Posted on 03/24/2008 1:37:40 PM PDT by shrinkermd
Some certainly do. And one could easily get the impression that the Bush-haters have become a majority. To be sure, President Bush's approval ratings continue to languish in the 30s. But Presidential approval ratings are a very blunt instrument, and these data from the Tarrance Group suggest that the full story is more balanced.
Most striking to me is that 56% of respondents approve of the President personally. This seems remarkable in view of the endless, savage attacks that have been launched on Bush by the Left and repeated, often uncritically, in the mainstream media.
Beyond that, a number of President Bush's policies are popular: reauthorizing the Protect America Act (70%), a budget that is lower than proposed by Democrats and that contains no tax increases (65%), the recently-enacted stimulus package (64%), the surge in Iraq (52%), and others. In addition, 73% agree with the proposition that the Bush administration went on the offensive against terrorists, and 65% say that it has kept Americans safe from terrorist attacks.
For many reasons, 2008 will be a challenging year for Republicans. But these data indicate that the Democrats may be mistaken if they think that "tarring" any Republican candidate by association with the President is a sure-fire strategy.
(Excerpt) Read more at powerlineblog.com ...
The Tarrance Report can be found: HERE.
I would hope someone in the know would drop everything and explore the nature of global likeability assessments that we receive every day.
The data from the Tarrance Group is astounding and iconoclastic in some ways.
I sure do not hate the president but I do hate left wing Democrats. Cursed be to those that want to destroy my country and Constitution.
And, often he looks absolutely clueless.
65% approve of his budget and its massive out of control deficits?
Sorry, but his proposal for deficits of $592 billion for 2008 and $525 billion for 2009 should not be met with approval from any fiscal conservative.
The sad thing is that he’s proposing these massive deficits without allowing for any AMT relief past this year, fixing social security, or doing anything substantial to improve the long term outlook....
You have hit the nail on the head.
No decent person can hate the man personally. Good grief. That is a job for liberals only.
That said, GWB has been an abject failure as a President, from a conservative perspective in any event. And he doesn’t strike me as really on top of things intellectually. Nor is he much of a communicator. Good guy, but probably never should have been President. Would make a great next door neighbor or grandpa, and that’s not nothing. Not sure he should have been President, though.
65% approve of his budget and its massive out of control deficits?
Sorry, but his proposal for deficits of $592 billion for 2008 and $525 billion for 2009 should not be met with approval from any fiscal conservative.
The sad thing is that he’s proposing these massive deficits without allowing for any AMT relief past this year, fixing social security, or doing anything substantial to improve the long term outlook....
I do not hate W. In fact, I am thankful every day that he is President and Algore/Kerry are not.
True, but it's so delicously ironic that the Democrats trumpet this, and somehow quash the "other" fact...
Congressional Approval ratings are even lower than the Presidents...
I love how the democrats are able to have it both ways, all the time, and never get called on it....sigh...
Only Conservatives.
I don’t hate him. I do have reservations about his administration, though. He did some good things, and he did some bad things, more good than bad in my opinion. However, his New Tone in Washington initiative made him a target for the people that he was trying to get along with. It was naive at best. Then, it seemed like he was pleading with people to believe him, almost to the point of sounding strident. Plus, he allowed people to call him stupid, and did nothing to rebut their assertions, so the big lie grew and grew. It didn’t help that he has yet to pronounce the word, nuclear,” correctly. And, in true Christian fashion, he turned the other cheek, and they smote him again. And again. And again. I think even Jesus would have given up long ago, and smote back. But, all that being said, I notice none of his friends and close associates died or were imprisoned in the almost eight years.
Personally, I love the guy.
(Read my tagline)
People are just tired of him.
It's the seven year itch.
Barring really sensational happenings, a third of the population is going to support a given president under all manner of circumstances, and another third is going to oppose that president no matter what.
It's the middle third that makes the rating high or low.
Right now that middle third is against Bush, but not passionately, so far as I can tell.
They just think he's outstayed his welcome.
I’m not going to read this thread because I’ve had my fill of the Bush bashers here on FR. I just want to say that I adore him. I’m so glad he is the president. And if he was running again, I would vote for him in a heartbeat. God Bless W!
“Does Everyone Hate President Bush?”
Does any Western Male writing opinion still have a pair? I know that our President does. Yep, disagree with him on more than I ever though I would, and don’t like his compassionate conservatism or Leftie-type Christianity, but I doubt he would ever write a title like this.
I have to admit that on some issues, there are times that I would like to kick Bush in the butt, but I would still consider it an honor to shake his hand.
But as for the democrats and MSM, they are all traitors and deserve no quarter.
I'm with you.
I have a W decal on my truck. I voted for him, donated, campaigned and always defend him outside this forum.
But the border, spending and his positions on the “climate change” scam have left me disappointed.
Someday, he will be appreciated. John McCain will make Bush look like Reagan in overdrive.
No. I like the man.
It is very upsetting to hear some of the horrible things that people say about our President. I may not agree with all of his policies and certainly do not adhere to the “compassionate” conservatism, that results in bigger gov’t, but I believe him to be a good man and trying his darndest to keep America and its citizens safe.
Same here. I just wish he had been more to the right.
