Bush is in strong position

USA TODAY ^ | 1/06/04 | Susan Page,

[kattracks]

DES MOINES

[dagnabbit]

Wonder how Jorge will do if he gets his precious illegals voting rights fast enough?

[pettifogger]

I love reading good news, but I'm starting to hate these stories -- I worry about complacency.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Don't worry. Even if Rove thinks Bush will have a cakewalk he knows the Senate nominees won't and he'll spend all his time on those-- which is about the same thing as spending all his time on Bush's re-election since all these Republicans are wrapping themselves around Bush 100%.

[blanknoone]

This is not good news. As a matter of fact, it is not news at all...it is propaganda. Don't get me wrong, it is great the President will trash Dean, or any other dem candidate, but that is not what this story is about or why it was published.

The USA Today is spinning hard to try to destroy the Dean candidacy so something closer to a legitimate dem candidate is in the race. This is Clintonistas pushing for Clark.

[CWOJackson]

"This is Clintonistas pushing for Clark."

Exactly. Whoever wins the nomination gets to put their own loyalists in charge of the DNC and it's money. The Clintons want to make sure that it will be someone who will support Hillary when she announces.

[ClearCase_guy]

Yup. There is a big effort in the Media to bring Dean down. That's because the media wants Bush to fall, and they know Dean is not the man to do the job. So, step 1 is bringing down Dean.

[VRWC_minion]

There is a big effort in the Media to bring Dean down.

Or at least bring him to the negotiating table. Either way the Clinton mafia wins.

[driftless]

Dean is the most unqualified Dem candidate I've ever seen in over fifty years of looking at them. That speaks volumes for the mental mindset of the Dems nowadays who have abandoned sanity for fanaticism. Dems who think that Dean is a moderate should look at all his positions. This country's major leftist publication "The Nation" magazine would approve of them.

[Hillary's Folly]

President Bush leads Democratic front-runner Howard Dean by 22 percentage points in the latest USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll.

But, but, but Chris Matthews just told me yesterday that Bush only had a 5 point lead against Dean, which is within the margine of error, he gleefully pointed out.

[Flyover Country]

Courting of Conservatives???? More like back-stabbing the conservatives! This love fest with the "illegals" is a hard one to swallow. Hope Congress gets his heart right.

[TheGeezer]

Complacency is a Bush staff worry, too:

He said the nation's close political divide means the two candidates are almost sure to finish within 4 or 5 percentage points of each other. A Reagan-style landslide would be "impossible" today, Dowd says. [Dowd is a Bush strategist]

I think a Reagan-style landslide is possible today, but I'm no expert. I think Rove et. al. will approach this election as it-will-be-very-close and sling the sludge just as feverishly as MoveOn.org, DU, the NYT, DNC, etc., etc.

[montag813]

Bush is in strong position

So why does he need to payoff illegals to grab Latino votes?

[xzins]

The poll you've posted says that Pres. Bush is standing tall leading into the election. My sense is that he has an extremely consistent group of about 51% who have stood with him EVEN in the harder times. My theory is that the slug-fest election aftermath in Florida in 2000 absolutely solidified some folk's support for him. Then they had that support tested again by the events of 9/11, and then again at the start of the Iraq War. They haven't wavered since.

51% is impossible for the Dems to overcome.

[DrDeb]

What is/was your reaction to President Reagan's 'blanket amnesty' program -- were you equally as disparaging; equally as willing to 'dump' President Reagan (either then or now)?

[FYI: President Bush has advocated the policy he plans to announce today since his days as the governor of Texas -- where have you been?]

[Mr. Mojo]

shows that Bush's courting of conservative Republicans

By signing CFR (and thus trashing the 1st Amendment)? By signing a mega-million dollar prescription drug entitlement? By increasing farm subsidies by 80%. By not vetoing a single piece of pork-barrel legislation? By giving $15 billion to sub-Saharan Africa (ostensibly to fight AIDS). By threatening to sign the (so-called) Assault Weapons renewal bill?

Oh

[gimmealewinsky]

While you may be correct in the support solidifying, the opposite remains true as well. If you read or listen to those on the other side, they have a hatred and loathing for Bush I don't even think they held for Reagan. And THAT'S saying something.
This election, IMO, will break down about 45-45, with the soft 10% sealing the deal. It will be a close one, as all Presidential elections will be for the foreseeable future.
My guess this far out Bush 52%/ Dim 48.
Yea I know that's useless, but it's slow at work...

[xzins]

Bush always has 51%....not 45%.

The only way to change that dynamic is to bring NEW VOTERS into the mix.

Republicans should fight like crazy for their 50% of any new voters.

[EQAndyBuzz]

Only 4 in 10 Dem candidates that have led on January 1 ever gone on to win the Democratic nomination.

Remember that.

[blanknoone]

I think the 45-45 is simplistic and the no landslides is wrong. I would break the electorate down into 25% loyal Rs, 10% Usually Rs, 30% loyal Ds, 15% Usually Ds and 20% who split their vote to a significant degree.

A REPUBLICAN landslide (popular vote) is indeed an impossiblity, but a democrat one is a possibility. The electoral college is another matter. R's can still win big, but not 49 state big, at least not for a long time. There are too many big, totally loyal D states.

If you think landslides are impossible think about this: The D's are likely to lose, decisively, but not landslide with Dean. If the R's put up someone as far out there as Doctor Demento is, it would be a landslide the likes of which has never been seen before...I'm talking all 50 electorally and a much bigger blowout popularly than has ever been seen before. I know, its hard to imagine someone as far out there on our side, but I'm sure if we searched long enough and hard enough, one could be found...but we'd probably have to go to someplace like Vermont.

R's have to WIN the center to win national elections. D's just have to split the center fairly evenly to win big.