And The Question Is...?
Rasmussen - via Gandelman - notes that even the Rasmussen poll (lately the most accurate presidential poll, and the one where Bush has done the best) is looking bad for Bush:
Thirty-nine percent (39%) of American adults approve of the way George W. Bush is performing his role as President. That's the lowest level of approval ever measured by Rasmussen Reports.
Sixty percent (60%) disapprove of Bush's job performance, the highest level ever recorded.
I'd love to see the question they were asked.
Looking at the way the results are phrase - "approval" and "disapproval" of the way the President has done his job - I'd assume the question is something like "Do you approve of the way the President is doing his job?"
If someone were to call me up and ask me that question, I'd probably be in that sixty-percent of disapprovers.
I suspect if you asked the six guys on the various NARN broadcasts, you'd be pretty close to sixty percent disapproval, too.
The President and his administration have botched so many things; they let a waffling, often-RINO Congress bog down his agenda; he has let the media and the Democrats (pardon the redundancy) control the message on countless stories, from Iraq to Katrina to immigration to Joe Wilson. And at the end of the day, he spends too much money - exactly as all of us Forbes people said he would back in 2000.
So yeah - I disapprove of the job he and his staff have been doing. It almost feels as if the President's staff, from Rove on down, took an extended break after the gruelling '04 race - the last extended period the President seemed to act like the President we know - and never really came back.
So yeah - if you ask Americans, especially committed conservatives, how they feel about the job Bush has been doing, we're going to be trending negative. It's been a negative year.
But ask a different question next: Would you prefer someone else in office right now? Algore? Kerry? Hillary!?, McCain, Giuliani? Nancy "The Velociraptor" Pelosi?
Someone should ask conservatives that question.
Posted by Mitch at
May 15, 2006 06:39 AM
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I think what we are seeing here is the unlamented death of compassionate conservatism.
Posted by: Terry at May 15, 2006 02:29 AMMitch said,
"Someone should ask conservatives that question."
I wish we could have had this discussion back in 2000 when I was trying like mad to convince my Republican friends and family that Bush was anything but an authentic conservative.
Once he got the GOP endorsement though it was all over. Thanks a lot guys.
By the way... Told you so, na na na na na na...
Posted by: Doug at May 15, 2006 07:26 AMOh, Bush for all his faults is still orders of magnitude better than Algore or Chauncey, make no mistake about it.
The question is about polling, not personalities.
Posted by: mitch at May 15, 2006 07:51 AMDoug, if your party had run anything but pathetic losers in 2000 and 2004 Bush might not be president today. With that whole "best economy in 25 years" line being touted in 1999 and Clinton the first Democrat since FDR to be elected twice Algore shouyld have swept Bush. But he didn't.
Posted by: Kermit at May 15, 2006 07:55 AMThen you fools ran John F Kerry. Some people never learn.
Back to the subject, if Bush anounces what the rumors say about a new, large military force on the southern border I think his numbers will improve dramatically.
Posted by: Kermit at May 15, 2006 07:57 AMAny of the above. Or almost anybody else on the American political scene you'd care to name. Gingrich? Bring him on. Frist, diagnosing people on videotape in his spare time? Sure, whatever. Conservative but competent would be a significant improvement. Heck, a national lottery to select a president at random couldn't yield a very much worse result, and would likely result a better one.
Let's let Kermit run the country. In a year or two, once he successfully locates his ass with both hands, I have to think the country couldn't be any worse.
Posted by: angryclown at May 15, 2006 08:50 AMAngryclown has no trouble locating his ass. All he has to do is scratch his large, red nose.
Posted by: Kermit at May 15, 2006 09:43 AMSo his ass is in his nose! Brilliant! What?
Posted by: Tim at May 15, 2006 03:09 PM"Someone should ask conservatives that question."
They should ask conservatives if they would like to see a liberal in the White House? What? That's your idea of a poll question? I know being wrong about everything for 2+ years can be stressful but, without question, you have hit a new level of what-the-fuckness with this post. Congratulations I guess.
Posted by: Tim at May 15, 2006 07:59 PMKermit, we'll never know what kind of president kerry would have made because he wasn't elected. We do however know that Bush turned out to be everything WE said he was.
I take that back. He's worse than we said.
You're down to relying on silly stunts like sending my neighbors kid to Texas to protect us from the invading vegetable pickers.
That and complain that the media is mean to the President.
Posted by: Doug at May 15, 2006 08:05 PM