Politics: Part 1 - Why People Hate Bush in March
I thought I'd do a multipart piece on politics, mostly in America, but partly in New York. I'm hoping it won't be too much left vs. right for the most part. Then again, something struck me today, so I'm going to go with it.
A lot has been speculated about Bush's declining approval numbers from the beginning on February to mid March. The numbers have gone from the low 50s to the mid 40s. This is probably unwelcome, but not devastating news. Approval ratings go up when presidents do nothing, they go down when they do anything. Bush has chosen action.
The question is what action is lowering his approval. It's probably not the war. The death toll is approaching levels not seen since Howard Dean was screaming during the primaries. Besides, that wouldn't help his opponents much. What issues do they credit? Social Security reform, and recently, the Schiavo vote.
These events are politically advantageous for blame. One is a decision that Bush has made that can't be undone, the other a program that Democrats are trying to kill. This move also ignores rising gas prices, a situation that neither party can do much about. And of course, it presupposes that Bush is losing support because people don't agree with his actions.
Wait a second. If Bush seems to be failing, why would his opponents not approve? And who approved of Bush right after the Inauguration but suddenly didn't support him due to his stand on private accounts? It doesn't sound much like a weak Democrat. To me, it seems like those former supporters sound like people who agree with Bush on principle, but are frustrated by the lack of progress. Social Security is the subject of a huge tour. Terri Schiavo will most likely die. This isn't a matter of people diagreeing with Bush's beliefs, but dissatisfaction with his results.
A lot has been speculated about Bush's declining approval numbers from the beginning on February to mid March. The numbers have gone from the low 50s to the mid 40s. This is probably unwelcome, but not devastating news. Approval ratings go up when presidents do nothing, they go down when they do anything. Bush has chosen action.
The question is what action is lowering his approval. It's probably not the war. The death toll is approaching levels not seen since Howard Dean was screaming during the primaries. Besides, that wouldn't help his opponents much. What issues do they credit? Social Security reform, and recently, the Schiavo vote.
These events are politically advantageous for blame. One is a decision that Bush has made that can't be undone, the other a program that Democrats are trying to kill. This move also ignores rising gas prices, a situation that neither party can do much about. And of course, it presupposes that Bush is losing support because people don't agree with his actions.
Wait a second. If Bush seems to be failing, why would his opponents not approve? And who approved of Bush right after the Inauguration but suddenly didn't support him due to his stand on private accounts? It doesn't sound much like a weak Democrat. To me, it seems like those former supporters sound like people who agree with Bush on principle, but are frustrated by the lack of progress. Social Security is the subject of a huge tour. Terri Schiavo will most likely die. This isn't a matter of people diagreeing with Bush's beliefs, but dissatisfaction with his results.
posted by RomeHater @ 11:45 AM
1 Comments:
At March 27, 2005 7:09 PM,
Craig Howard said…
I think his and the Republicans' actions over the Schiavo case may play a big part in it. Now I don't think it will last -- these incessant polls are meaningless.
But a good many Republicans (myself included and I'm as big a Bush supporter as exists) and libertarians were quite dismayed over what we see as unnecessary government intrusion on a family matter.
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