Poll: Country's Mood at Historic Low

[Mink]

As if we needed more bad news, where is the president, telling us to go shopping?

www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/31/poll.approval/index.html

snip> "Only three events -- Watergate, the Iran hostage crisis, and the economic downturn of 1992 -- have driven below 30 percent the number who think things are going well," CNN's polling director Keating Holland said. The mood of the country has been assessed since 1974.
Only four presidents -- Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and the elder George Bush -- have seen that number drop below 30 percent during their time in office; their parties all lost the White House in the next presidential election.
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Although Congress is not doing any better, it shouldn't be construed as we need to stay the course, which is how we got in this ridiculous predicament in the first place.

[The New Guy]

but you will "stay the course" and continue to vote for the woolseys, boxers, di-fis, reids, and pelosis, won't you?

[jgaffney]

Won't you, Mink?

[harpman1]

After being told for the last 7 1/2 years what a bad president G.W. Bush is, it's no wonder ratings are down.

The fun part is that we've also been told how competent & visionary Congress is, but their poll #'s are even lower than his!

[saunterelle]

"After being told for the last 7 1/2 years what a bad president G.W. Bush is, it's no wonder ratings are down."


Another "mental recession" excuse. You're out of touch with what is going on in America, just like McCain.

[jgaffney]

Aug 5, 2008 10:09:31 GMT -5 saunterelle said:

Another "mental recession" excuse. You're out of touch with what is going on in America, just like McCain.

Saunterelle, please elaborate on that claim.

[harpman1]

If the do-nothing 110th Congress simply spoke the words "we are lifting the offshore drilling ban", this recession would disappear faster than The Obamessiah's lead in the polls.

[saunterelle]

Well, here's a very good article from The Economist that explains it better than I can: www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?source=most_recommended&story_id=11791539

The Republican stance seems to deny that anything is wrong. They blame the media for creating a "mental recession" and McCain says he is for "change" but never elaborates on what that change is.

[saunterelle]

Harpman, how would that happen when it will take 10 years for new drilling to affect prices?

I think Obama's plan is much better for short-term relief. Dipping into our petrol reserves is called for at this point. Also, a $1000 relief check sounds useful right about now.

[harpman1]

Here is how it worked.

A few weeks back, Pres. Bush unilaterally lifted the Executive ban on offshore drilling.

Within 10 days, w/o one drop out or one hole drilled, oil went down $25/barrel.

You have been lied to about the "10 years" baloney. Markets respond to lots of things. Some substantive, some symbolic.

And how can you justify burning our EMERGENCY oil supply just to save a nickel on a gallon of gas? That, my friend, is the very definition of shortsightedness.

Be honest. The Obamaplan is no plan.

Burn our emergency supply; get nothing to replace it; hope someone invents something else real quick; burglarize & then nationalize oil co.'s.

Please stop feeding me baloney that has never worked, even though you "hope" it will this time. It won't, & you know it.

[mrroqout]

Aug 5, 2008 14:49:53 GMT -5 saunterelle said:

Harpman, how would that happen when it will take 10 years for new drilling to affect prices?

I think Obama's plan is much better for short-term relief. Dipping into our petrol reserves is called for at this point. Also, a $1000 relief check sounds useful right about now.

Where is the "Relief" check money coming from?


Can you define : Windfall Profit

I seem to have missed that lecture in economics.

At what point does profit become "Windfall".........and who decided that?

You DO realize that MANY corporations made FAR HIGHER profits than Big Oil did, don't you?

Would "windfall profit" taxes apply to B. Hussein himself?

Since his book sales are UP SHARPLY since his decision to run for office..B Hussein had by his definition WINDFALL PROFITS..and should be taxed by himself accordingly.


Sorry but taxing ANY type of profit once it has already been previously taxed..is Communism plain and simple

[jgaffney]

Ah, yes, The Economists. The Brits never miss a chance to dump on a Republican administration in America. I seem to remember that we saved their butts, not once, but twice in the 20th Century, right?

But, rather than dismiss the op-ed out of hand, let's look at some of its claims:

Eight out of ten Americans think their country is heading in the wrong direction.

A constant barrage of negative reporting by the MSM is having the desired effect.

One source of angst is the sorry state of American capitalism. The “Washington consensus” told the world that open markets and deregulation would solve its problems. Yet American house prices are falling faster than during the Depression, petrol is more expensive than in the 1970s, banks are collapsing, the euro is kicking sand in the dollar’s face, credit is scarce, recession and inflation both threaten the economy, consumer confidence is an oxymoron and Belgians have just bought Budweiser, “America’s beer”.

Is there a reason for the falling housing prices other than buyers grasping for more than they could afford, aided and abetted by lenders who didn't care if the loan was repaid? Two banks have gone down, mostly because of their investments in the risky mortgage securities - that's not a trend. The euro is up against the dollar mostly because oil is priced in dollars, not because of any inherent weakness in the dollar. Recession and inflation are bugboos constatly raised by the Left, but failing to actually materialize. And, I don't care if Budweiser was bought by a Belgian company. It's a global economy, dude.

Many Americans feel as if they missed the boom. Between 2002 and 2006 the incomes of 99% rose by an average of 1% a year in real terms, while those of the top 1% rose by 11% a year; three-quarters of the economic gains during Mr Bush’s presidency went to that top 1%.

Oh, right, the classic socialist claim of class warfare. The difference between us and Europe is that we don't have the caste system that locks a person into a particular economic class. Anyone can make it here in the US if they try. How else would one explain the wave of immiggration we are experiencing?

Abroad, America has spent vast amounts of blood and treasure, to little purpose. In Iraq, finding an acceptable exit will look like success; Afghanistan is slipping. America’s claim to be a beacon of freedom in a dark world has been dimmed by Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib and the flouting of the Geneva Conventions amid the panicky “unipolar” posturing in the aftermath of September 11th.

I guess if one totally discounts the fact that we ousted a tyrannical, threatening regime in Iraq, and cowed the similar regime in Lybia into laying down its arms, yeah, that would be "to little purpose." One also has to ignore the good news coming out of Iraq to say that we are not achieving victory. Abu Ghraib pales in comparison to the atrocities inflicted on Arabs by other Arabs. And, since when has stripping a prisoner nude and making him listen to loud music compared with the torture inflicted by Saddam during his reign? And, for those of you who slept through History class, the Geneva Conventions apply to standing armies of countries at war. How does one classify a terrorist who does not have a national affiliation and who hides among the populace?

America should regard their success as a tribute, not a threat, and celebrate in it.

Many Americans, unfortunately, are unwilling to do so. Politicians seeking a scapegoat for America’s self-made problems too often point the finger at the growing power of once-poor countries, accusing them of stealing American jobs and objecting when they try to buy American companies. But if America reacts by turning in on itself—raising trade barriers and rejecting foreign investors—it risks exacerbating the economic troubles that lie behind its current funk.

Everybody goes through bad times. Some learn from the problems they have caused themselves, and come back stronger. Some blame others, lash out and damage themselves further. America has had the wisdom to take the first course many times before. Let’s hope it does so again.

Finally, at the very end of the op-ed, the writer acknowledges that America is still the greatest country on Earth. I doubt that Saunterelle read that far.