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Bush's High Poll Numbers Drift Down 

By WILL LESTER (Direct descendent of Joseph Stalin! - tha malcontent)
Associated Press Writer APRIL 19, 02:15 ET 
WASHINGTON (AP) � After more than seven months of soaring poll numbers, President Bush's standing with the public is gradually returning to more normal levels.

 

(And the DemocRATS "Free Press" couldn't be happier!  "Finally, we can start the real hammerin'!", one high level "Free Press" member was quoted as seething.  This was as predictable as the Sun rising in the East, but the "Free Press" will report it as if a Comet was headed for the Earth.  As a matter of fact, numerous REPUBLICans were saying this weeks ago and the "Free Press" deliberately ignored them, opting for the "breaking news" angle instead.  The real entertaining part is how the "Free Press" will now say that DemocRATS can start going after Bush (43), as if they ever stopped!  The DemocRAT (l)eadership has been sucker punching Bush (43) since the end of September in the form of trial balloon attacks.  The only thing that will change after this "Free Press" rallying call, is that an all out, full scale attack on Bush (43) will have started.  I warned about this months ago, and yet most will be surprised by it, and then slowly the SHEEPle will begin badmouthing him too!  I hate being plagued with forward thinking...  The White Man's Burden. - tha malcontent)

If that trend continues, Democrats are likely to grow more bold about challenging the Bush administration on policy. Republicans may have to learn to live without the updraft that has raised the party's standing for months because of a president with job approval in the 80 percent range.

 

("REPUBLICans may have to learn to live without the updraft that has raised the party's standing"... above where the "Free Press" has held them down too in the public's eye for the last couple of decades!  Back to the same old song! - tha malcontent)

The Republican National Committee already has warned the party faithful to soften the effect.

 

(I got my e-mail, did you? - tha malcontent)

Matthew Dowd, pollster for the RNC, sent a memo out to fellow Republicans reminding them the president's poll numbers could continue to slip. The president's job approval was at 90 percent soon after Sept. 11 but has slipped recently to the mid-70s.

 

(It has "slipped recently" thanks to the forwarding of LIES out of the DemocRATS via their "Free Press", day in and day out! - tha malcontent)

Dowd predicted the president's ``approval rating should return to a new normal'' � possibly in the 60s � by the end of July if the historical pattern proves true, which is hardly certain given that the attacks were different from anything in U.S. history.

 

(This is what has the collective Left worried the most!  Remember Uncle Tom, you only control the (p)lurality in the (s)enate!  One Seat, and you are the GOP's beee-autch once again! - tha malcontent)

GOP consultant Scott Reed said Dowd's memo was the political equivalent of preparing for ``a soft landing."

 

(Also to counter the excessive attention that the "Free Press" will give these numbers in the form of bad press for Bush (43)! - tha malcontent)

Democrats are relieved at the prospect of campaigning against the party of a president with more typical levels of public support. But they cannot be sure how far he will slip and they cannot count on a replay of his father's collapse in 1991.

 

(There was more time to beat Bush (41) down with LIES back then and the Left had "a monopoly on the politics of the Press"!  "It's the economy stupid" was the rallying cry from the Left and the "Free Press" allowed this LIE to spread for months when they knew the Recession was factually over.   One more time, in March of 1991, the Recession officially ended.  One and a half years later, with a growing economy, the "Free Press" assisted William the Liar into office under the perception that the economy was still bad.  That coupled with the "Free Press" creation of a legitimate 3rd party "conservative" candidate in the form of Ross Perot, Bush (41) had no chance and Billy was hoisted into 1600 with a measly 43% of the "popular vote"! - tha malcontent)

``George Bush has not abolished the laws of political gravity,'' said Mark Mellman, a pollster for the Democratic National Committee. ``What goes up, does come down.'' 

Democratic pollster Celinda Lake said ``it will be kind of liberating'' once Bush's approval rating drops. 

