WP: Nation Is Again Divided Over Bush*

[kskiska]

Voters Split on Handling Of Iraq and Economy

By David S. Broder and Dan Balz
Sunday, November 2, 2003; Page A01

Two years after a surge of national unity in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the United States is once again a 50-50 nation, shaped by partisan divisions as deep as ever that stand between President Bush and reelection.

(snip)



"I give him a triple-A in leadership," said Jack Prevost, a corporate banker in Orlando. "He's from Texas, and he's a take-charge, get-out-and-make-a-decision, go-for-it kind of guy."

But Jeannie Clark, an Orlando mother of a 5-month-old, worries about the economy and dislikes Bush's leadership style. "The mentality of this administration," she said, "seems to be 'everybody be damned, we're going to do what we're going to do.' "

Voter interviews suggest that Bush has made few converts among those who voted against him in 2000, while some of those who backed him say they may not do so again unless there is clear improvement in the jobs picture and stabilization of the violence in Iraq.

(snip)

Bill Barnes, a Democratic businessman, was having a hamburger at a mall in Torrance, Calif. By the time of the California primary is over in early March, the Democrats may well have anointed a party leader. For now, Barnes is one of many Democrats with a bad case of Clinton nostalgia. "Even with the womanizing issue," he said, "I don't expect to see another president like Clinton in my lifetime. George Bush just followed a very good president."

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50026-2003Nov1.html

[Nottingham]

1. I don't believe this Propoganda! This is just a set up for

stealing the election in 2004

Now that Arnold is installed in California

And Texas redistricting is done

Everything is in place

:bounce:

I hope I'm wrong but thats what the set up sure looks like

[Faygo Kid]

3. You're not wrong

While this is increasingly turning into a "bash Dean" site, we lose the focus about who the REAL enemy is here, and how this gang will do anything to retain power. I will vote for any Dem who wins the nomination; the stakes are too high. But, will my vote even count? We may lose any integrity left in the process in 2004. An honest election is the LAST thing the BushBots want.

[PartyPooper]

2. But, isn't President George Bush a "uniter...and, not a divider"?

:eyes:

[Tatiana]

4. Yes, he is a uniter. Can't you tell?

He's united the rest of the world against us.

[DBoon]

21. If you eliminate your opposition

The what's left is united

[The Zanti Regent]

23. Broder is a world class liar who makes Göebbels insignificant

Why waste any time reading the WHORESHINGTON POST?

Everyone who writes for it is a Nazi propagandist and they have an undying love for der Führer!

[Tatiana]

5. Good article.

When they look at the nine candidates debating one another, many throw up their hands in despair. Tim Canty, who lives in the Detroit suburbs, has little use for Bush, but he despairs at the state of the Democratic Party. "They do not have an effective central leader with an effective central message," he said. "That is the weakness of the Democratic Party. They don't have a Clinton."

Seems to me like this is a consensus opinion. We need another Clinton-type President.

[Dagaz]

6. Should read They don't have a Clinton....yet

And the 50-50 title is misleading. The election is a full year away but right now it's clear that the party has no leader.

[Dudley_DUright]

7. Yes, but Clinton at an equivalent point in the '92 election season

was hardly on the radar screen and everyone assumed that Mario Cuomo was planning on running.

[Tatiana]

17. I don't mean '92 Clinton

I mean a man who has the wherewithal to accomplish what Clinton did during the term of his Presidency: a strong economy, having world-wide support, making the American dream a possibility for everyone.

I think the voters are looking for someone who is intelligent, politically savvy, and has vision; someone who has a plan and policy for this nation, but is flexible and able to hear all sides of an issue before making a decision.

We have several strong candidates who I believe fit the "Bill." But it will take time, money, and strong grass-roots support to educate the rest of the voting population about them.

