This just in: Bush still sucks. Bush Rating at Record Low. Fox News Poll.

[destruction]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,169469,00.html

Poll: Bush Rating at Record Low

Thursday, September 15, 2005

By Dana Blanton

NEW YORK — Two weeks after Hurricane Katrina (search) made landfall on Louisiana, a new FOX News poll finds that Americans think hurricane relief should be President George W. Bush’s top domestic priority right now — outdistancing several other hot button issues, including the economy and gas prices. Bush’s approval rating has taken a hit since the hurricane and now sits at the lowest level of his presidency. The bright side of Katrina: A majority of the public thinks the hurricane will ultimately make the country stronger and most believe that Americans are pulling together more now than they have for previous disasters.

The poll finds that helping those affected by the hurricane should be the number one item on the president’s domestic to-do list. From a list of seven issue areas, a plurality (27 percent) says hurricane relief should be the top priority for Bush right now, the economy comes in second (17 percent), followed closely by homeland security (14 percent) and gas prices (10 percent). No other issue receives double-digit support, though at 9 percent health care comes closest — edging out Social Security (8 percent) and education (5 percent).

Today, 41 percent of voters approve and 51 percent disapprove of President Bush’s performance, which is the lowest job rating he has received in a FOX News poll. The president’s approval rating is down 4 percentage points from two weeks ago (45 percent, August 30-31), around the time the magnitude of Katrina’s damage was becoming clear. Before the hurricane, 47 percent approved and 44 percent disapproved (July 26-27).

For most of Bush’s presidency, approval among his party faithful has not only been well above 80 percent, but also for a significant amount of time above 90 percent. The average approval rating for his presidency among Republicans is 90 percent; today 81 percent approve. Bush’s approval rating has gone into single digits among Democrats, coming in at 8 percent in this week’s poll. For independents, 30 percent approve.

Opinion Dynamics Corporation conducted the national telephone poll of 900 registered voters for FOX News on September 13-14.

Ratings for Congress have actually improved slightly since Hurricane Katrina. Two weeks ago, 28 percent approved and 53 percent disapproved of the job Congress is doing (August 30-31). Today, 34 percent approve and 49 percent disapprove.

Last week Sen. Hillary Clinton (search), D-N.Y., called for an independent commission to investigate the government’s response to the catastrophe. By 46 percent to 32 percent voters think Clinton’s request was politically motivated rather than sincere. In addition, more than twice as many respondents think Democrats (40 percent) are trying to use the hurricane for political gain than think Republicans are (15 percent), though one in five think both sides are.

Voters are somewhat more likely to blame state and local governments in Louisiana and Mississippi than the federal government for the problems responding to Hurricane Katrina. Forty-two percent say the state and local governments are more responsible, while 29 percent say the federal government and 19 percent say "both." Earlier this week President Bush said, "To the extent the federal government didn’t fully do its job right, I take responsibility," and yesterday Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (search) made a similar comment.

If a disaster were to strike in their area, clear majorities say their state (62 percent) and local (62 percent) officials are prepared to handle it. An even higher number — 71 percent — say their family is prepared.

Many Americans (57 percent) support people being forced to leave their homes during a mandatory evacuation, with less than half as many (25 percent) in support of allowing people to stay no matter what. If given one or two days notice of a potential disaster, the poll finds hardly any Americans (5 percent) say they would stay put, as fully 83 percent say they would evacuate.

"These figures show a common problem in survey research," comments Opinion Dynamics Chairman John Gorman. "People have faith in their own government and their own behavior, but are ready to fault others. While hurricane alerts will probably get more respect for the next couple of years, human nature being what it is, we can expect that history will repeat itself, if not on the scale of Katrina, sooner rather than later."

At 33 percent, hurricanes top the list of natural disasters most likely to keep people from living in a certain area of the country, followed by earthquakes (26 percent), tornadoes (14 percent) and floods (12 percent).

Some blame global warming for Katrina’s extraordinary strength (22 percent), however more than half (56 percent) think the storm’s power was more likely a random act of nature. A sizable 40 percent minority believes natural disasters are messages from a higher being, but just over half disagree (51 percent).

Though opinion is sharply divided, a slim plurality of Americans say they are more concerned about a natural disaster (36 percent) than about a terrorist attack (34 percent) happening in their area. Twenty-one percent say neither threat concerns them.

