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You are here: Home / Politics / Less Than Zero

Less Than Zero

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David Broder thinks Bush got his groove back, and Joe Gandelman and James Joyner discuss the merits of Broder’s piece. Personally, I think Joyner nailed it:

Given Nixonian poll numbers and the most unpopular war in more than thirty years, simple regression to the mean should bring Bush’s public standing up.

Regression to the mean is a phrase I think we will hear a lot of when the Bush presidency is finally over.

Reader Interactions

127Comments

  1. 1.

    Scruffy McSnufflepuss

    That Broder article is probably the spoofiest thing I’ve ever read in a mainstream American newspaper.

    Broder is the very essence of centrist spoof. In that regard, he even surpasses Tom Friedman.

  2. 2.

    rachel

    Regressing to the mean? I think he’s just boxing clever; he’ll revert back to form once he thinks the heat’s off.

  4. 4.

    Jill

    Dream on, Broder, et al. Bush is a bad President b/c he is not intelligent, not curious, and he has incompetent and arrogant people advising him. What has he accomplished in the last 6 years that wasn’t a lie or a fiasco? Not much. the American people were lulled into thinking this guy was something special after 9/11. Let’s face it folks, the easiest thing for a leader to do is to look good in a time of tragedy, that’s why Bush’s numbers were so high after 9/11. The farther we get away from 9/11/01 the more we see the real Bush.

  5. 5.

    Andrew

    Well, it’s not like we needed any more proof that if you can simply make up things that are completely detached from reality, you’re qualified to write op-eds for major newspapers, as long as you are moderate and centrist-y. But I guess it’s just another arrow in the quiver for a future historian to ridicule the whorish Washington press corps.

    What does regression to the mean have anything to do with Bush, by the way? Are we flipping coins that say “War in Iraq” on one side and “Bush doesn’t care about black people” on the other, and we’ve just had a long streak of “Iraq”?

  6. 6.

    Zifnab

    He has been far more accessible — and responsive — to the media and public, holding any number of one-on-one interviews, both on and off the record, leading up to Wednesday’s televised news conference. And he has been more candid in his responses than in the past.

    Man, he’s practically his own Press Secretary. Perhaps because his actual Press Secretary doesn’t fucking do anything.

  7. 7.

    Steve

    We’ve been cracking jokes about the “Bush bounce” for like a year or two now. But it takes more than that to separate a fossilized pundit from his beloved narrative!

  8. 8.

    Jake

    But Bush, unlike Clinton, is in the middle of a bloody civil war, which can be ended only by the Iraqis themselves.

    See moonbats? Bush is actually better than Clinton because Bush, through no fault of his own and completely by accident placed our army smack in the middle of a civil war. Honestly, Bush sent more than hundred thousand troops into Iraq to get a bag of pretzles and suddenly those crazy Iraqis flipped out or something. And it’s not like Bosnia or Somalia at all!

  9. 9.

    rachel

    Let’s face it folks, the easiest thing for a leader to do is to look good in a time of tragedy, that’s why Bush’s numbers were so high after 9/11.

    Oh, my. Maybe the last 4 years have all been about Bush regressing to the mean. Maybe +/- 30% is his natural mean.

  10. 10.

    dreggas

    This is the whole “It can’t get any worse” meme but of course it can and speaking of Broder, He was just quoted on the house floor by a republican from FL and he is saying that Broders words tend to be more sympathetic to the Democrats…huh?

  12. 12.

    Zifnab

    He was just quoted on the house floor by a republican from FL and he is saying that Broders words tend to be more sympathetic to the Democrats…huh?

    He is a member of the media.

  16. 16.

    Andrew

    Fantastic comment at WaPo:

    Imagine this scenario: There is a poll of 1,000 people. 999 of those people think the sky is blue. One guy says its green. Scientific studies are conducted just to make sure. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, it is proven that yes, indeed, the sky is blue. Another poll is conducted. Once more, 1,000 people are asked the color of the sky. Again, 999 say blue. One guy says its green. However, one of the 999 like that naysayers moxie, and happens to own a newspaper. Guess who he offers an editorial column to? And that is why David Broder has a job. People that own newspapers are idiots.

  17. 17.

    Zifnab

    Read the comments on Broder’s WaPo article. He is taking a beating.

    It’s just a matter of time before they shut those comment boards down. An online newspaper can’t exist with this much printed common sense being tossed into the debate. Maybe they can start issuing punditry licenses to curb this rampant intellectual elitism. Too many smart people with internet access and an opinion. That shit is dangerous.

  19. 19.

