 2 in 3 Americans (65 percent) disapprove of the president’s handling of Iraq.

And that links directly to the credibility issue. Fifty-two percent of Americans believe Cheney “deliberately misused or manipulated pre-war intelligence about Iraq’s nuclear capabilities in order to build support for war,” including 22 percent of Republicans and 54 percent of independents.

Most worrisome for the White House: the base seems to be cracking. When asked whether anyone in the administration “acted unethically” in the case involving the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s name, a 54-percent majority of Americans said they did—and 30 percent of Republicans said they did. And 45 percent of Americans believe someone in the “Bush administration broke the law and acted criminally”—including 22 percent of Republicans.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10013594/site/newsweek/

In the meantime (and while the above poll was conducted), the tactics Bush used in his Veteran’s Day speech were pitiful, and his delivery was even more pitiful.

 

[SOS2008]

About those poll numbers...and an increase to a whopping 42 percent...how did that happen?

Associated Press
Updated: 3:54 p.m. ET Dec. 9, 2005
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10399472/

WASHINGTON - President Bush’s improved standing with whites, men, Catholics and other core supporters has been a key factor in pushing his job approval rating up to 42 percent.

Whites, men, and Catholics. Hmm... here's a quote that comes to mind:

"It's the oppressors, Christians, Republicans and Nazis." - Big Gay Al, Southpark

Now, gas prices have eased, and Bush has been barnstorming the country to tout a stronger economy and claim progress in Iraq.

...Bush declared on Monday that “the best days are yet to come for the American economy.”

Well I should hope so...sometime in the future (after 2008?).

On Iraq, he’s halfway through a series of four speeches outlining — in the words of a huge banner behind him at one event — the administration’s “Plan for Victory” in Iraq.

This plan for victory...what exactly would that be?

Well his speech here in Arizona on border security and illegal entry went over like a lead balloon.

 

[Astronuc]

Well I have been thinking about the poor guy, Rigoberto Alpizar, who was shot by a federal marshal because he claimed to have a bomb. He mentally ill and his wife was apparently trying to tell them that Alpizar was mentally ill and had not taken meds.

According to what I have heard, the authorities claim this a textbook case, and of course, the marshals behaved appropriately. However, this guy was running off the plane and up the jet way. Presumably if he had a bomb and was a terrorist, he would have blown up the plane or waited after takeoff. Duh!

Besides, the bag had passed the security check point. Then they off-loaded the plane and had all the other passengers put their hands over their heads. They inspected the luggage and apparently blew up two pieces!

I think the marshals over-reacted, and this is just one more example of the brutality that is the hallmark of the Bush administration, particularly in foreign policy. :grumpy: Now it appears that even US citizens are vulnerable. :grumpy:

 

[Skyhunter]

Well I have been thinking about the poor guy, Rigoberto Alpizar, who was shot by a federal marshal because he claimed to have a bomb. He mentally ill and his wife was apparently trying to tell them that Alpizar was mentally ill and had not taken meds.
According to what I have heard, the authorities claim this a textbook case, and of course, the marshals behaved appropriately. However, this guy was running off the plane and up the jet way. Presumably if he had a bomb and was a terrorist, he would have blown up the plane or waited after takeoff. Duh!
Besides, the bag had passed the security check point. Then they off-loaded the plane and had all the other passengers put their hands over their heads. They inspected the luggage and apparently blew up two pieces!
I think the marshals over-reacted, and this is just one more example of the brutality that is the hallmark of the Bush administration, particularly in foreign policy. :grumpy: Now it appears that even US citizens are vulnerable. :grumpy:

There is at least one witness who claims that he never heard the word bomb.

I don't think they needed to use deadly force with the guy," says John McAlhany, a 44-year-old construction worker from Sebastian, Fla. "He was getting off the plane." McAlhany also maintains that Alpizar never mentioned having a bomb.

