Bush's approval rating falls (again)

Focusing takes all his energy

Good for Bush that he doesn't get influenced by "polls" "focus groups" or worldwide protests...he's focused on Dubya Dubya III.

 

No, Americans are getting swayed by liberals like universal that the economy is "terrible, and should be the number one priority." They must be right, for we are only growing at 2% right now, whereas during the "Roaring 90's", it was an astonishing 3%! Why do Americans expect an increasingly better quality of life? We are so lucky to have what we do.

 

I'm most impressed with the 14% who admitted to being "unsure" about his economic proposals. That number should have been closer to 80% though.

 

Re: Re: Bush's approval rating falls (again)

Damn right. When can we open up the soup lines?

Not sure how the growth is measured though. When my wife and I filed our taxes for 2002, our combined income was about 70% of what it was for the 2000 tax year. But I'm sure that's our fault.

I'm sure it's our fault that I was unemployed for four months from 11-2001 until 3-2002 and my wife was unemployed for five months from 6-2003 until 11-2003.

The economy is in perfect shape. Yeah, sure it is. And we're going to restore democracy to the Middle East. I saw it on tv.

 

Re: Re: Re: Bush's approval rating falls (again)

on Fox News no less!

 

We may have to update this map.

 

I would like to see the sampling methodology for the polls conducted in the Sudan.

 

Good one Ian.

Very good.

 

Well, his 9/11 boost has been frittered away, possibly for good. I think he gets another boost once the war kicks off, then when we get bogged down in Baghdad, his numbers start to dive again. Too early to star the Bush Countdown Calendar to his defeat, but its getting close.

Bill Q.

 

I find this fascinating. If yoy divide people into 3 groups-war, no war, war only if Hussein doen't destroy those missiles-the largest group is the last one. I wonder what that means. I guess one thing it means is that public opinion is still very, very much in play on this.

I think the guys who did this poll got together at a bar after work one day, and started tossing around the question of what would be the stupidest possible question to put into the poll. Then, as a joke, somebody put it into the script for callers, figuring common sense would get it taken out when they actually got the scripts into the call room.

 

Re: Re: Re: Bush's approval rating falls (again)

Don't talk to me about unemployment. My dad was unemployed for longer than that. But not once did i see him complain about the economy. He got several consulting jobs at sh**ty hours to get by. But never once did he complain about his situation in the morning when i could tell he was dead tired. Just because 9/11 dealt a crushing blow to our economy doesn't mean it's on bad shape now.It's slowing getting back up there. This whole argument about the economy is nothing but the democrats playing monday morning quaterback. They have to say something is wrong so they can further their political agenda. They have tried to yell about the war on terrorism, but that didn't play for the public. Plus, you never answered my question as to why the majority of Americans expect an ever increasing quality of life?

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Bush's approval rating falls (again)

Dude, do you really not know that the economy was in the shitter before 9/11 already? To be fair to Bush, the signs were there even before Clinton left office, if you belive the experts. (But now that would be true Monday Morning Quarterbacking, wouldn't it?)

 

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The economy is in the shitter right now. I am in the computer industry, and I have been consulting for the last ten years. I have NEVER been unemployed in that time except for last year. My wife has been consulting for about the last seven years and she has also never been unemployed until last June.

I can promise you that I know lots and lots of people in the previously recession-proof computer industry who are looking for work. I know a person who used to be a test lead with a good deal of experience, who was previously making about $60k/year, who is now working in retail making about $8/hour.

I know lots and lots of recruiters in the computer business who tell me "hold onto your job, because I have NOTHING on the horizon."

As for why we expect an ever increasing lifestyle, why the hell not? I'm a capitalist. That's what capitalism is all about.

 

Re: Re: Re: Bush's approval rating falls (again)

no one said the economy was in perfect shape but crying about the fact that it's not soaring like it was in the 90's. as long as you continue to work and spend in an effort to help improve it what the hell are you crying about?

do you have a job? does your wife? ok!
my girlfriend soon to be fiancee's dad has been out of a job for months and he sure as hell isn't crying about the economy he's been looking for a job. why because he's RATIONAL and understands that part of and economic system is plains and peaks. trust me he could have plenty to scream about. he's paying tuition for one of the most expensive schools in illinois including room and board. does he blame anyone? no i've talked to him about it and he's just looking for another job and knows with the other layoffs and his experience he'll get put in a spot where there where three or four people doing one persons job and they needed to cut down and put people in who were more qualified. ignoring the fact that with wealth and such many companies were over staffed is rediculous and that was alot of the problem. everything is balancing out. ask any rational economic observer and they'll tell you that.

what are you crying about again?