"People won't think he's invincible, they'll understand he's only a mere mortal,'' she said.

 

("And we will know that we still have control of the "Free Press"!, another DemocRAT was quoted as rejoicing! - tha malcontent)

RNC spokesman Jim Dyke said the memo was intended to let people know in advance what the party expects will happen.

 

(This is an unfortunate name for a person who is to be quoted regularly by the "Free Press".  Forward thinking would have been of some assistance in this situation RNC! - tha malcontent)

``By a natural gravity, the president's poll numbers are going to come down,'' Dyke said, adding people will try to attribute all kinds of reasons to the slippage. The polls are likely to slip further as more Democrats return to the base as the political debate over domestic policies grows more intense. More than half of Democrats approved of Bush's job approval in a recent Pew poll, a number likely to drop.

 

(The "Free Press" isn't done yet! - tha malcontent)

The pre-emptive warning was smart politics, said political analyst Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution. 

``It's part of the permanent campaign,'' Mann said. ``It's partly a matter of meeting or exceeding expectations.'' 

Bush's high poll ratings have reduced criticism of him, Mann said. ``I think it helped make Democrats more cautious about giving more voice to differences."

 

(It sure didn't mute that fat, drunk, murderous louse over in the Senate, did it! - tha malcontent)

But in Florida last weekend, potential Democratic candidates for president were openly critical of Bush administration policies, both domestic and in the Middle East.

 

(As I said, that is very thin ice you are skating on DemocRATS! - tha malcontent)

The Democratic reticence to speak out on differences has more to do with the war than the president's popularity, said Bruce Reed, president of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. 

Democrats cannot count on the kind of free fall in the polls experienced by Bush's father throughout 1991.

 

(Hasn't this statement already been made in this DNC Talking Point masquerading as objective political analysis? - tha malcontent)

Former President Bush's job approval was in the low 80s through the Persian Gulf War and gradually slipped throughout the year. Eight months later, at the beginning of September, he slipped below 70 percent and continued to slip until his job approval was at 46 percent in early January, with an equal number disapproving.

 

(This was directly caused by the obscene amounts of LIES being forwarded about the economy and it's relation to Bush (41).  William the Liar's first budget went into effect a full 2 1/2 years into the longest economic expansion in American history.  HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE RECESSION ENDING, OR THE 10 YEAR EXPANSION EXCEPT TO BRING IT TO AN END BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE DUE TO HIS INCOMPETENCE AND FOCUS ON THE MOLESTATION OF UNPAID INTERNS HIS DAUGHTERS AGE! - tha malcontent)

But there are some very significant differences between the 1991 and 2002.

 

(FOXNews beating out CNN is a major one! - tha malcontent)

By September 2001, Americans by almost a 2-to-1 margin disapproved of the elder Bush's handling of the economy � the most important issue that year. People in 2002 approve of President Bush's handling of the economy by a 2-1 margin and the war on terrorism ranks in the polls as a top issue along with the economy.

 

(By when?!  Will, you made a boo-boo my friend.  Bush (41) was the (P)resident last century, Bush (43) was the (P)resident in 2001!  You have a sizable editorial staff over at the AP, don't you?  As far as what the "Free Press" did back in 1990 and 1991 to destroy Bush (41) with BLATANT LIES about an economy that was OUT OF RECESSION, it came home to roost in 1994... Ha-Ha! - tha malcontent)

Any slippage in the polls will make Democrats ``much more willing to come after'' the president, Democratic consultant Paul Begala said. ���

 

(Personal note: SNL's take on Chris Matthews and Paul Begala on their "Hardball" skit is one of the most politically honest and funniest things they have done in that show's history. - tha malcontent)

EDITOR'S NOTE � Will Lester covers politics and polling for The Associated Press.

 

(ap Editor's Note: Will Lester editorializes politics and manipulates perceptions via polling for the Associated Press. - tha malcontent)


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