Polling

WASHINGTON - President Bush's standing with an American public anxious about Iraq and the nation's direction is lower than that of the last two men who won re-election to the White House — Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton — at this point in their second terms.

But solid backing from his base supporters has kept Bush from sinking to the depths reached by former presidents Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Bush's father. Truman decided not to run for re-election. Nixon resigned. Carter and the first President Bush were defeated in re-election campaigns.

Bush's job approval in recent polls ranges from the low- to mid-40s. It was 42 percent in the latest AP-Ipsos poll. His ratings on everything from handling Iraq to the economy to Social Security and other domestic issues are at their lowest levels so far.

Reagan was at 57 percent at this stage of his presidency and Clinton was at 61 percent, according to Gallup polling at the time.

The partisan divide for Bush is stark — 80 percent of Democrats disapprove of his overall performance while nearly 90 percent of Republicans approve.

When considering these numbers, lets keep in mind that Bush's "base" is simply a bunch of morons. They aren't morons because they support Bush. They are simply morons lacking the intellectual capacity to grasp the obvious. Either that or they don't read the news.

Charles Black, a veteran GOP strategist and close Bush ally, said Republicans are sticking with Bush for two reasons: personal affection and loyalty.

Isn't that an incredibly telling quote from a Republican strategist? Why does Bush have any support at all? They "like" him, and blind party loyalty. Their support for Bush has nothing to do with his performance or policies. Essentially, Black is saying that Bush's base are mindless lackies.

Consider the first reason. Bush supporters "like" him. And why is that? It's because Bush struggles with the English language. It's because Bush has the intellectual capacity of a tree sloth. It's because Bush comes off as an "average Joe". It's because Bush is a moron too, and the thousands and thousands living in the cuturally bankrupt communities across America identify with that.

Simply put, they understand Bush because Bush is one of them. They would never want to hang out with Bill Clinton because they wouldn't understand what Clinton is saying. It would all fly right over their heads.

Have you ever wondered why people in red states constantly vote Republican, and against their own best interests? It's because intellectual warfare is more important than class welfare. Democrats are often identified as the "liberal elite" and by "elite", the reference is to pure intellect. That angers Bubba, and therefore he throws his support behind the hate mongering Republicans without even considering their politics. Bubba doesn't know they didn't find WMD's in Iraq. Bubba doesn't know that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. All Bubba knows is that he identifies with Bush because Bush is as stupid as he.

Could you imagine if someone like Paul Krugman was President? His popularity in the red states, or more specifically with Bubba, would be exceptionally low, not because of Krugman's point of view on policy, but because Bubba cannot identify with a man like Krugman, and wouldn't understand a thing Krugman was saying.

Then there is the whole issue of "loyalty". It dovetails with the President's "likeability". Bush supporters think in global terms, because they don't have the time or ability to dig into the details. They are highly susceptible to rhetoric, and tend to be followers instead of leaders. They don't want to determine their own political points of view. They prefer to have the Republicans present it to them, neatly wrapped up in an American flag. I believe they are the ultimate lemmings.

Gallup should extend their polling. They should follow up their questioning of Bush's approval with a quiz on current events, politics, or heck, just do an I.Q. exam. I would be very interested to see how those numbers break down between those that support Bush and the Republican party, and those that consider them abject failures.



What do you think her I.Q. is? I'm guessing 102. Her own belief system is more important to her than "truth". If you sat down with her to explain what's really going on, she would simply silp into denial mode.

It is the same exact reason many Muslims have gone collectively insane. For most human beings, their belief systems are more important then their truth systems.