Originally Posted By FaMulan <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2242262&page=1" target="_blank">http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/stor y?id=2242262&page=1</a> "...Republican candidates all over the country are running from the president with the energy and determination of Barkley in the paint. It's no secret as to why: A brand-new Wall Street Journal poll shows President Bush's unpopularity has stayed relatively steady all year, with 56 percent of those polled disapproving of the president's job performance, and a staggering 60 percent of the nation thinking the United States is on the wrong track. " "The most notorious case in point this week: Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, a rising star in the Republican Party and the GOP Senate candidate from Maryland, made a daring admission. "In this political climate, being a Republican is like having a scarlet letter 'R' on your cloak, on your clothing," Steele said to WBAL-AM radio on Wednesday. " Typical Election Year shenanigans, or a commentary on the current person in the office of the president?
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Typical to me.....remember the exodus from Bill Clinton's camp the last 2 years of his presidency, and his popularoty numbers were higher than W's now by far. Lame duck president and all want to be ' their own person'....heck even Gore the VP ran from Clinton which may have been just one more in a line of fatal mistakes he made.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper ^Agreed. Even Reagan had his detractors toward the end (Iran Contra) and candidate put some distance between him...and he was perhaps the most popular Republican President in history. Of course, when they all want money they will be calling on him to show up for fundraisers.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Indeed, he was just here to stump for the GOP running for governor...of course he spent more time with the Dem mayor of Chicago - Richie Daley, as they spent an evening together celebrating the pres's birthday... The mayor can do more to ensure the GOP gets the governorship ( and my guess is will behidn the scenes) -as the Dem who won last time doesnot have a good relationship with the city of Chicago, nor his father in law, long time alderman in Chicago. So yeah, they'll want him when things go well, and not otherwise...but again like you said even with Reagan...it is how the pols act...and at times one has to wonder if it costs them more than they think ( Gore a perfect example )
Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072601740.html" target="_blank">http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072601740.html</a> >>"I've been quoted before as calling the president my homeboy, you know, and that's how I feel," Steele said on WBAL (1090 AM) radio in Baltimore. "I'm not afraid of George Bush. If the president wants to come and help me in Maryland, he is more than welcome. I'm not going to turn my back on a friend. I'm not going to do that. I want to make that very clear."..... White House press secretary Tony Snow suggested that Bush was just fine with the relationship. Snow said Steele's comments had come to Bush's attention, but he declined to share the president's reaction. "I could, but I won't," Snow said with a laugh. "The president understands what politics are about, and he wants Michael Steele to be elected United States senator." Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R), who picked Steele as his running mate in 2002, touted Steele's "independent streak" yesterday while distancing himself from his lieutenant governor's comments. "He's always going to speak his mind," Ehrlich told reporters after a meeting in Annapolis. "Those are his views. They're not my views." During the radio interview, Steele suggested that he was surprised to see his unattributed comments in print Tuesday in an article by Washington Post reporter Dana Milbank. Steele said they represented only a portion of what he said at the luncheon -- leaving out, he said, comments favorable to Bush. And Steele said he was surprised by all the attention, given that he has made similar statements in the past. "There was nothing new said," Steele said. "I'm not trying to dis the president," he added. "I'm not trying to distance myself from the president. I'm trying to show those lines where I have a different perspective and a different point of view. If I'm not free to share that as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, how can people expect me to share that and express that as a United States senator?"<<
Originally Posted By cmpaley Is it me or has this become a right-wing echo chamber? Almost every thread nowadays is: Poster A: "(Insert right wing statement here)." Poster B: "Oh, I agree! Don't you HATE it when the libs..." Poster C: "You're right! The dems are so..." Poster D: "Hey, wait a minute! (response to right-wing statement)" Poster E: "Poster D, you are a terrorist loving, America hating dog! Burn in hell!" Poster F: "Yeah! Who do you think you are! You know NOTHING of which you speak!" ETC.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper cm...where in the above 5 posts is your premise played out? I don't see that at all. Of course, if this were a post about how bad Bush is (not that there are many of those posts around here) and there were a thousand replies of "here-here" than I'm sure you would just say that was good conversation.