"I never heard the word 'bomb' on the plane," McAlhany told TIME in a telephone interview. "I never heard the word bomb until the FBI asked me did you hear the word bomb. That is ridiculous." Even the authorities didn't come out and say bomb, McAlhany says. "They asked, 'Did you hear anything about the b-word?'" he says. "That's what they called it."

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1138965,00.html

And it seems like everything else that happens under the "leadership" of this administration the air marshalls program is no better than FEMA.

“Our air marshal guidelines currently in place address suitable standards appropriate for law enforcement officers,” Adams said.

But others with troubled backgrounds have been hired, the report notes. Specifically, 104 former prison guards turned air marshals were found to be involved in 155 separate cases of misconduct while on their prison jobs. All those air marshals currently hold top secret clearances and are on active duty.

Those 155 incidents include “offenses such as falling asleep on duty, verbally abusing a female prison official, breach of security, physical abuse of an inmate, inappropriate relationship with an inmate’s wife, and misuse of government property and credit cards,” the report says, citing records from the Internal Affairs division of the Bureau of Prisons.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5870501/

I am starting to wonder if the Bush administration is a plot to destroy America.

Just because I am paranoid, that doesn't mean they are not out to get me!

 

[pattylou]

About those poll numbers...and an increase to a whopping 42 percent...how did that happen?

I have heard that people are more congenially disposed to the president (and other political figures) during the holidays.

Combination of a general feeling of goodwill and a lack of attention on news events.

His campaigning is, also, no doubt part of the poll bounce. I've still been following Rasmussen and the general drift is still downwards, but he's been in the 40's pretty much all along. Yesterday was 43% approval, today is 45%.

 

[BobG]

About those poll numbers...and an increase to a whopping 42 percent...how did that happen?

Considering the substance of his recent speeches, it has to be his return to campaigning against Kerry. He reminded his supporters why they voted to re-elect him. Kerry's and Dean's recent comments were pretty easy targets for a campaign staff that has made a career out of attack politics.

I think Bush needs something more substantial unless he wants the next three years to be a steady downward slide broken up by a few brief positive spikes. Still, it's a particularly well-timed positive spike considering the Alito nomination and McCain's anti-torture amendment to the defense spending bill, and the Patriot Act are currently being decided. Of course, if you're talking about positive spikes that are still below 50%, then 'positive' is definitely a relative term.

The Christmas cards ( er, I mean Holiday cards) he sends out even meet with disapproval. :rofl:

 

[Informal Logic]

Considering the substance of his recent speeches, it has to be his return to campaigning against Kerry. He reminded his supporters why they voted to re-elect him. Kerry's and Dean's recent comments were pretty easy targets for a campaign staff that has made a career out of attack politics.

I think Bush needs something more substantial unless he wants the next three years to be a steady downward slide broken up by a few brief positive spikes. Still, it's a particularly well-timed positive spike considering the Alito nomination and McCain's anti-torture amendment to the defense spending bill, and the Patriot Act are currently being decided. Of course, if you're talking about positive spikes that are still below 50%, then 'positive' is definitely a relative term.
The Christmas cards ( er, I mean Holiday cards) he sends out even meet with disapproval. :rofl:

The core supporters (Rednecks and White Supremacists) no doubt like the attack politics, and the Christians have returned to worship of their almighty leader (no, not God--just someone with a God complex) for the nomination of Alito. I cannot believe Bill O’Reilly’s Christmas rants would include criticism of Bush along with the secular Satan worshippers.

 

[Skyhunter]

This is typical of the arrogance of this administration.

Dick Cheney: The White House power grab never ends. As Air Force Two ferried Cheney, his staff and the press back from the vice president's trip to Iraq and Afghanistan this week, reporters discovered that the electrical outlets they usually use to keep their laptops humming on the plane were no longer working. They did what they could by sharing a couple of functioning outlets they found -- at least until Cheney's staff seized one for the purpose of charging the vice president's iPod.

