Now we have proof; we're smarter - nyah, nyah, nyah

A new AP-Ipsos poll finds that Liberals read more books than conservatives.

I’ll pause to let THAT shocking news sink in…

According to the poll, 34% of conservatives have not read a book within the past year.. as opposed to 22% of Liberals and moderates.

The president of the American Association of Publishers, Pat Schroeder, tried to explain it thusly; “The Karl Roves of the world have built a generation that just wants a couple slogans: ‘No, don’t raise my taxes, no new taxes. It’s pretty hard to write a book saying, ‘No new taxes, no new taxes, no new taxes’ on every page.”

Ouch…

Naturally this bought a harsh attack from White House spokesman Tony Fratto; “Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals.”What?? Because we read?? Well then, by that logic, couldn’t we call conservatives gun-toting crazies???

Putz.

It should also be noted, because I can, that a recent Pew Research Study survey found that viewers of Fox “News” had the lowest knowledge of national and international affairs…

Yeah.... like we needed a study to tell us that FOX news viewers were idiots.

Poll Positions

There are some new polls out, and they continue to show waning support not only for the Iraq war, but “President” Bush as well.

While American Research Group’s new poll shows Bush’s approval at an itty-bitty 25%,with his disapproval at a staggeringly high 71%, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll gives Bush’s approval above the Nixon Line (soon to be re-named the Nixon-Bush Line) at 33%, with 65% disapproving.

But let’s not get too excited just yet… while the numbers for the President are slipping further and further into the abyss, so too are the numbers for Congress, primarily due to their incredible inability to end the war.

35% said they approve of the way congressional Democrats are handling the situation in Iraq, with 63% disapproving… but Bush is not the answer either, as the poll then goes on to show that 55% of those surveyed trust Congressional Democrats to fix the Iraq war problem, and a scant 32% trust President Bush to do it.

Why?

Because Bush is too damn stubborn… or, in the words of the poll, 80% of Americans see Bush's stance on Iraq as too rigid as he has downright refused to listen to other people’s opinions.

This includes republicans, Democrats and Independents…

So I read that, and then I have faith in mankind again… but then I see something that leaves me absolutely… Be. Wildered.

Three-quarters of republicans approve of the way Bush is handling his job, compared to one in 10 Democrats and three in 10 independents giving him high positive marks.

And here’s my question; how many of these republicans actuallyactually approve of the job Bush is doing, and how may are simply saying they approve due to a sense of party loyalty?

Think about it… can the entire republican party that friggin’ moronic>? Those with a brain, and I know there must be some out there, can not honestly think that this war is going in a positive direction… let alone the country.

If they do, then they have a much worse case of tunnel vision than Bush.

And that’s downright alarmingly.

Poll Position: Dropping faster than a rock

update below

It seems that things are starting to get worse and worse for the Bush(whacked) Administration.

Here comes the numbers…

According to a new Gallup/USA Today poll, Bush's approval rating has declined to 29%, which is a rather dramatic drop from 33% in June and 38% in April and he’s now only seven percentage points away from the lowest job approval rating in Gallup Poll history.

And if that’s not enough to make you realize just how bad things are for Bush, his ratings have dropped a staggering 61 percentage points since he hit his all-time high of 90% in the days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

To add to Bush’s woes that he’s closing-in on the lowest rating that Gallup has ever seen, opposition to the Iraq war is also at a record high with 70% of Americans supporting a complete withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and 62% of those polled believing that the US was wrong in sending troops into Iraq in the first place.

Oh, and only one in five Americans think Bush's troop 'surge' theory had any effect.

And Bush’s attempt to better his approvals, the immigration legislation, and its resulting failure have pushed Bush further down among republicans, with almost four in 10 saying they’ve lost confidence in Bush because of his handling of the immigration issue.

As a throw-in, 66% of Americans believe President Bush shouldn’t have commuted Scooter Libby’s prison sentence.

Ouch… has any president ever had this much polling-pain in his presidency?

