Poll: Bush's position against Kerry stre ngthens

“Ahhh... I see. You're all merely trying to change my feeble mind on everything! I didn't even realize it, I was just discussing stuff. I'm so dense! Actually, I'm not dense, my mind is a like a bowl of mush just waiting to be molded by anyone here, continually changing my views based on whoever made the last comment that sounded pretty cool. That's why I'm here, to let others decide what I should think on all issues. I'm so feeble, so unsure of my values or ideals. NO WONDER you never changed your mind on anything, Buddha. Yer just trying to change mine, that's all. Otherwise, I'm sure you would be changing your mind just the same. You're so open to new ideas. You haven't made up your mind on anything quite yet and you come to TT searching for answers. I LOVE THIS PLACE!”

“Au contraire mon frere! If you look back at some of the threads from a year ago, you'll see that I switched sides, mainly because I DID OEN MY MIND to new ideas. I also like dealing with logic and reason, so becoming a democrat seemed the only way to go.”

“Buddha Bear, Bush is a great President. Now change your feeble mind! Come on, do it, you can do it. Change your mind like you're supposed to. I know you can, don't be so stubborn. Change your mind... Starting... not yet... not yet... ... ... keep your cool for a sec... ... not yet... ... ... ... okay, NOW!

Whew! That was easy, wasn't it?”

“George Bush is a zit on Mt. Rushmore.”

“John Kerry wants to re-chisel the faces on Mt. Rushmore to depict the leaders of the U.N. He's using their bilked Food For Oil money to fund it.”

“How many people are dead because of George's incompetence?”

“Buddha Bear came here as a war mongering, ANWR drilling lunatic. Now he's just a lunatic. There is still hope for you, Buck.”

“Okay, that does it. I'm denouncing God, voting Nader, and having sex with the first man I see.”

“Sounds like Michael Savage, LMAO”

“Ha ha! Too late, Phaed, Ricky Martin was in town.”

“"George W. Bush’s dreadful performance at last month’s press conference should have put to rest any doubts of his lack of fitness to be president. Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen summed it up this way: “Bush was so inarticulate in his recent news conference that you could say he violated the standards of his own ‘No Child Left Behind’ policy.”

William Kristol, editor of the conservative Weekly Standard and a Bush supporter, also voiced dismay. Kristol said he was “depressed” by Bush’s performance, adding that “[Bush] revealed in my mind a failure of presidential leadership."

Nevertheless, in the following week, Bush’s poll numbers hardly moved. So, how then do we understand this strange phenomenon?

The media is the starting point: why is it they give Bush such a free ride? Eric Alterman writes, “When reporters attempt to re-ask Bush a question, he merely repeats the same nonsense he spouted in the first place. With few exceptions, reporters tend to let him get away with it.”

But the media doesn’t just report events; they merge with them as participants in an entertainment event; they become part of the narrative and take their acting cues unconsciously. When he was president, Bill Clinton’s intelligence and articulateness set up a natural adversary relationship with the press, much of it unconsciously scripted; reporters felt a natural competitive instinct to challenge Clinton, to match wits with him in a part-playful, part-serious jousting match, in an effort to show off their skills in front of peers and the public. George Bush, in contrast, disarms the press with his witlessness. How do you punch a marshmallow? Or better, why would you punch a marshmallow?

A recent “Boondocks” cartoon strip has Huey saying to Caesar: “What’s problematic to me is not that the president is staggeringly dimwitted…but that the press knows he’s staggeringly dim-witted and everyone just pretends that he’s not…It’s like the presidency has become the Special Olympics and everyone wants to give him an award just for trying.”

more”

“ouch.”

“Phaed do you know at this time who you are voting for this coming election?”

“It no matter who you think win. Bush only way to go. #&%!$ Kerry, he no good. He throw medal over fence. He no American. He star in Porno with Jane Fonda, in three way with me. No tell anyone. This secret.

I hungry. Need to find food!”

“Phaed do you know at this time who you are voting for this coming election?"
EarthNsky
04:29:01 PM
05/20/04


Is this a trick question?”

“no it's just a straight question?”

“Personally, I really like Bush's style. I like the way he speaks and comes across. To me he seems "real". I know you think he seems "real stupid", that's okay, don't vote for him, but to me he seems plain "real". Words don't flow from his lips like honey, as they did with Bill Clinton. I don't care for slick, polished politicians. I like the laid back, straight shootin' Texas style. Bush won't try and tell you want you want to hear, or repackage and twist words like a product on the market ready to sell... he'll tell you straight how he feels and if you don't wanna buy it, fine. He doesn't stick his finger in the air to determine which way the political winds are blowing and change his stance based on the latest breeze. He's got real character and conviction. He'll stick with it even if it's unpopular at the moment. That pisses half the country off, and the other half of the country loves it. Barring any unforseen catastrophic events, it's gonna be another close one. Recounters are standing by.”

“I seriously doubt the election will be close.

Earthnsky, I'm voting for John Kerry and who-the-heck ever he chooses as a running mate.”