    Frank

    Yeah rich people who own newspapers, are stupid, thats why they hire factually challenged people who just so happen to hold positions that help rich people hold on to money and power. It has nothing to do with self interest.

  20. 20.

    Keith

    If the press is finally willing to call the Bush Administration out on its lack of credibility on the state of the war, when is someone going to call out these people who, every 3 months, write that Bush’ standing with the people is turning the corner again. And is 3 months now “a Broder”?

  21. 21.

    Scruffy McSnufflepuss

    If the press is finally willing to call the Bush Administration out on its lack of credibility on the state of the war, when is someone going to call out these people who, every 3 months, write that Bush’ standing with the people is turning the corner again. And is 3 months now “a Broder”?

    Interesing idea. 1 Friedman= 2 Broders

    Now we just need to be able to measure weight, distance, etc. with pundits, and a new American measurement system is born.

    (I nominate using Coulter and Limbaugh for weight. Probably some others we could use, too.)

  23. 23.

    Paddy O'Shea

    After the many disasters brought about by Bush’s incompetence and terrible judgement, we should all take sit up take notice because old chicken head Broder thinks Georgie “has his groove back?”

    I’m always amazed at the amount of slack this clown gets cut in certain quarters.

  24. 24.

    Ellison, Ellensburg, Ellers, and Lambchop

    Meanwhile, The Reid/Pelosi Congress, in their honeymoon period and bolstered by the Miraculous 100 Hours That Changed The Universe, clock in at a enormous 32% approval in the latest CBS poll. So maybe it’s not all about Bush, eh?

  26. 26.

    chopper

    Meanwhile, The Reid/Pelosi Congress, in their honeymoon period and bolstered by the Miraculous 100 Hours That Changed The Universe, clock in at a enormous 32% approval in the latest CBS poll. So maybe it’s not all about Bush, eh?

    no, it’s also about the GOP. which is still part of congress, you know.

  27. 27.

    Otto Man

    Meanwhile, The Reid/Pelosi Congress, in their honeymoon period and bolstered by the Miraculous 100 Hours That Changed The Universe, clock in at a enormous 32% approval in the latest CBS poll.

    Oh no! 32%? That’s only double what congressional approval was last year!

    Congress has never been wildly popular, but a new Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll out today shows respect for the institution at rock bottom. Only 16 percent of those surveyed approved of the job Congress is doing, tying an all-time low in this poll’s 17-year history; 75 percent disapproved.

    The Democrats should be ashamed. They’ve been in office for a month and a half, and they’ve only managed to be twice as popular as the previous Congress!

  28. 28.

    Cyrus

    dslak Says:

    I nominate using Coulter and Limbaugh for weight.

    Should a Limbaugh be three Coulters, or four?

    First assume a spherical Limbaugh… oh, wait.

  29. 29.

    Jake

    I nominate using Coulter and Limbaugh for weight.

    O’Reilly for length: He puked a stream of vomit three O’Reilly’s long.

  30. 30.

    Mike

    Should a Limbaugh be three Coulters, or four?

    Geez…one gasbag versus another….so hard to choose…

  31. 31.

    RSA

    On regression to the mean: Think of it this way–Bush is in an airplane, descending, and we’re all watching the altimeter. There are slight fluctuations upward and downward because of air currents and such. Who’s going to argue that, after some period of time, Bush is going to end up at the average altitude he had over the entire course of his flight? Crash-and-burn is just as reasonable an outcome.

  32. 32.

    Ellison, Ellensburg, Ellers, and Lambchop

    They’ve been in office for a month and a half, and they’ve only managed to be twice as popular as the previous Congress!

    No sale.

    The CBS poll for that Oct 2006 timeframe had the number at 29%. NBC/WSJ’s 16% looks like an extreme outlier, looking at all the other polls from that time period. ABC’s poll for the same week was 31%. But go ahead… try to sell that the Democrats are so wildly popular that during their honeymoon, they boosted the approval figure by a whole 3% (within margin of error).

  33. 33.

    Ellison, Ellensburg, Ellers, and Lambchop

    We don’t govern by polls, EEEL. Why do you hate America?

    That’s so dumb on every level that I didn’t even have to look to know who wrote it. Awesome.

  34. 34.

    fwiffo

    Regression to the mean is a phrase I think we will hear a lot of when the Bush presidency is finally over.

    I anticipate feeling the exact same pleasant sensation you get right after an ice-cream-headache goes away.

  35. 35.

    Otto Man

    But go ahead… try to sell that the Democrats are so wildly popular that during their honeymoon, they boosted the approval figure by a whole 3% (within margin of error).