Oh that’s right, Richard Nixon… and he resigned…

Hint, hint George…

UPDATE: Add Rasmussen polling numbers to further diminish Bush's surge strategy as a new poll from them shows that only 19% of Americans believe that the U.S. troop surge in Iraq was a success… and before you say it’s a partisan issue, keep in mind that a scant 38% of republicans consider the President’s strategy successful.

Does this surprise anyone?

Gallup has taken an interesting approach to questioning the public about “President” Bush with their latest Gallup poll.

The poll gave respondents the open-ended question:

“If you could talk with President Bush for fifteen minutes about the situation in Iraq, what would you, personally, advise him to do?”

The responses were, as anyone with a brain would expect, not pro-Bush.

• The largest category of responses from the public -- offered by a stark 54% -- would advise Bush to focus on removing the troops from Iraq and exiting the country, leaving the situation in the control of the Iraqis.
• 39% of those say they would advise Bush to simply get U.S. troops out of Iraq now.
• Another group, representing one-fourth of Americans, would advise the president to “stay the course” or get more aggressive in Iraq’s military actions.
• A smaller category would advise the president to work with others in finding the best solution, including an advisory board or the United Nations (Yeah, like that’ll happen)
• 6% would advise the president to admit his past mistakes and apologize (Yeah, like that’s gonna happen. More chance of )

Granted, these numbers are nice… but they also make you wonder who the hell is more delusional; the one in four who think everything is hunky-dory in Iraq and we should stay the course or the gaggle of republicans (and republican-in-waiting Joe Lieberman) who think Bush’s current strategy is working.

And who in their right mind would think that Bush would ever admit his mistakes? In his world, he doesn't make mistakes, other people do.

Must be nice to live in such a delusional state...

Short Stacks

Yeah… sure… whatever.
In the opening statement that will be read at tomorrow’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will ask Congress to “move on” past AttorneyGate so the DOJ can “focus on its mission: fighting crime.”

Thanks a lot there Alberto, I’m sure they’ll get right on that. You know what would make Congress “move on” faster?Your resignation.

Another day, another poll.
Vice President Dick “Dick” Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq to, according to a top aide, give a message to the enemey that: “It’s game time.” (B-Movie dialog aside… does anyone think that this is going to do anything to the insurgents other than make them laugh??)

At the same time a new poll was released that shows 54% of Americans disapprove of “President” Bush’s veto of the Iraq funding bill that simultaneously put a timeline for U.S. troops to leave Iraq.

The poll, conducted by CNN, also showed that 57% of Americans want Congress to send another spending bill with a timetable attached back to the White House… something that Bush has already sworn to veto if it crosses his desk again.

(So once again, the will of a majority of Americans is ignored by the Bush(whacked) Administration… Oh, well… since when does a majority matter in a democratic society anyway?? As they always do, the administration will put their heads into the sand, imagine all is well and do what they want to do. And you wonder why our standing in the world is getting less and less… it’s because of the solitary vision of George Bush and his merry band of cronies. Give me strength…)

Everyone else wants it, why doesn’t Bush?
Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie paid a visit to Capitol Hill today and the New York Times reports that al-Rubaie is “trying to persuade American lawmakers who have all but run out of patience that still more patience is required” even though in June 2006 he was calling for a significant troop reduction. He wrote in the Washington Post, “We envisage the U.S. troop presence by year’s end [2006] to be under 100,000, with most of the remaining troops to return home by the end of 2007.”

He, like Bush and almost every republican on the planet, are staggeringly out of touch with the opinions of his nation.

Case in point: a majority of Iraqi parliament members have signed a petition calling for a U.S. withdrawal… a development that has yet to be noted in the U.S. media according to AlterNet.org

On Tuesday, without note in the U.S. media, more than half of the members of Iraq’s parliament rejected the continuing occupation of their country. 144 lawmakers signed onto a legislative petition calling on the United States to set a timetable for withdrawal, according to Nassar Al-Rubaie, a spokesman for the Al Sadr movement, the nationalist Shia group that sponsored the petition.