“both sides have already begun planning their legal strategies and have assembled legal teams to sort out another election mess. I bet the fallout zone is FL again.”

“oy vey”

“I agree with Nancy Pelosi:

"I believe that the president's leadership in the actions taken in Iraq demonstrate an incompetence in terms of knowledge, judgment and experience in making the decisions that would have been necessary to truly accomplish the mission without the deaths to our troops and the cost to our taxpayers."

”

“I wonder who his running mate will be. I am voting for Kerry too. I expect that his running mate will be Edwards.”

“Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation in Iraq?"



Approve - 35%

Disapprove - 57%

Don't Know - 8%

America awakens from a long winters nap.”

“So long, GW.”

“"42% Rate Bush Good/Excellent on Iraq
Another 41% Give Bush Poor Marks"

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/War%20with%20Iraq%20Bush%20Ratings.htm

It looks like more approve of Bush's handling of the war than disapprove. And even though Bush's current numbers aren't very high on Iraqi War approval, Americans still think he'd do a better job than Kerry. I guess you left that out of your poll numbers. Even though so many Americans think the war is not going well, Kerry can't seem to get much of a boost because they think he'd do a worse job. If the Dems had a decent candidate they would be making hay. Even with Bush bottomed out they're still in a heat. It actually doesn't say much for either candidate at this point.

"May 21, 2004--A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 48% of voters trust President Bush more than Senator Kerry when it comes to national defense and the War on Terror. Forty percent (40%) now prefer Kerry."

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/Bush%20Kerry%20Fundamentals.htm”

“At this point in the race, Kerry doesn't need to do anything. Bush won the closest election in American history last time around. All Kerry has to do are convince a few of the people who voted for him last time that they shouldn't this time. Bush is doing that on his own.”

“Trouble for Dems is that Kerry is just as undesirable as Gore was, as the polls show. It seems many Americans aren't happy with either choice. The Dems needed someone with the charisma and passion as Dean, without the scream. Instead they went with the boring, slick, polished, rich, preppy, I'll-say-whatever-you-want-me-to-say-if-you'll-vote-for-me, flip-flopping Kerry, who, by the way, is completely against SUVs while is own family owns them and he flies in a haircutter on a private gas-sucking jet just for a quick trim. Now THERE'S fuel economy and conviction and character for ya. Let's face the facts, many Americans don't like Bush but they like Kerry even less.”

“OTB!!!”

“Americans as a whole like Gore better than Bush, it would seem. Gore won the popular vote.

Whatever. Kerry's doing just what he needs to do right now, which is staying out of Bush's way while Bush shoots himself in the foot.”

“Whoever can stay out the limelight the most, wins. They should both find bunkers somewhere and call for pizza delivery every night.”

“Bush should start doing press conferences everyday.”

“my source: pollingreport.com, which is a combination of major polls, excluding the rassmusen report (which doesn't seem like a viable source).”

“Poll: Bush Ratings Continue Slide

(CBS) The war in Iraq continues to tarnish the approval ratings of President Bush. Evaluations of the way Mr. Bush is handling the war in Iraq, how he is handling foreign policy, and how he is handling his job overall are now at their lowest levels ever in his presidency.

Mr. Bush's overall job approval rating has continued to decline. Forty-one percent approve of the job he is doing as president, while 52 percent disapprove — the lowest overall job rating of his presidency. Two weeks ago, 44 percent approved. A year ago, two-thirds did.

Sixty-one percent of Americans now disapprove of the way Mr. Bush is handling the situation in Iraq, while just 34 percent approve.

As concern about the situation in Iraq grows, 65 percent now say the country is on the wrong track — matching the highest number ever recorded in CBS News Polls, which began asking this question in the mid-1980's. Only 30 percent currently say things in this country are headed in the right direction. One year ago, in April 2003, 56 percent of Americans said the country was headed in the right direction.

The last time the percentage that said the country was on the wrong track was as high as it is now was back in November 1994. Then, Republicans swept into control of both houses of Congress for the first time in decades.

more...”

“Check out the latest state-by-state analysis by Zogby posted at the Wall Street Journal.

Looks like my Kerry landslide prediction was pretty good.

I promise no dancing in the endzone.”

“At this point you are probably correct Violin.

I doubt finding Osama would give GW enough of a lift.

The possibility of Kerry doing something incredibly stupid like Gary Hart on the "Monkey Business" is far less likely than some new mess being uncovered in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Now for the bad news, I doubt that Kerry will improve Iraq, and I will predict that the mess will get worse with indecisiveness. Look at Vietnam under Johnson.

The economy will only improve when all American housholds have to have a new widget that is made domestically and costs $5000 to really fire up the economic engine.

Al Gore did not invent the internet, but putting the internet in schools made the PC necessary for homework and all housholds ran out and bought one because the kids needed it for school.

Whoever is President when the new widget takes off will be credited with the economic boom.

GW has done the standard things to get the economy going, cut taxes - no response, start a war - this is responsible for the lift from the pits of last year, but is still Govt spending in a deficit mode.

