Bush 34, Dems 25 is an argument I made when this came out. Good to see others agree. That leaves 41 ticked with both sides. A reform effort could gain mo

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thinnk of GW's numbers this way. After a year of unrelenting and unanswered attacks upon his character, his policies and his intelligence, the Democrats STILL have not politically finished him, or his policies.

GW hasn't taken credit for the economy.

GW hasn't explained the wild oscillation of gas prices.

GW hasn't defended his war policies, {until the last few days, that is}.

GW's attempt to reform Social Security fell apart.

And after all of these UNanswered attacks, he is still in a position to rebound nicely.

The Murtha episode is almost a Godsend. Murtha's statements exposed that the dryrot in their party runs deep, and no one is immune, not even former service members, not even former Marines.

No policy is as easy to articulate and defend as the President's decision to take down Saddam. And once the President begins to answer, begins to make his case once more to the American people, his numbers should swing sharply upwards. And once that happens, the Democrats are REALLY going to go ballistic. The GOP should see these poll numbers, and the ceaseless attacks upon the VP and the President, not as a crisis, not as an excuse to adopt some misguided bunker like approach. Rather we should see them as what they are, an OPPORTUNITY to expose ONCE AND FOR ALL, that the Democrats are a party that cannot be trusted.

Bunk.

Rasmussen (who came the closest in Nov., '04) shows Bush at 46%.

http://rasmussenreports.com/

Of course, then there's always the Minister of Torture

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.cheney25nov25,1,471707.story?coll=bal-home-headlines&ctrack=1&cset=true

42% view Chimpo as "honest and ethical" (vs. 58% who presumably do not), while 29% have the same view of the Minister of Torture. Of course, the Jawohl! crowd here just loves him. Why, the man is a wingnut's dream come true. Especially the part about making films of Iraqi translators raping teenage boys. You know those rape rooms that reopened under American management? Yeah, those rape rooms.

Wilson -- your consistent reporting of only half the story re: polls is more evidence of your own LYING than anything that "showed" the President lied about WMD.

And be careful about presuming ... it can bite you in the butt. For instance, how many of those you "presume" disapprove of Bush's ethics and honesty would do the same for ANY politician?

Face it ... as low as the President's approval numbers are (thanks to the irresponsible half-truths spread by people from the MSM to yourself) ... the approval numbers of the alternative to his leadership are lower.

We aren't fooled by the likes of you ... we won't be fooled again.

Speaking of good news, Rich, did you see the latest in The Wall Street Journal about the Abrahamoff scandal and the Republicans? By the time that one's finished, there will be dozens if not hundreds of your kind in the federal pen.

http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB113288941007506390.html

Excerpt:

WASHINGTON -- A Justice Department investigation into possible influence-peddling by prominent Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff is examining his dealings with four lawmakers, more than a dozen current and former congressional aides and two former Bush administration officials, according to lawyers and others involved in the case.

Investigators want to know whether Mr. Abramoff and his lobbying firm partners made illegal payoffs to lawmakers and aides in the form of campaign contributions, sports tickets, meals, travel and job offers, in exchange for helping their clients.

The Justice Department's probe is far broader than previously thought. Though it remains smaller than the congressional influence-peddling scandals of the 1970s, its focus on prominent Republicans raises the risk of serious embarrassment to the party before next year's congressional elections. Those involved in Mr. Abramoff's case say that the Justice Department investigation could take years to complete.

Prosecutors in the department's public integrity and fraud divisions -- separate units that report to the assistant attorney general for the criminal division -- are looking into Mr. Abramoff's interactions with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, Rep. Bob Ney (R., Ohio), Rep. John Doolittle (R., Calif.) and Sen. Conrad Burns (R., Mont.), according to several people close to the investigation. Messrs. DeLay and Ney have retained criminal defense lawyers. Spokespeople for Messrs. Doolittle and Burns said they haven't hired lawyers.

Who knows, maybe someday we'll find out more about the funding of and true identities of the so-called milbloggers.

testing, testing, testing ...

