Breaking: American People Really Don't Like Bush
As President Bush gets ready to leave office, a new CNN poll lays out the extent to which the American people despise him.
CNN asked respondents whether various positive attributes applied to President Bush. In all cases the answer was No, and in most cases it was overwhelming. The list just goes on and on:
Thinking about the following characteristics and qualities, please say whether you think it applies or doesn't apply to George W. Bush:
Is a strong and decisive leader: Yes 45%, No 55%
Cares about people like you: Yes 37%, No 62%
Brought the kind of change the country needed: Yes 13%, No 86%
Is honest and trustworthy: Yes 37%, No 62%
Managed the government effectively: Yes 25%, No 75%
Is a person you admire: Yes 27%, No 72%
Shares your values: Yes 34%, No 65%
Generally agrees with you on issues you care about: Yes 34%, No 66%
Inspires confidence: Yes 20%, No 80%
Has united the country and not divide it: Yes 17%, No 82%
Was tough enough for the job: Yes 49%, No 51%
Can get things done: Yes 31%, No 69%
On top of this, 75% say they are glad Bush is leaving office, compared to only 23% who say they'll miss him. And 66% want him to get out of public life, with 33% saying he should remain active.
Well, the interesting thing to me is that Shrub still scores relatively high (emphasis on "relatively") on the "macho" qualities that he based his presidential style on: strong, tough, etc. But a solid majority of the American people appear to have determined, correctly, that these qualities did not produce success.
And maybe, just maybe, they've even drawn the correct conclusion that those qualities were completely counterproductive. Who knows? Maybe the past 8 years were a long, drawn-out teachable moment.
December 26, 2008 2:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder what it must feel like to be more hated than even Hitler was during the decline of the Third Reich...I guess what boggles my mind is how this happened in America, 8 years later, I still can't figure out how our country was hijacked by Bush & Co., I guess we'll never really know. What's most impressive is that for a few shining years, they convinced an awful lot of people that they were actually making the world a better place. I think it would be presumptuous to think that we've learned our lesson, but maybe, just maybe we are about to turn the page on Bush economics and actually become a prosperous nation again.
December 26, 2008 2:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bush was the best thing to happen to the democratic party.
sadly he has destroyed the country and the world.
December 26, 2008 3:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
avatar,
truly. The Democrats should give Bush an award for his work in destroying the Republican party.
December 26, 2008 3:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Destroying the world to reinvigorate the party--that's one Hell of a price to pay. I hope that now we can truly put "Country first" with Democrats, mainstream Republicans and Independents working in harmony. The neocons can fester in their own verbal excrement.
December 26, 2008 3:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Where, oh where did those CNN folks find 13% who thought Bush brought the kind of change the country needed? Were they polling in caves and under tree stumps?
December 26, 2008 3:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think it has been shown in surveys and on Leno, that, at any given time, 15% cannot really point out the USA on a map of the world. And a goodly number of those do not realize that we have been at war for six years.
December 27, 2008 3:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
Where, oh where did those CNN folks find 13% who thought Bush brought the kind of change the country needed? Were they polling in caves and under tree stumps?
December 26, 2008 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
33% think he should stay in public service. As what? I want you all to close your eyes and form the following mental image: George W. Bush, Elder Statesman.
December 26, 2008 6:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Epic fail.
December 26, 2008 6:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why do the media continue to take and report these polls? Isn't one or two enough? Does anyone doubt that Bush is hugely unpopular? But the piling on is making a long-term, hardened anti-Bushie like me feel as Joe Biden does -- a little sorry for the guy. Enough already.
The Constant Weader at www.RealityChex.com
December 26, 2008 6:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
They've got to keep retaking the polls. What would happen if suddenly the numbers reversed?
That would be news.
That's also what happens when reporters attempt to report only the facts with no theoretical background. They really have no idea what could cause a change in the numbers. They just keep mining public opinion in hopes something significant will happen.
December 26, 2008 9:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Think of it this way: the polls provide support for Obama as he enters office and begins the tortuous process of De-Bushification of all the agencies that Bush packed with political appointees who all-too-frequently worked to undermine the very mission of the agency in which they served. Obama is the one to whom our sympathy should be directed, as so much of his Presidency will have to be focused on undoing - as much as possible - all the havoc and destruction that Bush caused.
December 27, 2008 11:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Has united the country and not divide(sic) it: Yes 17%, No 82%
Well, clearly he has united the country, if only in agreement that he was the worst President in a generation.
December 26, 2008 9:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Crowd (in unison): Yes, we're all different.
Eric Idle (raising hand): I'm not!
December 27, 2008 1:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
The republicans & bush administration have damaged this country beyond complete repair, and the people that elected him "twice" should be ashamed of themselves & the people that still support bush there is no hope.
December 26, 2008 11:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, I would almost give them the benefit of the doubt with regard to the first election. But, the second was indefensible. O'Neill had already published the single most important fact of w's administration. "We're goin into Iraq, find a way."
w is quoted as saying that to his National Security Council eight months before 9/11/01.
December 27, 2008 3:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
How many of those people blame themselves, since they voted for Bush (or were too lazy to vote at all)? Do they recognize their own mistakes? I doubt it.
And you're dreaming if you think that Bush 'destroyed' the Republican Party. Anyone remember Richard Nixon and Watergate? How long did the fallout from that continue? One election?
The GOP is not dead and not gone. They'll be back, and quicker than you expect. Let's just hope that they've learned something, so that the next Republican president isn't another Bush (or a Palin). We NEED an opposition party, but not one controlled by religious lunatics.
December 27, 2008 9:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
How many of those people blame themselves, since they voted for Bush (or were too lazy to vote at all)? Do they recognize their own mistakes? I doubt it.
And you're dreaming if you think that Bush 'destroyed' the Republican Party. Anyone remember Richard Nixon and Watergate? How long did the fallout from that continue? One election?
The GOP is not dead and not gone. They'll be back, and quicker than you expect. Let's just hope that they've learned something, so that the next Republican president isn't another Bush (or a Palin). We NEED an opposition party, but not one controlled by religious lunatics.
December 27, 2008 9:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
What I want to know is who are the 25 percent who do not want to see Bush leave? I am amazed this man still has supporters among the voting public. I see the trolls out on the blog saying he is the greates POTUS we have ever had. They must have gotten old of the meth being sold by Bristol Palin's mother n law to be and it left them delusional. Or, they are the businesses that benefited from the war in Iraq and know the game is up
December 27, 2008 12:27 PM | Reply | Permalink