Originally Posted By cmpaley Not so! I just think it would be...different if the right-wingers would actually speak to the facts and not call people who disagree with the right-wing cabal in charge "terrorist-loving" or "America hating."
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Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Typical Election Year shenanigans, or a commentary on the current person in the office of the president?<< I would say that it's typical politics for candidates to flock to someone who is popular and distance themselves from someone who's not. The President currently is at 37% approval in the latest Rassmussen Reports. At this point, the people who strongly approve of the President are almost exclusively dyed-in-the-wool GOP voters, so a GOP candidate has them locked in regardless of whether Bush stumps for them or not. There's more potential risk in having the President make an endorsement at this point than not if they need to reach moderate voters.
Originally Posted By ecdc Well said, 2oony. Comparing the "Clinton Fatigue" the last two years of his Presidency to the disasters that George W. Bush has wrought is laughable. People got fed up with the Starr investigation, with the overexposure the Clinton's had in the media, and people who were convinced from the beginning that Bill was "Slick Willy" capitalized on it. George W. Bush can't seem to do anything right. Failure in Iraq, failure in New Orleans, now we have Egypt saying our action is too little, too late in the Middle East. He's done absolutely nothing for the American people as of late, except veto a stem-cell bill that could've helped those in need. All Americans need to do is step back and ask themselves, "What has George Bush done to help me and my family the last two years?" The answer is not a single thing. But the Usual Suspects insist it's due to the liberal media, etc. for Bush's abysmal approval ratings. Yet they can't point to a single, solitary success - at least not ones split down party lines. Even conservatives were thrilled with the economy under Bill Clinton.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper ecdc...What has the world/UN/etc done for the Middle East. Why must the Americans be the one's who dropped the ball. I think Bush's abysmal ratings are not due to the media (though they certainly contribute) but do to his administration's complete and total failure to communicate clearly and effectively. And, it isn't just because he can't pronounce nuclear. His people do not put up a good fight for him and I think that is unfortunate. I won't address all of your points because that, in itself, is pointless. But, I will say that I and my family are happy with the state of the economy right now. My taxes have been kept relatively stable over the last 8 years. With a Democrat in office I'm certain I wouldn't be able to say the same thing. I recoginze that the administration has very little to do with gas prices and I don't help matters by driving an SUV. Do I like high prices at the pump? No. Do I blame Bush for that? No. My 401K for the past 8 years has gone up. Moderately compared to the 90s and the artifical dot.com success but it is still gaining and I appreciate that since Social Security won't be there for me when I need it. (Though, I don't blame Bush for that....At least he had the guts to try and tackle the issue.) So, that is the economy perspective anyway. Plus, I think it remains to be seen what will happen in November.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>his administration's complete and total failure to communicate clearly and effectively<< I agree. Love him or hate him, Bill Clinton and his administration were masterful at making complex issues easy for the average person to understand. And George Bush tends to struggle through one pre-written statement after another, rarely going off the cuff. When he does, it's hit and miss ('We hear you' being the high point, 'Bring it on' or 'You're doin' a heck of a job, Brownie' arguably the lows). When an administration has control of both houses and the bully pulpit, not being able to communicate their ideas clearly is pretty bad, and perhaps another reason GOP cadidates would seek to distance themselves.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <Even conservatives were thrilled with the economy under Bill Clinton.< sure as heck not the last 2 years they weren't
Originally Posted By Beaumandy <<George W. Bush can't seem to do anything right. Failure in Iraq, failure in New Orleans, now we have Egypt saying our action is too little, too late in the Middle East. He's done absolutely nothing for the American people as of late, except veto a stem-cell bill that could've helped those in need.>> This is the most backwards and ignorant post I have seen in a while. Not only are you totlaly wrong but you fail to admit the liberals have NO ideas to help America.. nothing! If we let your type run things the economy would crash and terrorists would get a free pass to kill us. Your stem cell bill was a joke also. No way should the federal governemnt fund that. Private investors won't fund it eaither because it's a bust. Keep trying though. Some day you will see that whining without any counter ideas except socialism will contiue to keep you in the minority.