 

Weird coincidence that the good doctor and I both describe the economy as being in the shitter.

 

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Yeah, I have a job, and my wife has a job, and for the first time in our lives our pay has gone backwards. Do you seriously expect me to be happy about getting paid less?

Overstaffed my ass. People who are out of work are struggling, and people are losing their houses, their life savings, and all you can say is it's the result of being "overstaffed."

- edit - I just read your post. I meant my wife was unemployed from 6-2002 until 11-2002.

Huh indeed.

 

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Because it's drummed into our brains by your capitalist overlords! Just tonight, I was watching MSNBC and some stupid babe started gushing over the new Forbes "richest Americans" list as if it is a legitimate news item. Everyone out there thinks they are going to be the next Bill Gates.

Actually, I was talking to a friend the other day, and he put this very question to his class of college freshmen. Something along the lines of, "Who seriously thinks you will PROBABLY be ultra-wealthy some day?" A handful of the kids actually raised their hands. When he substituted with PROBABLY with QUITE POSSIBLY, most of the class of 22 student raised their hands. And this is a mid-tier state school...these are not pre-med or finance majors from UPenn, folks. We simply have a culture that is totally clueless about the reality of the marketplace, thanks to endless gaga journalists repeating those big numbers after names like Gates and Sam Walton.

 

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I am very confused! Can someone remind me what are the reasons that Bush used for his latest tax reduction proposals? Has Bush switched party?

 

Re: Re: Re: Bush's approval rating falls (again)

The -30% change must be due to your math skills.

I could ask if your job loss was related to the terror attacks of 9/11/01 because we couldn't really blame Bush for that one. But, I don't know what kind of work you do nor do I want to get too personal. I mean, your not an airline pilot, right?

Now, you wife is interesting. You said (in past tense no less) that "my wife was unemployed for five months from 6-2003 until 11-2003."

Does she plan some preemptive unemployment to hurt Bush's poll numbers?

 

Computer business. And my job loss had nothing to do with 9/11. I was consulting at Qwest and they had some problems, and were starting to cut jobs in the summer of '01.

As for my wife, I MEANT 2002, not 2003.

 

our entire tech wing at my office got cut to 3 people because the other 7 were software and were getting paid 60k to work half the day i know because i watched them.

my uncle bounced around in tech jobs for years and he regretted getting into the business. ignoring the fact that there was a rediculous amount of people in tech is being terribly ignorant. half those people were required to set up systems and stayed on regardless of the fact that it only took 1/4 for maintinence. overstaffing is a HUGE reason people lost their jobs. when you're overstating profits and your stock is soaring of course you can bring a ton of people in to make things run smoothly. now it equates to bringing people in when things go to ************ and firing them when it gets good to keep those profit margins. it's much easier.

i'd be curious to see how many of those jobless people were data entry, IT, or general staffers. i wonder if the economic report breaks that down. i'm the only person in data entry in my whole office. there were two of us over the summer i work overtime out of my ass but i don't complain i'm glad that i have a job. i'm about to take a huge pay cut when i go into the military while i make 1,150 bucks a year.

[humor]i blame DeVry's "get a tech job in 2 years" for all of this[/humor]

 

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Again, not to get so personal here. I don't care what line of work you do. But, could this be in any way related to your quality of work? Nobody would admit that one. Maybe you work in an industry where things bottomed out. I mean, could shareholders on some dot coms really have a leg to complain on after that over inflated bust? IE: can't blame Bush for that one either.

Regardless, just the other day in Columbus, Ohio the mayor faced some tough issues with the budget. He cut and tucked, delayed some projects, whatever. He then had to resort to possibly cutting some positions.

You see, the city workers have this union deal where the raises are based on a time table, years of service, etc. He asked to freeze all raises for three months. So, if in March you had a raise coming to you, you had to wait until June and that would push everyone back three months. If the union did not agree, he had to cut some 30 jobs (could have been as much as 50, but the exact number I forget).

The union did not agree, so now we have dozens out of work. Pay raise? Less pay? No, these are folks without jobs! Nice deal if you ask me.

Now, can you blame Bush for that one, too?

In some far off "saddam+ bin laden" type relationship we could see where Bush not only fails to feel your pain, but is the cause of it. I think you a better human being to have to sit in front of the television and blaming the president for all your troubles. It doesn't work and is not healthy.

I think quality of life is what you make of it. I think you have an eye and would sell most of your stuff and take pictures of Italy for a living. You might not make as much, but you might find more important things than money.

 

Hey, we got the middle part of Chile on our side, that's all we need.


Alex

 

You mean just months after Bush took office??


Alex