What will Kerry do to create jobs ?
and how will he pay for it ?
Deficit ? or higher taxes which will slow existing economy even more.

More Govt spending, to do what ?

Space exploration - no public appetite unless the doomsday asteroid is found.

Highways - Eisenhower did that.

BTW - I see no good ideas from either of them, and Kerry's foreign policy of "ask the UN" is evading his Commander in Chief responsibilities before he even gets the position.

Maybe Kerry could get an alternative fuel going, now that's something Bush cannot do.

Every houshold in the US buying a new car running on fuel cells would definitly provide the sort of economic lift to usher in a new boom.”

“How about applying basic textbook economics and putting money in the hands of people who will spend it instead of relying on discredited trickle down 'voodoo economics'?

It's really not rocket science. The theory and tools are there. Ideology and greed are preventing sound policies from being put in place.”

“BTW - I see no good ideas from either of them, and Kerry's foreign policy of "ask the UN" is evading his Commander in Chief responsibilities before he even gets the position.


Either people are really so unimaginative as to be unable to comprehend the practice of actual diplomacy, or are so jaded against the rest of the world that they feel that the US can stand alone against all others. Either way, it's an obtuse statement.”

“"Kerry's foreign policy of "ask the UN" is evading his Commander in Chief responsibilities before he even gets the position."

Imagine all the lives and money we would have saved if the UN took action againsta Iraq, instead of us going in with GB, Poland and Spain?”

“Shrub is toast. His support group has dwindled to just the really hard-core members of the American Nazi Party (initials GOP). His dumping of Cheney for Guiliani at the convention won't turn the tide for him like Rove thinks it will. His only hope is that the maker of many of our new electronic voting machines is a die-hard partisan for him, who has sworn to do whatever it takes to deliver votes to bush. Shrub's backup strategy is to stage another Sep 11th-like attack, and then declare a national emergency wherein a transfer of power would be "unadvisable". Then it will be either civil war, or the end of American democracy, such as it is. Too bad GOP criminals control congress, or we could have impeached this nitwit long ago.”

“How about applying basic textbook economics and putting money in the hands of people who will spend it instead of relying on discredited trickle down 'voodoo economics'?

It's really not rocket science. The theory and tools are there. Ideology and greed are preventing sound policies from being put in place."


Putting money in the hands that will spend it sort of ignores the fact that money has no value other than as a medium of exchange.

First you create something of value, then the money is worth something. If people get money with no creation of value you have inflation.

Car market - replacement only and then 1/2 of the value goes overseas.
Major appliances - mostly replacement, small growth with new housing market.
Entertainment - replacement, everyone already has a TV, stereo, DVD etc, also mostly made overseas.
Air transport - American manufactureres being seriously challenged by Europe, industry doing poorly because people are not flying as much.

Where is this money that you are going to put in the hand of spenders coming from Violin ?

Deposits - the other side of banking.”

“Both Reagan and Clinton expanded the earned income credit and inflation went down or remained stable on their watch.”

“Wasn't Reagan the founder of what you describe as "discredited trickle down 'voodoo economics'"?

Didn't it result in stagflation ?
Didn't it result in the largest deficit up til that time?

Of course the Reagan tax cuts resulted in huge revenue gains for the Fed Govt and unfortunately with both houses controlled by Democrats who spent far more than they took in.

But to look at the good side, we bankrupted the USSR and never had to fight a nuclear war.”

“Stagflation was the term used to describe what happened during the 70's. Remember?

Reagan's tax cuts didn't increase revenues - it cut them. I proved that several times here but I don't really feel like going through it again.”

“Violin cutting and pasting a few references that agree with your position does not constitute proof of anything other than that some people agree with you.

Just as Buck and Strat can also cut and paste references of people who do not agree with you. That does not make them correct either.

What makes your cut and paste correct and theirs wrong ?

your opinion that is all.”

“Manuka, Violin's proven that his opinion is based on a wide array of financial fact. There's a difference in supporting your opinion with facts and figures and supporting it with more opinion.

BTW, I blieve his degree is in economics, so you might want to bring your A game in this discussion.”

“Repeating fallacies that are ridiculed by every single mainstream economist in the world does not make you right manuka.

Do me a favor. Go get the figures from the IRS for tax collections during the 80’s. Get the CPI numbers for the same time period and adjust the revenue figures to nominal dollars. You’ll see that tax collections actually dropped following the Reagan tax cuts, in nominal dollars. Finally, do the same for the decades before and after the Reagan years and compare the growth in revenues that finally occurred in the latter years of Reagan’s presidency (after he was forced to raise rates because of the runaway deficits) to the growth in revenues under other presidents as the population grew and the economy developed.

If you can still claim that the Reagan tax cuts grew federal revenues, I’ll make sure the Nobel people know about you.


I’m not really interested in petty bickering on this thread. I am basking in the knowledge that America has finally awakened and will take back the country come November.”

“I’m not really interested in petty bickering on this thread. I am basking in the knowledge that America has finally awakened and will take back the country come November."
Violin
03:33:49 PM
05/25/04

Translation: YHBT HAND”