The petition, which is nonbinding, will be presented to the speaker of the Iraqi parliament and then will be put to a vote. While this is an interesting turn of events, it should be known that there are significant loopholes in the petition and its unclear what will happen next.

What is known is that the Iraqi government seems to be of the same mind as a majority of Americans (approximately 60% to be specific) who want U.S. troops to leave Iraq.

Too bad this “President” can’t see that…

More polling data.
Today we got the results of a WNBC/Marist poll on “President” Bush’s approval ratings. According to them it’s a scant 33%.

That is all…

Monday Short Stack

Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

But the big winner of an early Florida primary could be Jeb Bush. The former two-term Republican governor — and the brother of President George W. Bush — is still popular and would be in a position to play kingmaker by endorsing a hopeful. Or, if things get really weird in the GOP race, a kick-off Florida primary might tempt to him to consider a candidacy of his own, which he has thus far eschewed.

I threw up in my mouth a little when I typed this…

What’s the point of it all?

“All of us believe that in the next 90 days, you’ll probably see an increase in American casualties…”

Those words, spoken by Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the commander of the Army’s Task Force Marne, came the same day that 8 more American soldiers were killed in roadside bomb attacks in Iraq.

I don’t think anything more can be said…

Wolf is At Out the Door?

Wonkette is reporting that World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is leaving his post.

This could be true… or it could be false… we’ll find out sooner or later.

Polling Data

“President” Bush’s approval rating has fallen to 28% according to a Newsweek Poll released this past weekend, giving him an all-time low for that survey.

Nearly two out of three Americans, or 62% for you number-lovers out there, think Bush's recent actions about Iraq show that he is “stubborn and unwilling to admit his mistakes.”

I’m not sure what’s more disheartening about that… that 62% of the country think our current president is a putz or that it took these people that long to figure it out.

The last president to be this wildly unpopular was Jimmy Carter who also scored a 28% approval in 1979.

There is also support in the poll that Bush's unpopularity is also casting a pall over the republican odds at keeping the White House in 2008 with Democratic front-runners leading potential republican contenders across the board, which leads us to…

More Polling Data

In the same poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International that gave us the above-mentioned approval numbers, the Democrats are enjoying a nice lead in the 2008 race.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) fared the best against all the lead republicans, besting supposed gop front-runner Rudy Giuliani 50% to 43%, topping Sen. John McCain 52% to 39%, and Gov. Mitt Romney 58% to 29%.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-IL AR NY) topped Giuliani 49% to 46%, McCain 50% to 44% and Romney 57% to 35%.

Sen. John Edwards (D-SC) topped Giuliani by 6 points, McCain by 10 and Romney by 37 points.

Granted, it’s still obscenely early to get your hopes up with this news, but it should be cause for some guarded optimism… let’s pray that this trend continues…

We have how many more years of this?

“President” Bush is a worse president than Herbert Hoover ever was.

You want proof? How about the worst job creation record since the Hoover Administration…

A growing economy should be good news for those seeking jobs. But over the course of President Bush's term in office, his Administration has the worst overall job creation record since Herbert Hoover more than 70 years ago.

Overall non-farm payroll employment has increased by just 5.2 million since President Bush took office in January 2001 compared with 22.7 million during the Clinton presidency. Overall employment growth has averaged just 70,000 per month under President Bush - much lower than the approximately 150,000 jobs needed each month to keep up with population growth. It was not uncommon to see monthly job gains of 300,000 and even 400,000 during economic expansions under previous Administrations.

Private sector job creation has been especially poor during the Bush presidency, with an average annual job growth rate of only 0.5 percent per year since 2001. Just 3.8 million private sector jobs have been created during the Bush presidency, compared with over 20 million private sector jobs during the Clinton presidency.

The manufacturing sector, often the source of jobs with good pay and benefits, has lost three million jobs since the start of the Bush Administration. Nearly half of the jobs created since 2001 were part-time and freelance positions without benefits. This slow pace of private sector job creation is particularly troubling given that we are so far into the economic recovery.

There ya go, more ammo to declare him: Worst. President. EVAH!

Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday

How’s about some Random Political Thoughts…

Be Strong.Our thoughts continue to go out to anyone effected by the senseless tragedy at Virginia Tech University. Stay strong and know the country is behind you…

Testify! AG Alberto Gonzales’ former COS, Kyle Sampson, in an interview with congressional investigators last Sunday, said that Gonzales was “inaccurate” in his assertion that he didn’t have a role in the deliberations about individual U. S. attorneys that were later dismissed.” This comes at the same time that Congress considers offering former Gonzales Aide Monica Goodling immunity in exchange for what is expected to be damaging testimoney. (Postponed because of the incident at VTU earlier this week, it’s only a matter of time before Gonzales has to face the music… and I don’t think it’s gonna be pretty… at least I hope it won’t be pretty…)

And Speaking of US Attorneys... 67% of Americans, “including a narrow majority of Republicans,” see political motives as the primary reason behind last year’s firings of eight federal prosecutors. Throw in the fact that 45% of those polled believe Alberto Gonzales should resign and you have the makings of yet another mis-step by the Bush(whacked) Administratioin… (Kind of brings a smile to your face, doesn’t it?)

Our Downward Spiral Continues. A new poll by the Program on International Policy (hence called PIPA) shows that 10 out of 15 countries believe that the United States cannot be trusted to “act responsibly in the world.” The new PIPA poll also finds that majorities in 13 out of 15 publics polled say the U.S. is “playing the role of world policeman more than it should be.” Furthermore, the poll shows that majorities in all 15 of the countries polled reject the idea that the U.S. should “continue to be the preeminent world leader in solving international problems.” (At one time, the United States was the country that other countries aspired to… we were the worldwide leaders… we were the ones they came to in their time of need… we were the one that other countries looked to to lead the way…Oh, how times have changed. Essentially, it took “President” Bush a few scant years in office to systematcially undo every damn thing that America ever stood for from an international standpoint. The way we as a nation are viewed by the rest of the world is pretty pathetic. At best they laugh at us for our choice of leadership – remember the headlines in Europe when Bush was re-elected? – and at worst they believe that Bush and his Administration are representative of ALL American values. This is just sad…)

Poll Positions. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll finds that 66% of Americans don’t’ support the war in Iraq. This comes as widespread feelings about the war going badly and the additional troops not making a difference come to the forefront.

Wolf Out the Door. Even as the World Bank’s board of directors gets ready to meet today to discuss the possibility of making him resign, World Bank President Paul “Socks” Wolfowitz is vowing that he will not resign over his role in securing a State Department job along with a huge raise for his girlfriend, a former communications official at the bank. (Wow… it’s almost as if Wolfie had someone teach him in the fine art of cronyism… I wonder who that could be??? Sarcasm Alert: Stage Magenta)

Op-Ed Piece of Mid-Week The New York Times says that there are still “64,000 people sleeping in trailers in Louisiana” and that “President Bush has reneged on his promises to Katrina’s victims.” (This albatross just won’t get off from around his neck, will it?)

More Poll Positions. According to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) drew (relatively) high approval ratings as they passed their 100-day mark as leaders of their respective chambers. Pelosi had an approval rating of 53% while Reid hit the 46% mark. (While the numbers may not be astronomical, they are good, and that’s something that can only help the Democratic agenda. Keep it up guys…)

And the Hits Just Keep Coming. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will meet this week to consider whether to subpoena Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Rice has repeatedly blown off Rep. Henry Waxman’s (D-CA) requests for information on her pre-war claims about Iraq’s WMD programs and now they might try to do something about it. (While it’s obvious that Rice will NEVER allow herself to answer questions truthfully, muhc less be subpoenaed, it’s a nice move by the Democrats and one that shows some balls. As I said above, let’s keep it up.)

Take 'em as you will...

Poll Position: Iraq

It should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone with a brain that, for the obvious reasons, they don’t conduct many opinion polls in Iraq…

But seeing as how today is the four year anniversary of the war, ABC News and a handful of other media outlets decided to do one, polling 2,200 Iraqis.