[kodi]

9. read it more closely, broder skirted why people dont like bush...he lies

sorry guys, it was a very slick piece of propaganda.

take note:

in the first 3-4 paragraphs assessing the level of discontent over bush, broder failed to mention that people really dont like bush because he is a liar.

we can't have that mentioned, at all. oh no.

instead, broder mentioned the dissatisfaction with bush over tax cuts, the economy, or iraq, and used follow-up interview sound bits, to support these statements he made, but he beat around the bush on what it was about these issues that they did not like bush. broder tried to make it look like people are against bush merely because his policies are failures in the eyes of his antagonists, that all the dissatisfaction was over program content or lack of success of policies, not because bush lied through his teeth about all of these areas.

if one thought broder was giving us food for thought, you might as well eat an air sandwich and gain equivalent nourishment.

[graphixtech]

20. very well said kodi

the press silence continues to be deafening about the many Americans who actually
'mistrust, see through, are not stupid'
the white house communication office's propaganda and flat out LIES.

No matter they try to deny it, plenty of anger from good people who sincerely care about the future.

Setting the stage indeed - the reason for that extra smug smirk we witnessed the other day.

[Guaranteed]

11. Our Clinton is Howard Dean.

However, the mentality of many is that they have to deride and criticize anything that may bring hope. Thus the intense hatred toward Dean in recent weeks.

[kodi]

13. get a grip, no one "intensely hates" dean. some just dont think he can win

there is a quantum difference between not backing a candidate and hating him.

if you got your panties all wadded up in a bunch over people who dont think the sun shines out of howard dean's ass that's your problem, not theirs.

when one acts like mere criticism of their candidate amounts to spitting in their holy water, one's dependability for rational analysis is brought into question.

i happen to like dean, a lot, but the opportunities via his grass roots movement to help us enfranchise all of us is more important than dean, and even dean, every day, says this when he states clearly that the campaign is not about him, but us.

[Voltaire99]

18. Well said, Kodi. (n/t)

[KeepItReal]

16. Clinton had to break out of the pack to become the man

When he ran for President the first time, Al Gore was my candidate in that group. Bill Clinton made moves and won primaries and got to be the Democratic nominee and that leader the person you quoted is looking for.

The process of picking the next Democratic leader is working. Once that person is chosen, there'll be no guessing who the party's leader is.

As for not knowing what the party's message is, Tim Canty needs to either do some research or make his own suggestions...

[fizzana]

8. I think the weekly debates aren't helping any of the candidates

For the non-political junkie it's too much too soon and there is no way a clear leader can emerge from this "road show" format. Someone will emerge in time and the landscape will change.

At the same time we have to face the fact that far too many voting Americans believe all the political myths that the right wing repeat over and over and they will vote for Bush no matter what.

[Voltaire99]

19. They're helping something and someone more important.

The average US citizen.

These debates focus national attention on criticism of Bush. In the noxious post 9-11 climate, that is vital for breaking the totalitarian grip on our society.

That's far more important than the fortunes of these mere candidates.

[Imajika]

10. The headline sounded more promising...

...than the poll results.

I had expected these poll results might would reflect an even split in the electorate with Bush's approval rating at about 50%. Instead, a quick read of the article shows Bush at 56% approval. That is not very reassuring.

Yes, true the nation is divided on Bush - he certainly doesn't "unite" anything but his own party, but these results show Bush in pretty decent political shape heading into 2004.

With the election a year away, all of this is meaningless, but we have a lot of work to do.

Imajika

[Snellius]

12. What a crock: "There is little evidence of the voter anger"

What world is David Broder living in? He's been hanging around Washington cocktail party's too long.

[grasswire]

14. write to broder

[e-mail]

He reads his mail.

[The_Casual_Observer]

15. Now that Bush is below 60% they are promoting the how

good it is that he is above 50%.

The press is pushing the 7.2% GDP thing as much as Saddam's WMD prior to our illegal invasion, however the reality of this one is just as hollow. By next month this one will be discredited and they will be off on their next big lie.

[dusty64]

22. I've noticed that too.

Looks like they are setting chimp's low bar even lower.

[demgrrrll]

24. I hope this article about the Washington Post is still up, explains why

people like Broder are going to extremes to protect the chimp.
<http://www.makethemaccountable.com>. Scroll down for the article from 11/02/03 about the Washington Post's corruption. Greed.