No I don’t hate him. I think he’s done a pretty fine job of fighting the offensive side of the war on terror.
“I’m not going to read this thread because I’ve had my fill of the Bush bashers here on FR. I just want to say that I adore him. I’m so glad he is the president. And if he was running again, I would vote for him in a heartbeat. God Bless W!”
ditto!!
It's not always easy to know the success of a presidency until some time passes. We shall see how history judges him.
So Reagan was an abject failure too, huh? He was much more liberal in office than President Bush has been.
I loved Reagan, and voted for him twice. But Bush has ended up better. Bush didn’t actually pass an amnesty. Bush didn’t appoint anyone like Ginsberg to the court, but has gotten us some very fine justices. Bush hasn’t tripled the budget, and Bush didn’t cut and run when things got hard, in re Lebanon.
I think, and I do hope, that history will look back very fondly on President Bush. He has qualities that are all too rare in a public figure. I think he has integrity, he does what he believes is right whether it is popular or not, and there is never any distance between what he says and what he does.
IMHO anyway.
I like President Bush. I disagree with him on some major points, but I think he has been honest about his positions, and I respect him.
I don’t hate him at all. Bush is, at least, pretty much what he advertised for better or worse. Conservatives who feel a little short-changed for having helped elect him are in for a mighty rude awakening when the best we can hope for is John McCain. And it could be worse, oh, so very much worse.
I do not hate the President. I am very disappointed in him and for completely opposite reasons that the liberals criticize him for.
He’s kept us safe since 911, he’s protected babies in the womb, he has continually been trying to get things across (like Social Security) just to be bashed to death by our wonderful Congress. He never ran as a true conservative. We knew pretty much what we were getting when we voted for him. Of course, we could have gotten Al or John...how much worse would that have been? I haven’t been crazy about his stance on immigration, but he’s done as good a job as most would have.
Amen, amen, amen!!!
and he wasn’t getting Lewinskied in the Oral Room.
So do I. I read a prophecy about him not too long ago where God spoke a word to the writer and said that He had kept this nation safe BECAUSE of President Bush and his prayer life on our behalf. I hope that can be said of our next president.
I love the man and will get the opportunity to tell him so personally on Thursday!
[For those on this thread who claim that President Bush failed as both a ‘conservative’ and a ‘communicator’ I ask you this: Did you or would you claim the same about President Reagan?
On EVERY objective/empirical measure, President Bush is MORE conservative than President Reagan . . . On most measures, President Bush is an excellent communicator who has given MORE consequential speeches than President Reagan and as has yet to be hidden from the media for fear of committing major gaffes as President Reagan was in 1987 and 1988. BTW: President Reagan was a GREAT president and so is President George W Bush! It’s the purists who create the impossible benchmarks; it’s the President who must function within the constraints of political reality and behave accordingly.]
YAY!! Good post.
I still love President Bush. I take up for him every chance I get.
It's called being the loyal opposition. Now of course the democrats seem to have forgotten that.
I don’t hate anyone, that includes Pres Bush but yes he has done some boneheaded things... but I don’t hate the man
Well, I feel the same way about McCain but I have been assured that he will surround himself with those that are smart. So I think to myself about how teams work. For instance, Lance Armstrong was on a great team. He, however, was still the best of all those on his team. He couldn’t have won the tour de France had he been the worst on his team on a good team. That is how parties should be. Our leader should still be the best we have, not simply someone who is surrounded by good leaders. He should be someone who can carry the ball on his own and connect with the American people all on his own if necessary.
It’s like we’ve decided that our leaders are such idiots that it just doesn’t matter anymore. Like, oh just support McCain, he’ll have good speech writers and advisors.
Reagan the man or Reagan the legend?
Two very different people on this forum.
His recognition of the rogue state of Kosovo has got to be the single biggest mistake ever and will be judged accordingly.
Finally, the WH was not meant to be a playground for the nice kids only. He has left the GOP floundering and the conservative right in tatters.
Wow...Ya read the most amazing statements on this site.
Roger that!!
I’m witchoo!
I’d take Bush over McCain.
I’ve been disappointed but grateful we’ve had him these last 8 years.
Disappointed in his spending policies, lack of border enforcement, claiming Islam is a ROP, and especially his illegal alien crap. Grateful for his SCOTUS appointments, support of our Military, etc.
George W. Bush has presided over the best economy in decades. He guided the country through a recession with a steady hand following 911 and he fought the War on Terror...toppled 2 terror supporting regimes and has practically stabilized the most unstable area in the world. BUT...most Americans think we lost the war in Iraq...we've spent 8 years in the worst economy ever and Geoge Bush and Dick Cheney are raising gas prices to line their own pockets. WHY??? Becauseee he has never bothered to fight hard enough to make his points prevail with the American public. He never made his case directly to the people. It's a shame.
i agree with you. can you imagine a GORE presidency and where we would be right now?
I probably wouldn't rate him this high but I think he deserves more credit than he gets. Frankly, I'm getting sick of the whiners on this website that remind me of blacks, who perpetually want to be victims.
We have a job to do and we need to stop whining and do it.
I don’t hate him.
I loathe him.
And if you don’t like what I have said, don’t ask in the first place.
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