Nearly half think the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will have a greater, long-term affect on the country, while 28 percent think Hurricane Katrina will and 21 percent think both equally.

A few positive highlights: A majority (56 percent) thinks that in the future New Orleans will come back better than it was before, 61 percent think Hurricane Katrina will ultimately make the country stronger and 71 percent say they feel like Americans are pulling together more in response to Katrina than they have for previous disasters.

An overwhelming 86 percent say they have prayed for the victims and 73 percent say they have donated money to a relief organization. Moreover, a sizable majority is confident (21 percent "very" and 47 percent "somewhat") the donated funds are reaching those in need.

The hurricane has spurred another kind of action as well, as almost four in 10 say that since Katrina they have taken steps to prepare their family for an emergency.

Gas Prices

On the issue of gas prices, almost all Americans say they are taking action: 85 percent say they have tried to conserve gasoline, including over half that say they have tried to conserve "a lot."

The poll finds that a 57-percent majority supports suspending the federal gasoline tax until gas prices come down.

Who controls prices anyway? Without the aid of being read a list, just over a third (36 percent) say they think domestic oil producers have the most control over gas prices, while roughly equal numbers think the government (13 percent), OPEC (12 percent) and the president (10 percent). Only 5 percent think consumers control prices.

Even so, two-thirds say they would "seriously be willing" to join a nation-wide movement to cut gasoline consumption by 10 percent to get the attention of oil producers.

• PDF: Click here for full poll results.

[vicman]

btw, anyone knows how the fuck the federal govmnt gonna pay for the reconstruction? no new taxes, and i imagine military spending in iraq will remain untouched as well as all those pork barrel projects passed with the transportation bill- maybe by budget cuts in education, health and human services, MEDICARE, MEDICAID, etc., etc., etc.

[bigpoppanils]

btw, anyone knows how the fuck the federal govmnt gonna pay for the reconstruction? no new taxes, and i imagine military spending in iraq will remain untouched as well as all those pork barrel projects passed with the transportation bill- maybe by budget cuts in education, health and human services, MEDICARE, MEDICAID, etc., etc., etc.

the GOP ended its campaign to end the estate tax for now.

the US government will probably just borrow its way out....like the goverment has been doing for the past 25 years.

[vicman]

noice. borrow $ from japan, korea, china - really helps in national security.

[drlogic]

F-ing republicans...Make me sick....

What are we gonna do now? Oh my God! What are we gonna do???

waaah,,,wahhhhhwaaaahh,,

Damn those terrorist! Damn Mother Nature! Damn Bush! Damn the democrats,,,,ooopp..that last one was a mistake,,,i mean,,,damn Bush! Damn Republicans,,,,,,,

wwwhhaaaaaaahhhhhhhh--

mama,,mama.,,,mama!!!!!!!

I hate this world, I hate Bush and I hate myself......There's no place like home,,there's no place like home.........todo? is that you?

LOL...

U guys are friggin' pathetic!

Get a grip! Get a hold of yourself man! Did you get sand in your clit or something!!

Act like a man for crying out loud!

LOL

[destruction]

F-ing republicans...Make me sick....

What are we gonna do now? Oh my God! What are we gonna do???

waaah,,,wahhhhhwaaaahh,,

Damn those terrorist! Damn Mother Nature! Damn Bush! Damn the democrats,,,,ooopp..that last one was a mistake,,,i mean,,,damn Bush! Damn Republicans,,,,,,,

wwwhhaaaaaaahhhhhhhh--

mama,,mama.,,,mama!!!!!!!

I hate this world, I hate Bush and I hate myself......There's no place like home,,there's no place like home.........todo? is that you?

LOL...

U guys are friggin' pathetic!

Get a grip! Get a hold of yourself man! Did you get sand in your clit or something!!

Act like a man for crying out loud!

LOL

[musichead]

WELL LETS SEE WHO THEY SPIN AND BLAME THIS ONE...ON

AT LAST THE SOUTH SEE THAT BUSH AND HES BOYS ARE MORONS ....

MONEY IS THERE JESUS .....TAX CUTS -9 11 -TAX CUTS -IRAQ WAR -TAX CUTS - NEW ORLEANS -AND MORE TAX CUTS .....GET THE PATTERN

AND PLEASE BLAME THE DEMOCRATICS ...THEY SHOULD HAVE KICKED OUT BUSH BEFORE HE GOT IN ....WHAT DOES HE HAVE TOO DO BEFORE THEY SEE A GAP TOO GET THE PEOPLE TOO REALISE THEY HAVE SOME BALLS...