    No, I’d rather sit here at watch you argue about how the numbers going up — no matter what poll you cherrypick — is evidence that the Democrats are less popular.

  36. 36.

    Andrew

    That’s so dumb on every level that I didn’t even have to look to know who wrote it. Awesome.

    George W Bush?

  37. 37.

    The Other Andrew

    I’m not in love with the new congress, myself, EEEL. I think they’re being much too timid. Of course, they’re nowhere near as bad as our previous Terri Schiavo Red Alert congress.

    Speaking of polls, Congress isn’t yet doing two things the American public wants: establishing a timetable for withdrawal and capping the number of troops. I have a feeling that, as the surge fails and Bush’s presidency continues to age badly, we’ll see the Congressional numbers go up.

  38. 38.

    Zifnab

    That’s so dumb on every level that I didn’t even have to look to know who wrote it. Awesome.

    Republican-Americans are so full of angry rhetoric and so lacking in productive ideas. Also, they don’t believe in gravity. It’s true.

    the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, the most powerful committee in the House, distributed to legislators a memo pitching crazed wingers who believe the earth stands still — doesn’t spin on its axis or revolve around the Sun — that Copernicus was part of a Jewish conspiracy to undermine the Old Testament. That would be the same Old Testament that was written by the folks Chisum’s friends say are conspiring to undermine it.

    If you haven’t seen the four-sided harmonous Timecube, the absolute hilarity of fixedearth.com may be lost on you. Regardless, it would be funnier if it wasn’t one of the guys running my State Congress.

  39. 39.

    RSA

    Meanwhile, The Reid/Pelosi Congress. . .

    Check out the trends across multiple polls. There is not a single case in which a recent approval rating for Congress is less than a pre-election approval rating, and usually it’s by a good margin. People are basically happier with Congress than they were before; who expects everything to turn around at once?

  40. 40.

    Zombie Santa Claus

    This was a funny question for the Broderman:

    Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Do you read the comments to your columns? Your latest is getting roasted today. Are your ears burning?

    The reply is classic:

    David S. Broder: I sm not a aregular consumer of blogs. I’d rather be out reporting than sitting at my computer. I’m not surprised that this column has drawn a lot of flak. It is controversial in itself, and the split in the country about President Bush has passionate advocates on both sides ready to pounce.

    What does being “out reporting” entail? Is that like “killing zombies”? Do you head out with a machete and a rifle when you go out reporting? Do you get to loot, destroy, burn buildings down, and saw through the heads of undead legions? If so, I’m off to journalism school faster than you can infect the population of Pittsburgh.

    How long is journalism school, anyway? 4 Friedmans?

  42. 42.

    RSA

    I also wouldn’t want to be around anyone who consumes blogs. There isn’t enough Gas-X in the world to prevent the resulting intestinal distress.

  43. 43.

    Teak111

    Well, I’ve heard it said that Bush wasn’t such a schmuck as Gov of tex, that although right-wing, he did manage to work with the then, Dem tex legislature. Maybe he is returning to that approach in his waning years here. He will have to work mighty hard to turn around that idea that his presidency is toast. Even hard right-wingers I know have dismissed him.

  44. 44.

    Zombie Santa Claus

    I also wouldn’t want to be around anyone who consumes blogs. There isn’t enough Gas-X in the world to prevent the resulting intestinal distress.

    No, only eat your monitor occasionally. Normally, you should be out with a shotgun, blasting zombies when they pounce at you.

    I think we should use Tucker Carlson’s bowtie as a unit of measurement. For example: A shotgun shell is roughly one Carlson long, yet can easily take down a three-Coulter zombie if fired directly into the brainpan.

  45. 45.

    Krista

    I nominate using Coulter and Limbaugh for weightmeasurable degrees of evil. Probably some others we could use, too.)

    So, should a Coulter equal 3 Limbaughs, or are they so close that we could almost divvy it up into a metric/Imperial comparison. So that way, you could say that one Coulter is equal to 1.32 Limbaughs.

    I can see it now, “Man, I saw that new horror movie, and is the guy in it ever evil!” “Oh yeah, how evil?” “Oh, he had to be at LEAST 7 Coulters!”

  46. 46.

    Krista

    A shotgun shell is roughly one Carlson long, yet can easily take down a three-Coulter zombie if fired directly into the brainpan.

    That one works whether you consider a Coulter a unit of weight or a unit of evil. Of course, as the latter was my idea, I’m a bit biased towards it.

  47. 47.

    Zombie Santa Claus

    That one works whether you consider a Coulter a unit of weight or a unit of evil. Of course, as the latter was my idea, I’m a bit biased towards it.

    Who do we use for weight measurement, then? Oliver Willis?