Speaking of good news, Rich, have you seen the latest from The Wall Street Journal about the Abrhamoff scandal. So let's see, here's what we've got:

1. Bush has been busted for lying about Iraq.

2. Cheney's top aide hasa been busted in the spy scandal, and there's more on the way.

3. Delay has been busted for campaign finance fraud, and oh by the way there are recent reports that his problems could go FAR deeper, as in murder, anyone?

4. National Republican bribery ring about to be exposed.

Wow, I'd say times are getting ripe for another Clinton to be elected to the White House. America's first presidentrix.

Glad you're reading the WSJ, Wilson ... maybe now you'll tell us the WHOLE story on the polls.

1. Bush has been busted for lying about Iraq.

Not unelss a whole bunnch of the Democratic leadership is busted with him ... along with members of the former Administration, the King of Jordan, the President of Egypt, and a number of other international leaders.

BUSH LIED -- just another conspiracy theory, with a cast of thousands.

2. Cheney's top aide hasa been busted in the spy scandal, and there's more on the way.

Only for lying, "Joe" ... not for outing Ms Plame. And, recent developments involving Bob Woodward may embarrass "Elliot Ness" Fitzgerald (a guy I do admire somewhat for his past work), and make this case fall apart as well.

3. Delay has been busted for campaign finance fraud, and oh by the way there are recent reports that his problems could go FAR deeper, as in murder, anyone?

Not busted yet. More and more holes are being poked in that politically-motivated indictment every day. Looks more and more like the litigational equivalent of Rathergate.

Another reason to keep your G-suit on ... riding conspiracy theories can be just as hazardous as riding polls.

4. National Republican bribery ring about to be exposed.

Yeah, right. I'll believe it if they are convicted ... and IF it is true, they'll join a long line of CONVICTED Democrats (like Dan Rostenkowski and Jim Guy Tucker, just to name two), AND we can also compare this to the voter fraud perpetrated by the Dems every election ... and call for justice for all.

You see, Wilson -- I don't support Republicans because they are Republican ... I support them because they make at least little more sense than their opponents. Until we render both parties obsolete, I am making the best of a bad situation.

OTOH, I believe that this President makes a lot more sense ... especially when it comes to national security ... than his opposition to date. They are still "fighting", not their last war, but their last protest march.

Wow, I'd say times are getting ripe for another Clinton to be elected to the White House. America's first presidentrix.

This is illustrative of your selective thinking and/or hypocricy, Wilson.

The reason Mrs. Clinton has any chance, is that she learned early on (perhaps the hard way, after her first trip to Iraq in 2003) not to engage in your kind of conspiracy theorizing and loose rhetoric (unlike her Democratic fellow-travelers in Congress and elsewhere), but instead has continued to quietly support the war effort you say was based on lies.

Is she a liar, too? Why aren't you ripping her a new one?

Face it, even if everything had been executed perfectly and there was no insurgency ... you would still find something to rip this President about.

Why? Is there anything good he has done in your eyes? Or, are you just another Sore-Loserman, looking for payback?

When's the show-er, I mean the People's Justice Trial begin for the icky people you don't like, Kolb?

Love the reply, Rich. You don't support Republicans just because they're Republicans, but you've already pre-invented the excuse for their national bribery scandal. Now, what will you say if the feds charge your wingnut hero DeLay with conspiracy to commit murder? There are some rumblings out there about DeLay having a bribery connection to some guys in Florida who murdered a casino operator who wouldn't play ball. Must have been a terrorist, huh Rich?

As for ripping Hillary a new one, I think I'll let the Republicans do that. I mean, I want the woman to run for the sole reason that at least 100,000 wingnut will stroke out from watching her on TV. Face it, you guys will go crazy. You'll drool and shout and your eyes will bulge out, and she'll pick up another 5% from it.

Wilson, if Hillary is elected, we will survive her ... like we did her husband.

The question is, can you survive a Hillary that is closer to President Bush's viewpoint than your viewpoint, when it comes to Iraq and national security?

Answering that question would "almost" make me want to vote for her ... just to see the effect on you, when she launches a pre-emptive strike.

Rich, we'll have plenty of time to debate the 2008 election when the time comes. Meantime, we can talk about why you hate America and everything it has ever stood for.