Mister Tee wrote:A new Pew poll puts Bush's approval at 29% (61% disapprove). Harris Interactive, CBS and Newsweek have previously put him below 30, but they are considered low-readers in general. Pew doesn't fall into that category, so this is a signal of even greater erosion.
I'm visiting my Mom in Connecticut. When the Supreme Court established Bush's coup d'état in 2000, my Mom put a black sash on her front porch, a mourning symbol which used to be employed by grieving families in the first part of the last century.
We were sitting on the porch this afternoon having gin and tonics, when one of my Mom's best friends dropped by. She is a wonderful woman, loving, caring, very active in charity work, but with the distressing chracater flaw that she is a Republican. She noted the black sash and said, "I'm going to get one for our house too. I hate that bastard." Then she smiled shyly and said, "Some of us are slow learners."
By the same token, it was fascinating how little the Repugnant candidates in the debate tonight wanted to be associated with Worst President Ever, a far cry from how the Democrats embraced Bill Clinton the other night.
{MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - President Bush drew sporadic, startling criticism Tuesday night from Republican White House hopefuls unhappy with his handling of the Iraq war, his diplomatic style and his approach to immigration.
"I would certainly not send him to the United Nations" to represent the United States, said Tommy Thompson, the former Wisconsin governor and one-time member of Bush's Cabinet, midway through a spirited campaign debate.
Arizona Sen. John McCain criticized the administration for its handling of the Iraq War, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said, "I think we were underprepared and underplanned for what came after we knocked down Saddam Hussein."
Rep. Duncan Hunter of California said the current administration "has the slows" when it comes to building a security fence along the border with Mexico.
Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado recalled that White House aide Karl Rove had once told him "never darken the door of the White House." The congressman said he'd tell George W. Bush the same thing.
The criticism of Bush was more in keeping of the type of rhetoric that could be expected when Democratic presidential contenders debate.
Its prominence at the GOP event - while Bush was traveling overseas - was a reflection of his poor poll ratings and the need of even members of his own party to campaign on platforms of change. . . .
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee added his voice to those criticizing the war effort. He added that the Bush administration "lost credibility" with its response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Thompson's answer was the most startling, coming from a man who had once served in the president's Cabinet as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.}