  48. 48.

    tBone

    But go ahead… try to sell that the Democrats are so wildly popular that during their honeymoon, they boosted the approval figure by a whole 3% (within margin of error).

    No sale.

    Congressional Approval Ratings:

    ABC/Washington Post
    Oct. 19-22 2006: 31%
    Jan. 16-19 2007: 43%

    Gallup
    Oct. 9-12 2006: 23%
    Feb. 1-4: 37%

    AP-Ipsos
    Oct. 2-4 2006: 27%
    Feb. 5-7: 34%

    Diageo/Hotline
    Oct. 19-23 2006: 27%
    Jan. 11-14, 31%

    Fox/Opinon Dynamics
    Oct. 10-11 2006: 31%
    Jan. 30-31 2007: 33%

    The trend seems pretty clear. Of course, if I was an asshole, I would have just listed the one that increased by 14 percentage points (well outside the margin of error).

  49. 49.

    Krista

    Sure, although you’d have to have a sub-unit, as a number of things would weigh less than one Oliver.

  52. 52.

    Tony J

    That one works whether you consider a Coulter a unit of weight or a unit of evil. Of course, as the latter was my idea, I’m a bit biased towards it.

    “Is it an… evil… unit of weight? Mmmm?”

    (Raise pinkie to corner of mouth and pout hopefully)

  53. 53.

    Joathan

    Umm.. Something seems to be missing.

    I posted on a thread here yesterday about a lack of Pentagon planning for the occupation phase of the Iraq invasion. Something about Powerpoint slides, IIRC.

    That thread seems to have completely disappeared.

    Here is a link to the story in question:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6364507.stm

    Iraq invasion plan ‘delusional’

    The US is now sending some 20,000 extra troops to Iraq
    The US invasion plan for Iraq envisaged that only 5,000 US troops would remain in Iraq by December 2006, declassified Central Command documents show.
    The material also shows that the US military projected a stable, pro-US and democratic Iraq by that time.

    The August 2002 material was obtained by the National Security Archive (NSA). Its officials said the plans were based on delusional assumptions.

    The US currently has some 132,000 troops in the violence-torn state.

    ‘Completely unrealistic’

    The documents – in the form of PowerPoint slides – were prepared by the now-retired Gen Tommy Franks and other top commanders at the time.

    The documents were presented at a briefing in August 2002 – less than a year before the US invasion of Iraq in April 2003.

    The commanders predicted that after the fighting was over there would be a two- to three-month “stabilisation” phase, followed by an 18- to 24-month “recovery” stage.

  54. 54.

    Krista

    I say we use Coulter for weight, and Michelle Malkin for evil.

    My $.02 cents.

    If I agree with you, will you finally put that trinket I’ve been wanting in my Christmas stocking?

  58. 58.

    Jake

    Well, I’ve heard it said that Bush wasn’t such a schmuck as Gov of tex, that although right-wing, he did manage to work with the then, Dem tex legislature.

    Does 1 Texas Dem. = 1 Nancy Pelosi San Francisco Naughty Hellfire Club Dem.?

    Just asking.

    And frictionless Anne Coulter sounds vaguely squirmtastic.

  59. 59.

    Perry Como

    Why would the White House be pressuring Republican congress critters over the non-binding resolution if it doesn’t matter?

    Odd.

  60. 60.

    Dave

    The real question is if you add all those wingnut pundits, politicians, EEEL, Darrel, Paul L. and Jimmy Mack together, how much of a brain do you get? Bonus question: How much do they hate America compared to Pelosi?

  61. 61.

    ThymeZone

    the split in the country about President Bush has passionate advocates on both sides

    Broder is finished as a pundit. Which was true a long time ago, but this just makes it official.

    “Split in the country?”

    The fucking country is overwhelmingly anti-Bush and wants his presidency to be over. That’s not a fucking split, that’s a complete collapse of public confidence. It’s in the realm of 70-30 at the present time and headed for 80-20 as we speak.

    Why are we even TALKING about fucking Broder? Is the blahsphere so self indulgent that it can’t find anything else to cackle about today?

    Fucking Anna Nicole Smith is more relevant to our lives right now than fucking Broder, why don’t we have some more posts about her?

    At least she had big tits.

  62. 62.

    Fe E

    ThymZone said:

    Fucking Anna Nicole Smith is more relevant to our lives right now than fucking Broder, why don’t we have some more posts about her?

    At least she had big tits.

    And Broder is just a total boob.

    Sorry pp; I just couldn’t resist. And, on some level I do find some glee in seeing a pompous ass get deflated like this.

    Make your own jokes people.