BUSH WILL INVADE MOTHER NATURE OR SO HE PROBABLY THINKS OR NOT AS WE KNOW ...THIS IS GLOBAL WARMING AND PROBABLY BE NOT THE WORST PROBLEM ...CHECK OUT WWW.CLIMATECHANGE.NET

[destruction]

Bush approval rating at 40 percent

Majority disapprove of the handling of Katrina, Iraq

Monday, September 19, 2005; Posted: 8:23 p.m. EDT (00:23 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's vow to rebuild the Gulf Coast did little to help his standing with the public, only 40 percent of whom now approve of his performance in office, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Monday.

Just 41 percent of the 818 adults polled between Friday and Monday said they approved of Bush's handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, while 57 percent disapproved.

And support for his management of the war in Iraq has dropped to 32 percent, with 67 percent telling pollsters they disapproved of how Bush is prosecuting the conflict.

The survey had a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Fifty-nine percent said they considered the 2003 invasion of Iraq a mistake. That figure is the highest recorded in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.

Only 39 percent said the invasion of Iraq was the right thing to do. Sixty-three percent said they wanted to see some or all U.S. troops withdrawn from that country.

Just 35 percent of those polled approved of Bush's handling of the economy, with 63 percent saying they disapproved.

Bush's overall job approval number was 40 percent, with 58 percent of those surveyed telling pollsters they disapproved of his performance in office. It is the second time his approval rating has hit that low a mark.

His personal qualities hit fresh lows: Only 49 percent called him a strong and decisive leader, down from 54 percent in July and 51 percent in August. Just 42 percent said he cares about people like themselves, and 47 percent called him honest and trustworthy.

By contrast, 51 percent did not consider him strong and decisive, 50 percent would not call him honest and 56 percent said he didn't care about people like them.

The poll did contain one bright spot for Bush, as 60 percent of those surveyed supported the confirmation of John Roberts, his pick for chief justice of the United States. Just 26 percent opposed Roberts' confirmation, while 14 percent had no opinion.

New Orleans speech

In a nationally televised speech Thursday from New Orleans' Jackson Square, Bush pledged to put the full might and money of the federal government behind the rebuilding of the hurricane-stricken region

He also vowed to find out what went wrong during the disaster response so that it never happens again.

He said the federal government will cover the "great majority" of the costs of reconstruction, estimated at $150 billion and up.

And he conceded that the response to the disaster overwhelmed "every level of government" in the days following the hurricane.

But only 25 percent of those polled said they had great confidence in his administration's ability to rebuild the city and other Gulf Coast communities battered by Katrina, which slammed ashore August 29.

Another 43 percent said they had a moderate amount of confidence in the administration, 21 percent said they had little confidence and 10 percent said they had none.

Nearly 900 deaths have been blamed on Katrina, which struck near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line.

The chaotic response and sharp criticism of federal authorities prompted the resignation of Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown and raised fears that the federal response to a major terrorist attack would be equally disorganized.

Fifty percent of those polled said they feared the federal government would spend too much on reconstruction.

Forty-five percent said Americans should make "major sacrifices" to pay for the effort, but only 20 percent said they would be willing to make those sacrifices themselves.

Seventeen percent said they would be willing to pay higher taxes to support reconstruction efforts, and 15 percent favored financing the cost with more deficit spending. Six percent said they would pay for reconstruction efforts with cuts in domestic spending.

War spending

Fifty-four percent told pollsters they would cut spending for the war in Iraq to pay for disaster relief.

Thirty percent favored a full U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and slightly more -- 33 percent -- said they would support a partial withdrawal.

Only 26 percent said they wanted to keep the number of troops at the current level of 138,000, and 8 percent said they wanted to see more troops deployed there.

A U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq in March 2003 based on the contention that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was concealing weapons of mass destruction in violation of U.N. resolutions and could have provided those weapons to terrorists.

No such weapons were found after Saddam's ouster, though a U.S. probe found Baghdad concealed some weapons-related research from U.N. inspectors.

Nearly 1,900 U.S. troops and an estimated tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed since the invasion.

The Bush administration now says U.S. troops are needed to secure the establishment of a democratic government in Iraq.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/19/bush.poll/index.html

[vicman]

deficit is simple math - even a 1st grader would see that.

iraq + hurricane relief + more tax cuts + borrowing more $ = a whole lotta deficit in the short term and recession in the long term.

something's gotta give.