The results, not at all surprisingly, are not good…

Consider:

• In November 2005, the number of Iraqis who say their own life was going well was 71%… that number has dipped dropped plunged to 39%.
• About three-fourths of Iraqis report feelings of anger, depression and difficulty concentrating.
• More than 50% of Iraqis polled have curtailed activities like going out of their homes, going to markets or other crowded places and traveling through police checkpoints.
• Only 18% have confidence in U.S. and coalition troops.
• 86% are concerned that someone in their household will be a victim of violence.
• 51% of those polled say that violence against U.S. forces is acceptable, a significant jump from the 17% who felt that way in 2004.
• In 2005, 63% said they felt very safe in their neighborhoods, that number is now only 26%.

To see the complete polling results in a PDF file, CLICK HERE.

With sobering statistics coming in daily about the number of dead and wounded, these results are a sad reflection on just how bad things are over there.

And yet, despite these numbers, the Bush(whacked) Administration is in full spin mode (and acting very snippy) about the war on its anniversary.

We had Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice hitting the airwaves calling for Americans “to be patient” and saying that the war in Iraq is “worth the sacrifice.”

We have “President” Bush saying that there’s been “good progress” over there and that U.S. security will suffer if we pull out too soon (Is there really anyone left out there who still thinks Iraq has anything to do with national security in this country?)

I’m sure there are things to say about this (read an Iraqi’s view of the war via WaPo HERE), and I could certainly offer my opionion like I always do…

But in this situation, I think the numbers profoundly speak for themselves…

UPDATE: Hindsight is always 20/20, but this conversation with Kadhim al-Jubouri, an Iraqi weightlifting champion who helped U.S. forces tear down the statue of Saddam Hussein, is most revealing, especially when he says: "I really regret bringing down the statue. The Americans are worse than the dictatorship. Every day is worse than the previous day."

I don't know about you, but reading that "Americans are worse than the dictatorship" really, really hurts... and I am not being a smart-ass... it hurts...

Way to go Mr. Bush...

Now what?

First it was reported that Americans don’t trust “President” Bush to solve the healthcare crisis in this country…

Then it was reported (just this past weekend) that Bush has lost the support of a handful of his generals and admirals who have stated that they would quit rather than carry-out any plans to attack Iran…

Now, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, Americans trust Congress (and specifically Democrats in Congress) more than they trust Bush to handle the situation in Iraq, with 54% supporting Congress to Bush’s 34%.

(And in the interest of fairness, I want to mention that these results do show that the gap has narrowed a little since Bush's State of the Union speech when there was a 27-point gap. And while the Democrats did lose six points from that point, let’s be clear that Bush did not reclaim those points… they shifted to trusting neither the Democrats in Congress nor the president to handle the situation in Iraq…)

With Bush's approval ratings in the crapper mired in mediocrity… what more can possibly be done??

It’s sad.

It’s pathetic.

And it’s relatively unprecedented…

Think about it… have we ever seen a presidency where the American public, foreign allies, and members of the U.S. military have lost respect and trust in their leader?

America is on the cusp of being the laughing stock of the world… and, while the republicans are happy in their ignorance… the Democrats obviously don’t care about changing it either.

If they did, they would be doing more to end the war in Iraq… they would be mindful of sniping at each other over comments made by a campaign donor… they would be trying to reinstate habeas corpus… they would be trying to right all the wrongs that are within their power to right… they would actually be, I don’t know, doing something…

Instead… they’re not doing a damn thing but trying to keep up appearances.