  65. 65.

    Andrew

    Come on people! Zombies aren’t evil. We’re just projecting the feelings of our own inadequate good upon these poor brainless creatures. Is it their fault they want to eat our brains? Or is it our fault for having such tasty brains (excl. the usual suspects) to begin with?

  70. 70.

    Perry Como

    Lieberman : “Right now, as the battle for Baghdad begins”…

    Really? We just started fighting to take over Baghdad? What an assclown.

  71. 71.

    dreggas

    Perry Como Says:

    Lieberman : “Right now, as the battle for Baghdad begins”…

    Really? We just started fighting to take over Baghdad? What an assclown.

    I prefer insemineferious tubloidial buttnoid

  72. 72.

    jg

    I thought we wouldn’t be fighting an urban battle in the streets of Baghdad?

    So Leiberman considers it a constitutional crisis if the legislature gets togetther and debates whether or not its in teh countries best interests to escalate the war? We should just let Bush make it bigger or smaller as he determines?

  73. 73.

    grumpy realist

    Geez, I wish Lieberman would just go ahead and emigrate elsewhere and get out of our hair. And take all the rest of the “hawk Democrats” of his ilk with him.

  74. 74.

    dreggas

    grumpy realist Says:

    Geez, I wish Lieberman would just go ahead and emigrate elsewhere and get out of our hair. And take all the rest of the “hawk Democrats” of his ilk with him.

    I don’t care if he stays I just wish he’d STFU. Between him and the current republican leadership I want to vomit when I hear them speak, just from the sound not because they are who they are.

  75. 75.

    Zifnab

    If there was ever a moment for nonpartisan cooperation to agree on a process that will respect both our personal opinions about this war and our nation’s interests over the long term, this is it.

    What in the holy flying fuck does Joe Lieberman know about bipartisanship? And how, pray tell, does a Congress co-operate with a President who never ever cedes an inch? Finally, why should we not believe the damage has already been done? This is like “civil war” all over again, except replace “civil war” with “constitutional crisis”. We’re not heading for a CC, we’re in one!

    Open your eyes Joe. The President of the United States no long gives a flying flip about what America wants. In the face of the Congress, the Judiciary, and his own Executive Military, open dissent broils, and he refuses to take his head out of the sand.

    God damnit, the people of Conneticut suck. Enjoy the next 6 years of this crap, you dumb bastards.

  76. 76.

    The Other Steve

    Meanwhile, The Reid/Pelosi Congress, in their honeymoon period and bolstered by the Miraculous 100 Hours That Changed The Universe, clock in at a enormous 32% approval in the latest CBS poll. So maybe it’s not all about Bush, eh?

    But… but… you promised that Bush would give me a Pony!

    And he’d be a uniter not a divider.

    And he’d bring respect to the White House.

    and he’d be this like super awesome intelligent statesman.

    Why are you wrong all the time?

  77. 77.

    dreggas

    The Other Steve says:

    But… but… you promised that Bush would give me a Pony!

    And he’d be a uniter not a divider.

    And he’d bring respect to the White House.

    and he’d be this like super awesome intelligent statesman.

    Why are you wrong all the time?

    these are all successes that haven’t happened yet.

  78. 78.

    mrmobi

    Open your eyes Joe. The President of the United States no long gives a flying flip about what America wants. In the face of the Congress, the Judiciary, and his own Executive Military, open dissent broils, and he refuses to take his head out of the sand.

    God damnit, the people of Conneticut suck. Enjoy the next 6 years of this crap, you dumb bastards.

    I feel you pain, Zif.

    The good news is, Holy Joe will probably become a Republican in fact in the next couple of years. I’d like to see Holy Joe reap what he has sown, but sometimes what goes around just keeps going around.

    Holy crap, though, you are right about Connecticut. What are they thinking out there?

  79. 79.

    dreggas

    Regarding Connecticutt.

    I think more people should have been out voting but the bottom line, and there’s no conspiracy here, the repubs abandoned the person running under the R label and supported Holy Joe in his “Fine you may win the primary but I’m still going to run” bullshit race which was nothing more than Lieberman living up to his name poor loserman.

    Given no viable challenge from the republicans and republicans being encouraged to vote for his sorry, whiny ass Lieberman won with the votes of the republicans cementing the fact he is a republican in all but name.

  83. 83.

    dreggas

    Jeff Sessions – new poster child for Attention Deficit Disorder.

    This guy is babbling on and on and on about this that and the other thing on the floor of the senate continuing to polute the atmosphere with wasted Co2

  84. 84.