[drlogic]

deficit is simple math - even a 1st grader would see that.

iraq + hurricane relief + more tax cuts + borrowing more $ = a whole lotta deficit in the short term and recession in the long term.

something's gotta give.

But every administration in history runs deficits.....That just is!

Clinton ran a deficit until his 6th year in office. The surplus his supporters love to brag about were 10 year projected surpluses.

You forgot to note the mild recession of 1999-2000, effects of 9/11, stock market bubble popping, creation of homeland security dept., war in Afgan and Iraq, now Katrina, etc....

You forgot to note that because of the tax cuts the economy has roared at record pace and as of last month, unemployment was at 4.9%. Kartina will change that, but regardless, we were moving in the right direction. Clinton lowest unemployment rate during both his terms was 6% which back then was commonly refered to as practically being 100% employment. Tax cuts are what saved the economy from all of those things I noted earlier (recession, 9/11, war, natural disasters). If you raise taxes, you stop economic growth, which drastically reduceses the yield from the tax hike. Basically, the gov't can collect more taxes from a growing economy than from tax hikes which will render economic growth impotent. SIMPLE MATH, right?

[bigpoppanils]

Tax cuts are what saved the economy from all of those things I noted earlier (recession, 9/11, war, natural disasters). If you raise taxes, you stop economic growth, which drastically reduceses the yield from the tax hike. Basically, the gov't can collect more taxes from a growing economy than from tax hikes which will render economic growth impotent.

you are leaving out the important role of interest rates which are not controlled by US presidents. crediting tax cuts alone makes no sense whatsover. simplifying the tax code, instead of cutting rates, would also help.

all the tax cuts in the world will not help if rates are too high.

the tax cuts helped somewhat, but so did cutting rates.

SIMPLE MATH, right?

not if it goes too far. if taxes are cut too much too soon, the effects on the government's financial health can be dire.

But every administration in history runs deficits.....That just is!

Clinton ran a deficit until his 6th year in office.

no they don't. from 1945 through 1970, the US government managed to break even almost every year, despite costs related to the arms race, NASA, expanding social programs, the Korean War, and rebuilding europe. then Nixon came along

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2002/guide04.html

[destruction]

you are leaving out the important role of interest rates which are not controlled by US presidents. crediting tax cuts alone makes no sense whatsover. simplifying the tax code, instead of cutting rates, would also help.

all the tax cuts in the world will not help if rates are too high.

the tax cuts helped somewhat, but so did cutting rates.

not if it goes too far. if taxes are cut too much too soon, the effects on the government's financial health can be dire.

no they don't. from 1945 through 1970, the US government managed to break even almost every year, despite costs related to the arms race, NASA, expanding social programs, the Korean War, and rebuilding europe. then Nixon came along

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2002/guide04.html

Give it up bigpoops. Pedos (dr logic) know nothing about economics. He's getting his drivel from politicalteen.com

[vicman]

i'll sincere and say that i'm not an economist and beyond handling my own finances i know nothing about economics - but it should really make one think long and hard when both sides are starting to question how the white house plans to finance the reconstruction with a war going on and a possibility of further destruction from another hurricane.

[drlogic]

you are leaving out the important role of interest rates which are not controlled by US presidents. crediting tax cuts alone makes no sense whatsover. simplifying the tax code, instead of cutting rates, would also help.

can't argue w/ that,,,except that president really don't have the power to implement tax cuts. presdients don't have all this power some assume they do. Congress has always had all the power. Congress controlls the $, not the president.

all the tax cuts in the world will not help if rates are too high.

and rates are still at record lows, are they not?

the tax cuts helped somewhat, but so did cutting rates.

fair enough

not if it goes too far. if taxes are cut too much too soon, the effects on the government's financial health can be dire.

gov't is bloated in my opinion anyways. prvt. industry has always been able to do more w/ less and provide a much better product at the same time.

The military is about the only good thing the gov't does well. To rely on gov't is to set oneself up for disappointment. The power should be w/ the people, not the gov't.

no they don't. from 1945 through 1970, the US government managed to break even almost every year, despite costs related to the arms race, NASA, expanding social programs, the Korean War, and rebuilding europe. then Nixon came along

Nixon came along and?????????????Ended war in S.E. Asia?, Improved relations between USSR & China..........well,,here read this :

His accomplishments while in office included revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. As he had promised, he appointed Justices of conservative philosophy to the Supreme Court. One of the most dramatic events of his first term occurred in 1969, when American astronauts made the first moon landing.

Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in his quest for world stability. During visits in 1972 to Beijing and Moscow, he reduced tensions with China and the U.S.S.R. His summit meetings with Russian leader Leonid I. Brezhnev produced a treaty to limit strategic nuclear weapons. In January 1973, he announced an accord with North Viet Nam to end American involvement in Indochina. In 1974, his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, negotiated disengagement agreements between Israel and its opponents, Egypt and Syria.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2002/guide04.html

[obby]

you are leaving out the important role of interest rates which are not controlled by US presidents. crediting tax cuts alone makes no sense whatsover. simplifying the tax code, instead of cutting rates, would also help.

can't argue w/ that,,,except that president really don't have the power to implement tax cuts. presdients don't have all this power some assume they do. Congress has always had all the power. Congress controlls the $, not the president.

all the tax cuts in the world will not help if rates are too high.

and rates are still at record lows, are they not?

the tax cuts helped somewhat, but so did cutting rates.

fair enough

not if it goes too far. if taxes are cut too much too soon, the effects on the government's financial health can be dire.

gov't is bloated in my opinion anyways. prvt. industry has always been able to do more w/ less and provide a much better product at the same time.

The military is about the only good thing the gov't does well. To rely on gov't is to set oneself up for disappointment. The power should be w/ the people, not the gov't.

no they don't. from 1945 through 1970, the US government managed to break even almost every year, despite costs related to the arms race, NASA, expanding social programs, the Korean War, and rebuilding europe. then Nixon came along

Nixon came along and?????????????Ended war in S.E. Asia?, Improved relations between USSR & China..........well,,here read this :

His accomplishments while in office included revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. As he had promised, he appointed Justices of conservative philosophy to the Supreme Court. One of the most dramatic events of his first term occurred in 1969, when American astronauts made the first moon landing.

Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in his quest for world stability. During visits in 1972 to Beijing and Moscow, he reduced tensions with China and the U.S.S.R. His summit meetings with Russian leader Leonid I. Brezhnev produced a treaty to limit strategic nuclear weapons. In January 1973, he announced an accord with North Viet Nam to end American involvement in Indochina. In 1974, his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, negotiated disengagement agreements between Israel and its opponents, Egypt and Syria.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2002/guide04.html

Doesn't matter. It's still Bush's fault. I don't care what logic you throw in our faces.

LOL

Welcome to the board bro. Have fun with some of these sissies.

[drlogic]

i'll sincere and say that i'm not an economist and beyond handling my own finances i know nothing about economics - but it should really make one think long and hard when both sides are starting to question how the white house plans to finance the reconstruction with a war going on and a possibility of further destruction from another hurricane.

Niether am I. If I were king for a day, I'd start w/ cutting all the fat in domestic spending. Whether it's the highway bill or tweaking the farm bill, etc........We've had record spending on education and social programs under Pres. Bush (more than any other president in history). So, I'm not going down the road of the misinformed who'll say Bush will start cutting education, welfare, etc....

[bigpoppanils]

Nixon came along and?????????????Ended war in S.E. Asia?, Improved relations between USSR & China..........well,,here read this :

His accomplishments while in office included revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. As he had promised, he appointed Justices of conservative philosophy to the Supreme Court. One of the most dramatic events of his first term occurred in 1969, when American astronauts made the first moon landing.

Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in his quest for world stability. During visits in 1972 to Beijing and Moscow, he reduced tensions with China and the U.S.S.R. His summit meetings with Russian leader Leonid I. Brezhnev produced a treaty to limit strategic nuclear weapons. In January 1973, he announced an accord with North Viet Nam to end American involvement in Indochina. In 1974, his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, negotiated disengagement agreements between Israel and its opponents, Egypt and Syria.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2002/guide04.html

how is this related to fiscal policy? that was what we were discussing.

[drlogic]

how is this related to fiscal policy? that was what we were discussing.

Did you read the entire post? I guess not, so I'll explain:

The implication was made that deficits started w/ Nixon. There was no elaborating or specifics,,,,,just "then Nixon came along". So I asked the question "Nixon came along and?????????????" and expanded on the issue to help bring perspective to the issue.

Need me to elaborate further?