-- Tim Grieve

 

[BobG]

Finally, the solution to how Bush can win back favor - improve the economy!

It turns out that if the President's approval rating is above 65%, the Dow rises at only 2.6% per year. If the President's approval rating is between 50% and 65%, the Dow rises at 5.4% per year. If the President's approval rating is below 50%, the Dow rises at a whopping 9.2% per year.

So, that explains Bush's strategy all these years.

:uhh: Wait a minute. We don't need too much of a good thing. If the President's approval rating drops below 38%, the Dow falls 2% per year.

Obscure Economics

 

[russ_watters]

Unfortunately for Bush, the thing people care about most in the economy - the job market - is already as good as it ever gets and it still isn't helping him.

IMO, the only thing that will bring up his approval rating much is a large-scale pullout of troops from Iraq. Or, if he gets lucky, bin Laden's head on a stick.

 

[SOS2008]

Can Bush win back favor? No. He'll be lucky if he can avoid impeachment.

 

[BobG]

Unfortunately for Bush, the thing people care about most in the economy - the job market - is already as good as it ever gets and it still isn't helping him.

IMO, the only thing that will bring up his approval rating much is a large-scale pullout of troops from Iraq. Or, if he gets lucky, bin Laden's head on a stick.

Catching bin Laden would jump his approval ratings. Pulling troops would depend on the situation.

Pulling troops out and having a Rwanda style civil war break out would pretty much cement Bush's image as one of the worst, if not the worst, President in history (notice I didn't say US history).

Pulling troops out because he was pressured by polls and other Republicans worried about Congressional elections and not having a Rwanda style invasion wouldn't be a great poll booster, either. Why did he keep our troops there so long if they weren't needed to prevent an all-out holocaust?

When he decided to invade, he staked everything he is on that invasion and it has to be a clear success - one everyone can understand as a success - before he leaves office in order for him to be a success (in other words, having the next President save the situation won't help Bush's historical image much). In other words, Bush put himself in a position where he has little control over success or failure. What Iraqis do will decide whether Bush is a success or failure.

If Iraqis elect people friendly to the US, both diplomatically and economically, and they bring control to Iraq, then Bush is a success. If Iraq decides it has more in common with Iran or other Middle Eastern countries than it has with the US, then Bush is a failure. If Iraq decides to become a theocracy and you see Christians being sentenced to death, then Bush is a failure. If a terrorist group wins in the elections, then Bush is a failure. If Iraq can't even form a unified government, then Bush is a failure. If Iraq gives up on democracy and a new dictator takes power, Bush is a failure.

 

[Astronuc]

the job market - is already as good as it ever gets and it still isn't helping him.

Well - it could be a lot better, and hopefully it will get better.

Another perspective -

I live in an America where there are fewer jobs now than when this President took office - the first time that has happened since the great depression.

Ecton Manning - http://www.wamc.org/ecton.html

http://www.nemw.org/employ.htm
Date . Employment (millions)
Feb 05 132,729.3
Dec 05 134,513.1
Jan 06 134,591.4
Feb 06 134,862.0

See also - http://planet.uli.org/Events/Spring03/downloads/Linneman.pdf - slide 5
US Non-farm employment was between 132-133 million in 2000-2001.

Little or no net gain of jobs during the Bush administration, and a net decline in median house hold income.

http://www.nemw.org/income.htm
Median Money Income of Households
Three-Year Averages
period . . income($)
2000-2002 . 45,222
2001-2003 . 44,697
2002-2004 . 44,473

Figures for 2005 not available until later in 2006.

http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_econindicators_income20050831


From Iowa State Assembly -
Iowa non-farm employment - peaked at 1,497,300 in 2000, with a recent low of 1,411,400 in 2003, up to 1,446,900 in March 2005, and now 1,498,400 in Feb 2006. So at least, Iowa is back where they were in 2000.