    DougJ

    Broder’s been brain dead for years. I’ve seen that footage of his eyes seeming to track a balloon but I think it was random involuntary head movement. I guess I’d have more confidence in him if he could speak or eat without a feeding tube.

  86. 86.

    Zifnab

    Looks like McCain is not going to vote on the resolution tomorrow…hmmmm.

    If McCain makes it out of the primaries, I hope they have that fact plastered on every Democratic talking point they print.

    “McCain too busy/elitist/chickenshit to vote on the troops! McCain doesn’t care about the war!”

    That would leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling.

  88. 88.

    tBone

    But at this difficult juncture, at this moment when a real battle, a critical battle is being waged in Baghdad, as we face a brutal enemy who attacked us on 9/11 and wants to do it again

    Jesus fucking Christ on a pogo stick. Four years into the war and drooling asshats like Lieberman are still trying to conflate Iraq with 9/11? Does the Bush administration have naked pictures of Holy Joe in the page’s lounge or something?

  89. 89.

    dreggas

    tBone Says:

    Jesus fucking Christ on a pogo stick. Four years into the war and drooling asshats like Lieberman are still trying to conflate Iraq with 9/11? Does the Bush administration have naked pictures of Holy Joe in the page’s lounge or something?

    That’s an image I don’t want in my head

  91. 91.

    Andrew

    naked pictures of Holy Joe in the page’s lounge

    on the Sabbath!

    And holy fucking shit, Virgil Goode is absolutely fucking insane. He was like a headliner at a retarded Nuremberg rally.

  92. 92.

    Ellison, Ellensburg, Ellers, and Lambchop

    The trend seems pretty clear.

    Going by the polls you chose, the Honeymoon Democrat Congress gets about an aggregate 36% approval rating, while “Everybody Hates Bush” gets a miserable 34% approval.

    Woo-hoo. Looks like a groundswell to…nobody.

  93. 93.

    tBone

    Going by the polls you chose, the Honeymoon Democrat Congress gets about an aggregate 36% approval rating, while “Everybody Hates Bush” gets a miserable 34% approval.

    Huh. That’s odd, considering that none of the polls I cited for the Republican Congress were above 31%. I’m sure you meant to type 28% instead of 34% there, because you’re not a dishonest hack. Right?

  94. 94.

    Perry Como

    You dishonest whackjobs have had an entire month to change the policies established by six years of Republican rule. The fact that polls don’t show a major boost in confidence just shows how extreme you are.

  97. 97.

    Richard 23

    Now I understand the EEEL handle. Nobody would want to admit to being Mac Buckets, not even Mac Buckets. What an embarrassment.

  98. 98.

    chopper

    Going by the polls you chose, the Honeymoon Democrat Congress gets about an aggregate 36% approval rating, while “Everybody Hates Bush” gets a miserable 34% approval.

    Huh. That’s odd, considering that none of the polls I cited for the Republican Congress were above 31%. I’m sure you meant to type 28% instead of 34% there, because you’re not a dishonest hack. Right?

    yeah, i noticed that too. even using all the polls (it would really be wiser to drop the ones with the highest and lowest difference and whoda thought the latter would be FOX), its an 8% increase in approval for the new congress. and that’s in about a month.

    it must be that new republican math, where 1% is a certainty.

  99. 99.

    tBone

    it must be that new republican math, where 1% is a certainty.

    It’s real simple, Leftards – 51%/49% where the Republican is ahead is a sweeping victory that confers a mandate. 51%/49% where a Democrat comes out on top is a razor-thin ‘victory’ that can probably best be described as a statistical blip, if not outright fraud.

  100. 100.

    Richard 23

    Well that was obvious, tBone.

    And now that the anti-surge resolution has passed the House, anything bad that happens in Iraq is obviously the Democrat party’s fault. Because they’ve simultaneously emboldened the enemy and depressed troop morale.

    And you know what Lincoln said about Congressmen who undermine the military: “[they] should be arrested, exiled or hanged.” Got that right!

  101. 101.

    Darrell

    It’s real simple, Leftards – 51%/49% where the Republican is ahead is a sweeping victory that confers a mandate.

    I believe it was Bill Clinton and/or his lackies in the media who told us over and over how with 43% of the vote in a divided 3-way race, that Clinton had been given a “mandate” by voters. Any equivalent examples to this coming from The Party of Hate (TM)(Republicans)?

  102. 102.

    Punchy

    Any equivalent examples to this coming from The Party of Hate™(Republicans)?

    Darrell has reached Step 1 of the program. Somebody…quick…check for the Apocolypse.

  103. 103.

    Jimmy Mack

    Clinton never would have won without Perot. He was truly our only unelected president.