I weep for the future…

Random Political Thoughts

Want some Random Political Thoughts? Here you go… enjoy;

Walking his own line. You can add yet another former ally turning their back on Dubya. Lame-duck British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced this week that the the U.K. will cut troop levels in Iraq by 1,600 (from 7,100 to 5,500). Naturally, the White House tried to put a positive spin on it with Vice President Dick “Dick” Cheney stating that the move was actually good news and a “sign of progress” in Iraq… (Uh… okay… sure… Tell me Mr. Cheney, what color is the sky in your world?). In more ‘other-nations-are-being-smarter-than-us-and-slowly-withdrawing-troops-from-the-quaqmire-of-Iraq’ news, it’s expected that Denmark will follow Britain’s lead and announce plans to withdraw its 460 troops from Iraq. (Losing them will hurt because… because… yeah, I got nothin’…)

Good luck. A little more than two months after suffering a brain hemorrhage, Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) has left a Washington hospital and has entered a rehabilitation facility. (God speed Senator…)

And for his next failure… “President” Bush wants to reform our nation’s health-care system and is aiming at the reform to be a huge part of his final two years in office. The problem is that nearly half of Americans don't trust Bush to reform the nation's health-care system, at least that’s what a new Wall Street Journal Online/Harris health-care poll found. When respondents were asked how much they trust the president to come up with good policies for improving and reforming the U.S. health-care system, 49% said “not at all” and 16% said “not much”. (When Dubya goes to sleep, does he have nightmares of pollsters?? These are not surprising numbers… yet they do bring a smile to my face…)

Cronyism: Texas Style. Six (long, agonizing, disasterous) years into the presidency of George Bush, his loyal Texan corps, those who accompanied him to Washington from Austin, are still a force to be reckoned with inside the White House and, according to the NY Times (New motto: We suck less than the other NY papers) remains a steady source of comfort for a president that is becoming increasingly isolated.

To the jury-mobile! Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald gave a “detailed and businesslike” summary of the prosecution’s case against Scooter Libby, with Mr. Fitzgerald saying that Libby; “told a dumb lie and got caught.” Then it was Libby’s chief defense lawyer Theodore Wells turn, and he decided to go the “Drama Queen” route and countered with an “intensely emotional defense” complete with sob-ending, (and by sob ending, I don’t mean a sad ending, I mean he actually cried) “He’s been under my protection for the last month. I give him to you. Give him back to me.” After those words, Wells “teared up, sobbed audibly” and sat down. (Sigh… I don’t even know where to begin…)

Unsettling news. The Washington Post (new motto “Not like the NY Times anymore… we’re much worse”) started a reporting series this past Sunday about the “deplorable conditions” at Walter Reed Army Hospital (PART 1, PART 2, PART 3). Now, swift action has been promised, and two Midwest Senators, Barack Obama (D-IL) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), have also promised swift action. (My question is this; with the conditions as bad as they are at the hospital, it seems as though it’s been like this for a while... how come we’re just finding out about this now? Granted, with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq the hospital is probably over-taxed with patients… but this is supposed to the military’s best hospital. And the way the White House is trying to spin it… something very strange is going on here, but I just can’t quite put my finger on it…)

2008 Presidential Race Update. Barack Obama is in California asking for money from Hollywood heavyweights like Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington & Steven Spielberg (which I guess means that Hillary will have to settle for Spielberg’s non-Union Mexican equivalent… trust me, some people get that…)… Hillary Clinton is hoping to have Bubba take her Senate seat should she win the White House (anything to keep him away from the WH interns)… John McCain is still rolling over to suit whichever group he’s addressing at that moment (he’s this race’s version of Bob Dole… )… Mitt Romney is already starting-up the media war (still won’t help…)… and John Edwards is… keeping strangely and unusually quiet…

I apologize now for putting this image into your head. According to Ariel Sharon’s new biography, “President” Bush once told him that if he (Bush) ever got his hands on Osama bin Laden, he would “screw him in the ass.” (I don’t think anything else needs to be said as that line speaks for itself…)

All I have, take ‘em as you will…

You tell me...

What’s wrong with this list?

Abraham Lincoln - 18%

Ronald Reagan - 16%

John Kennedy - 14%

Bill Clinton - 13%

Franklin Roosevelt - 9%

George Washington - 7%

Harry Truman - 3%

George W. Bush - 2%

Theodore Roosevelt - 2%

Dwight Eisenhower - 2%

Thomas Jefferson - 2%

Jimmy Carter - 2%

Gerald Ford - 1%

George H. W. Bush - 1%

Taken from a USA Today/Gallup poll