An Update on the "Worst President in US History"TM
The two latest polls show President George W. Bush's approval ratings in the gutter. A Quinnipiac University poll (June 7-11) gives the President a pathetic 28% approval, with 65% disapproving of his Presidency. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll (June 8-11) indicates about the same, with 29% approving and 66% (a full two-thirds) disapproving. In each poll, a handful of apparently comatose Americans had no opinion.
As regards the war in Iraq, a whopping 68% of Americans disapprove of the President's handling of the war, with barely more than a quarter (26%) approving. 54% believe that, since the surge, things have only gotten worse in Iraq, and 59% believe that the US should begin to reduce its troop levels there.
While Congress continues to get pretty poor approval ratings, Americans by a very wide margin (56%-32%) would like to see greater Democratic control of Congress. This is very likely a reaction to Congress's inability -- or unwillingness -- to push the Bush administation back against the wall and demand an immediate start to the redeployment of US troops from Iraq. A similar trend is evident in a Los Angeles Times poll and article that indicates that while a majority of Americans want to see a Democrat in the White House in 2008, head-to-head matchups of potential candidates show Hillary Clinton lagging behind potential GOP candidates.
And as of the moment of this writing, 3,521 US GIs have died in Iraq, not including 111 who died of self-inflicted wounds.
Happy Father's Day.
The two latest polls show President George W. Bush's approval ratings in the gutter. A Quinnipiac University poll (June 7-11) gives the President a pathetic 28% approval, with 65% disapproving of his Presidency. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll (June 8-11) indicates about the same, with 29% approving and 66% (a full two-thirds) disapproving. In each poll, a handful of apparently comatose Americans had no opinion.
As regards the war in Iraq, a whopping 68% of Americans disapprove of the President's handling of the war, with barely more than a quarter (26%) approving. 54% believe that, since the surge, things have only gotten worse in Iraq, and 59% believe that the US should begin to reduce its troop levels there.
While Congress continues to get pretty poor approval ratings, Americans by a very wide margin (56%-32%) would like to see greater Democratic control of Congress. This is very likely a reaction to Congress's inability -- or unwillingness -- to push the Bush administation back against the wall and demand an immediate start to the redeployment of US troops from Iraq. A similar trend is evident in a Los Angeles Times poll and article that indicates that while a majority of Americans want to see a Democrat in the White House in 2008, head-to-head matchups of potential candidates show Hillary Clinton lagging behind potential GOP candidates.
And as of the moment of this writing, 3,521 US GIs have died in Iraq, not including 111 who died of self-inflicted wounds.
Happy Father's Day.
Dr. Fallon
10 Comments
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness, in a descending spiral of destruction. The chain reaction of evil must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation. - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I'm surprised that with all of those statistics you mentioned, the people aren't trying that hard to correct it. I think what really holds us back is that fear of RESPONSIBILITY. As Edmund Burke said,
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
You are partly responsible for this world you live in. Take your part in it and help people to see that they have a part as well. We seem to be having small wars more and more often since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913. If you want more info on that - I have an article on my page. Knowledge is power folks!
I don't think it is complacency on the part of the public; I think it is complicity in mass ignorance, or as Neil Postman called it, Amusing Ourselves to Death. We would rather ignore what ugliness exists in the world and let it go on beyond our consciousness than to face it and have to choose to life with it -- and its ugly consequences -- or do something about it.
We tell ourselves, "My happiness is the most important thing, and as long as I'm not doing something directly to harm someone else, it's okay."
We should all go back and read John Donne's Meediation XVII.
One of the most succinct quotes I know came from a poster glued to the side of a church. It said : You can't fight for peace with your fists clenched.
The problem is, I have trouble with the very expression 'fight for peace'.
Don't get me wrong, I am a peace monger through and through, but I understand that not everyone is. Lao Tsu said "If one desires peace, one must prepare for war". He did not mean that by the use of violence one finds peace. But by understanding motivations and being prepared to deal with the consequences of those motivations and actions, one finds peace. An ounce of prevention as it were.
The other point is by having respect for ones self and for others, confidence in ones abilities, and an understanding of ones desires and motivations, one removes the need to prove ones worth, therefore reducing ones need for definition in a hierarchy and instinctual aggression. On a grander scale, removing the need for war.
All of this doesn't amount to a hill of beans though. The facts of this article highlight the terrible cost that war has on people, environment, and spirit. There is not good time to receive news that your loved one is a number on a casualty roster. Fathers day is no different than Christmas or any other day. The person you love is still dead.
I have a friend and a cousin currently in Afghanistan. I have another friend who's child I watched grow up, ship off to Manitoba for final training before leaving for Afghanistan this coming February. I know all to well the cost of war. And the price is too high.
However, do we allow those with no respect for life to continue to commit mass murder, rape, child abuse, genocide, persecution of faith, and other such warlord type terrorist behavior just to keep our ideals of peace, and keep our love ones out of danger? Or do we stand up and protect those who cannot protect themselves? Do we send the message that these types of actions are unacceptable for all people and that we will support our believes wether or not we are directly threatened?
If there is an easy answer, I would LOVE to hear it.
Impeachment was the solution, but i think its too late at this point
my cousin is back over there in Iraq. i wish democrats would fight harder against the republicans to end this war.
i try to put myself in the peoples' shoes that have to live in iraq everyday - what if i was an iraqi who lost my family because the usa dropped a bomb on them? would i feel angry hell yeah i would!
my cousin is in iraq right now - if he doesnt make it back, will i be angry? yes i will be.
"The object of your blame is always less of an obstacle than your decision to blame." -D. Patrick Miller
Hey you know AdGuy always gets the last word! ;)