    And it’s funny that when his approval ratings were in the 30s no one was writing obits for his presidency…

  104. 104.

    chopper

    I believe it was Bill Clinton and/or his lackies in the media who told us over and over how with 43% of the vote in a divided 3-way race, that Clinton had been given a “mandate” by voters. Any equivalent examples to this coming from The Party of Hate™(Republicans)?

    yeah

  105. 105.

    tBone

    Cheney, Nov. 3 2004: “President Bush ran forthrightly on a clear agenda for this nation’s future and the nation responded by giving him a mandate.”

    Bush, Nov. 5 2004: “I earned capital in this campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it.”

    WSJ, Nov. 4 2004: “The voters did [decide the election] — including millions of conservative first-timers whom the exit polls and media missed — emerging from the pews and exurban driveways to give President Bush what by any measure is a decisive mandate for a second term. … Just because an election is close doesn’t mean it isn’t decisive. … We do already know … that Mr. Bush has been given the kind of mandate that few politicians are ever fortunate enough to receive.”

    Clinton had an 5.8 million vote advantage over Bush I in 1992; Bush II had a 3.6 million vote advantage over Kerry.

  106. 106.

    Otto Man

    I believe it was Bill Clinton and/or his lackies in the media who told us over and over how with 43% of the vote in a divided 3-way race, that Clinton had been given a “mandate” by voters

    They told us this over and over again? Really? I’m sure you could offer some proof then.

  107. 107.

    tBone

    And it’s funny that when his approval ratings were in the 30s no one was writing obits for his presidency…

    Wow. I think Jimmy needs a diagnosis. Quick, where’s Bill Frist?

  109. 109.

    Jimmy Mack

    Clinton had an 5.8 million vote advantage over Bush I in 1992; Bush II had a 3.6 million vote advantage over Kerry.

    I didn’t say he didn’t. I just said he wouldn’t have won without Perot. Try reading my comments before you attack me next time.

  110. 110.

    tBone

    I didn’t say he didn’t. I just said he wouldn’t have won without Perot. Try reading my comments before you attack me next time.

    Err, yeah. I was responding to Darrell with that, not you. If I had been responding to you I would have used smaller words, and possibly some brightly-colored visual aids.

  111. 111.

    Zombie Santa Claus

    Jimmy Mack is worse than Darrell. At least Darrell is up-front and honest about being a conservative. He doesn’t hide behind this facade of centrism that Jimmy Mack seems to want to cling to.

    Been Brodering much lately, Jimmy?

  112. 112.

    grandpa john

    So Jimmy I guess these articles don’t know what they wer talking about huh?

    from Wikipedia
    Perot’s almost 19% of the popular vote made him the most successful third-party presidential candidate in terms of popular vote since Theodore Roosevelt in the 1912 election. Some conservative analysts believe that Perot acted as a spoiler in the election, primarily drawing votes away from Bush and allowing Clinton to win many states with less than a majority of votes. However, exit polling indicated that Perot voters would have split their votes fairly evenly among Clinton and Bush had Perot not been in the race, and an analysis by FairVote – Center for Voting and Democracy suggested that, while Bush would have won more electoral votes with Perot out of the race, he would not have gained enough to reverse Clinton’s victory.[1]

    or this one from open debates site
    http://www.opendebates.org/theissue/1992.html

    On October 1, Ross Perot announced that he was reentering the race, and he immediately polled 7 percent nationally.

    The Bush campaign was delighted with Perot’s return. They no longer believed that Bush could win a plurality of votes, and they wanted Perot in the presidential debates to tip the election in their favor. When Perot had quit the race, Clinton had shot up 14 points whereas Bush had only climbed three points. If Perot was allowed to debate, the Bush campaign reasoned, he could steal more of Clinton’s votes again.

  113. 113.

    Zifnab

    I didn’t say he didn’t. I just said he wouldn’t have won without Perot. Try reading my comments before you attack me next time.

    Why not? If Perot decided not to run, what garantees that the 1.8 million Perot voters would have gone to Bush? Do you think any would have gone to Clinton? Perhaps a few tens of thousands would have just stayed home?

    Your assumption is so inherently flawed it defies reasonable thinking. At least when liberals bitched over Nader, it was concerning a few thousand votes in Florida. And even then, the million-odd votes that went to Pat Buchanan because of those mangled ballots, swung the election in Floria far more than the handful that went to Nader.

    I suppose you’re going to blame the ’96 Clinton/Dole race on Perot too? :-p

  114. 114.

