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 Don
Quixote, the “mad knight” from the musical, Man of La Mancha, popped
into my head last week, as I read how the U.S. Senate overrode
President George W. Bush’s veto of the farm bill. The Senate vote
was 82-13. It seems as if our lame duck president must have a sign on
his desk that reads “don’t confuse me of the facts, my mind is already
made up.”
Of the 49 Republicans serving in the Senate, only 13 would back their
Republican President. What does that say for George Jr.? Sure sounds
like old Don Quixote fighting windmills on horseback.
I don’t care if our current president is a Republican, a Democrat, an
Independent, from the Green Party, or even the Pink Party. He’s lost
touch with reality.
I have some very close friends and relatives who are dyed-in-the-wool
Republicans, who have defended Junior through thick and thin. Through
five years of war in Iraq, squandering our children’s and
grandchildren’s future by more than doubling the national debt in the
seven plus years he’s been in office from less than $4 trillion to over
$9 trillion, they’ve stuck by him.
But when I ask these staunch supporters if they would still be Bush
fans if Junior was a Democrat, they become very quiet. Would they still
be supporting the war if a Democrat had ordered the “Shock and Awe”?
Like I’ve said before, I’m not a Republican, and I’m not a Democrat. I
vote for the person. Blindly supporting someone, just because he or she
is a Republican or a Democrat is fool hearty, at best. When over 80
percent of the members of the United Nations opposed our attack of
Iraq, the president of the most powerful nation on earth should have
listened.
According to the latest polls less than 30 percent of Americans feel
President Bush is doing a good job. Back in February, an astounding 77%
of those surveyed disapproved of Bush’s job performance. A full 79% of
those sampled from February 16-19, were critical of how the President
was handling the retreating economy and the war in Iraq.
Until Bush dipped below the 20% mark in February, it was Harry S.
Truman, in a Gallup Poll taken in February 1952, who previously held
the worst presidential approval rating at just 22%.
Further demonstrating the dour mood of the country, 78% of Americans,
more than three-fourths of the nation, believe the economy was getting
worse and 47% are confident the country is in a full-blown recession.
Even amid registered Republican voters, Bush still failed to break
through to a majority of supporters with only 45% of Republicans in
favor of Bush’s job performance. Look at the way Republican
Presidential hopeful John McCain continues to distance himself from
Bush?
Interestingly, among the desperate few who found favor with Bush’s
abilities, only 5% believed the economy would improve with Bush in the
White House. A certain sign that even Bush’s most ardent supporters
believe he is incapable of restoring the economy from its current
somber state.
Finally, of the 77% of Americans who disfavor Bush’s job as president,
a full 85% stated that the national economy was bad, very bad, or even
“terrible.”
The only optimism shown by those polled, indicated by a margin of 42%,
feel the national economy will improve a year from now – when Bush
returns to his Texas ranch.
I was talking politics with a friend of mine the other day and remarked
how our country hasn’t been in this bad of shape since Hubert Hoover
left the White House. My friend countered that poor Hubert may have
been at the helm when the Great Depression hit, but at least he didn’t
blindly lead us into a drawn out war.
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