    RSA

    And it’s funny that when his approval ratings were in the 30s no one was writing obits for his presidency…

    Perhaps you could refer us to a poll in which Clinton’s approval rating for the job he was doing as President dropped below 40%? Why do rightwingers try to insinuate that Clinton wasn’t given consistently high job approval ratings from the public, pretty much for his entire tenure?

  115. 115.

    Fledermaus

    Bullshit, Broder – gawd how can you be so stupid?

    Think on this, there have been absolutely no oversight at all on this president for the last 6 years (no hearings, no investigations – save for Plame) and even with that free ride he’s been mired in the sub-40s approval for over a year.

    Just wait till we find out what the gov’t been doing for the last 6 years. Analogies to other presidents will all fall by the wayside and we’ll be left with comparisons to Nero, Henry VI and Crazy King Ludwig.

  116. 116.

    ThymeZone

    All centrism is fake. Even if it’s sincere, it’s based on magical thinking and delusion.

    In age when you have a strong two-party system, and one of those parties has hooked up with people who have openly declared war on half of their own country, centrism is dishonest and evil.

    There was nothing centrist about the results of the last election. If anything, it was a repudiation of centrism, and a demand for new direction. Anybody who can’t get on board with that new direction should get the fuck out of the way.

    As for Broder? He’s not an actual centrist, he’s basically an erudite version of Rodney King.

    Can’t we all just get along? Actually, no, we can’t. I can’t get along with people who think that the salvation of the world will come out of bombs and guns, and that the earth is 6000 years old. I have no desire to get along with them, and I have no intention of getting along with them.

  118. 118.

    The Sanity Inspector

    The Bush years will be remembered as the time when America finally started fighting back against The Jihad, and ditched for good the Not Sufficiently Provocative cowardice that marked the Clinton administration. Not even Hillary will be able to get away with triangulating our troubles away, anymore. Ten years from now, Bush will be remembered as one whose efforts helped get us safely from now until then.

  120. 120.

    Rome Aulgain

    Can’t we all just get along? Actually, no,

    Wow, a voice from the wilderness! Finally, someone has said what we’ve all needed to understand for so long.

    No, we all can’t get along. Great TZ, absolutely awesome statement. Now, how do we go about fixing this centristic mess? I’m a little sick of the “united we stand…” bullshit myself.

  121. 121.

    Rome Again

    Hmmmm, mouse changed my name ROFL, oops! My comment is now “awaiting moderation”.

    Sorry John/Tim., different computer, the mouse skips at times. Apologies.

  122. 122.

    Rome Again

    Can’t we all just get along? Actually, no,

    Wow, a voice from the wilderness! I’m proud to know you. Finally, someone has said what we’ve all needed to understand for so long.

    No, we all can’t get along. Great TZ, absolutely awesome statement. Now, how do we go about fixing this centristic mess? I’m a little sick of the “united we stand…” bullshit myself.

  123. 123.

    Zombie Santa Claus

    The Bush years will be remembered as the time when America finally started fighting back against The Jihad, and ditched for good the Not Sufficiently Provocative cowardice that marked the Clinton administration. Not even Hillary will be able to get away with triangulating our troubles away, anymore. Ten years from now, Bush will be remembered as one whose efforts helped get us safely from now until then.

    That’s why 10 years from now, Bush will be recalled in triumph to begin his term as President-for-Life, while the corpses of his critics will fill the bellies of the stray dogs of Guantanamo Bay.

    God bless America.

  124. 124.

    RSA

    Ten years from now, it’s more likely that there will be an equivalent of Godwin’s Law on the internets, such that if someone brings up Bush’s name in a thread for any reason, it will mean the effective end of rational discussion.

  125. 125.

    Zombie Santa Claus

    Ten years from now, it’s more likely that there will be an equivalent of Godwin’s Law on the internets, such that if someone brings up Bush’s name in a thread for any reason, it will mean the effective end of rational discussion.

    Nah, the prisoner camps for moonbats will be up and running well before the 10-year mark. After about 6 months of a Democrat President, America will develop a powerful hankering for this kind of integrity and leadership, and will happily back a coup to restore Bush to power.

    That’s my read on it, anyway. Then again, it’s not like I have a crystal ball or anything.

  126. 126.

    chopper

    and ditched for good the Not Sufficiently Provocative cowardice that marked the Clinton administration

    he’s got a point, clinton never started a muslim civil war in the mideast that could have seriously destabilized the entire area. his lack of provacatism shows him to be a true coward.

  127. 127.

    Scruffy McSnufflepuss

    his lack of provacatism shows him to be a true coward.

    He didn’t have the guts to stir up the hornet’s nest and take on the hornets individually. Hell, I know 9-year-olds with more guts than Clinton.

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