From 86+% to 30% : What dropped GWB?

[jpgray]

With the current Palin phenomena, we're seeing a groundswell of first-blush support based on cultural identification. This recalls in many ways the reaction to Bush in 2000. He was the recovering alcoholic who bought his ranch in '99, afraid of horses, who went to both Yale and Harvard. He became, however, the plainspoken, folksy cowboy everyone wanted to have a beer with. That brand of political pageantry (and a two-year assault on Gore using similar tools) was largely responsible for his ascendancy, and it naturally reached its fever pitch in mid September, for reasons of which we are all too aware this time of year.

The fact of his eroding popularity is indisputable, but what were the causes? What finally punctured his carefully marketed media persona, with which so many Americans identified? What cut through the cultural symbolism and simplistic "values" marketing, convincing people at last that they had fallen in love with a fraud and a failure? If you've had any conversations with former supporters who have abandoned Bush after loving him for several years, please post here what it was that finally made the difference. Particularly I'd be interested in how they felt in 2004, and why they feel so differently today. Other opinions or thoughts are welcome.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

1. Unvarnished Lying. Gross Stupidity. Complete Incompetence.

Chimpy is the ultimate extension of the Peter Principle: A person will rise to the level at which they are most incompetent.

[Labors of Hercules]

2. fuck the sentiment...

I just want to know how to get them to do the same thing with Palin in 4 weeks as opposed to 4 years.

[FreakinDJ]

3. He moved his lips ??

Seriously

Bush lies about Iraq were exposed by the lack of Weapons of Mass Destruction - No!

Folks got tired of the stagnent economy - YES

[jpgray]

14. That does seem to be what gets through--note Reagan's relatively unscathed ride through scandal

Hell, Abrams and Poindexter were right back in a GOP administration again.

[NRaleighLiberal]

4. My question is why 30%? Why not zero? 2 %? And why as high as 86%?

Just those numbers are enough to allow to realize why DU and the airwaves are filled with pages and pages about she who I refuse to name, rather than the disaster bearing down on Texas, the terrible economy, the Iraq and Afghanistan messes.

As a country, in general, we are totally fucked up.

[cameozalaznick]

5. A little lady named Katrina

The absolute incompetence in dealing with Katrina caused the press to start hammering him. It opened a lot of people's eyes. You can trace the descent in his approval ratings from that one event.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

6. Yes. Katrina was the tipping point

Scared little Chimpy's photo op flying over a drowning city just days after helping Grampy celebrate his birthday and, to paraphrase the Great Mark Knopfler, "bangin' on a guitar like a chimpanzee."

Condimelda shoe shopping. DicKKK in hiding. No one will ever know how many tens of thousands of people were killed by Katrina and Chimpco's incompetence and indifference.

[Yavin4]

9. It Took Dead Bodies Piling Up In The Streets of New Orleans

for the media to finally state that Bush was not qualified to run this govt.

The electronic news media live in a comfortable, White, upper middle class bubble. They send their kids to private school. They have agents negotiating their contracts with the networks. They don't worry about losing their jobs or healthcare, and even if they do lose their jobs, they get buyouts.

When it comes to politics, they do what their management tells them to do which was to sell and promote Bush.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

11. yes

[Bubbha Jo]

7. The truth dropped GWB......

It will do so with the Mc/P ticket if shined just right.

[jpgray]

8. Not enough truth out there in 2004? It seemed to be after the election that he fell precipitously

Quite a few options to choose from there, including Katrina and the downspiral of the economy that others have mentioned.

[Yavin4]

10. Incompetent People Can Always Talk Their Way Into Jobs

As an IT Supervisor, I know this full well. What always brings them down is the big fuck up. Sooner or later a big project comes along that destroys all pretenses.

[mzmolly]

12. People no longer trust him...

That's my simple answer?

[jpgray]

13. Was it just the exhaustive final weight of evidence? A slow chipping away?

Or was it getting hit in the pocketbook and in the heart with domestic failures on the economy, such as Katrina and the housing market? On such a complicated matter of mass opinion, it's almost impossible to tie down a single cause of change--any proffered "true cause" is interdependent on others. I'm curious if anyone has heard from a former Bush supporter (or a group of them) what changed their minds. It's anecdotal, but better than nothing.

[OHdem10]

15. Organized PR led bjy Rove, Marc MdKinnon,the womanwho had een

been his right arm in Texas. Bush had earlier(when he ran for Governor)
recognized in his first loss, that even though he was raised in Texas
he still had too much of his Eastern Seaboard Heritage. He delared to
his advisors when running the second time, I will Out-Texas, Ann Richards.
He changed his dress to more culturally Texas--Boots, certain belts etc.
He actually spent time in hangouts, churches, meeting places of people
not in his class. He learned the culture first hand.( He had done this
in the 2 years before the next run. Authenticity is used to describe
a person who is down to earth, very much at ease with working class
people--making them feel very comfortable in your presence. I give him credit for taking the time to learn. He had a movement--The RR were
the soldiers in his army.He had spent time in many states specifically with members of RR--not just their leaders. They are loyal to him to
this day.


Rove,Karen Hughes and Company convinced Gop who convinced Media on just how great GWB. MCKinnon was great with the videography and framing,

Never underestimate the Corporate Influence. Business knew Bush would
be their best buddy. Our Media is corporately owned. You cannot expect them to give up their jobs for truth.

[yurbud]

16. If I recall correctly it was Schiavo & Social Security. The GOP wanted to tell you when you could

unplug your relatives AND take away their social security check while they are still hooked up to the machines.

[jpgray]

17. That's another important aspect. I recall SS was where he sought to invest his "political capital"

[yurbud]

20. ''I want to invest my political capital transferring yur retirement capital to Ken Lay's account in

Aruba...Ooops. Ken's dead, so how can I send it to him? eh heh heh, eh heh heh. ahem.''

[Canuckistanian]

18. Assholetry

Beaucoup assholetry.

[yurbud]

19. a great commercial: ''Remember how everybody thought they could have a beer with Bush?''

That he was just a regular joe?

Then he sided with the companies outsourcing your job, the one that's foreclosing your house, and the ones bleeding you dry at the gas pump.

And he got over four thousand of our troops killed in a war with a country that was no threat to us. Your grandchildren will be paying the trillion dollar bill for that war long after you're gone.

Now Sarah Palin seems like someone you can have a beer with--but can you really afford it?

[jpgray]

21. It's pretty important, bizarrely, since this is the sort of marketing that dominates the media

[Kind of Blue]

22. Failure!

In my humble opinion the lies, katrina, hidden truth, etc., none of that would have mattered if he just didn't fail in Iraq. If only Iraq had been a success or he had captured Osama bin Laden, Bush could have done no wrong. America loves the idea of being superior, strong, invincible, and most of all in control. When the country was so brutally attacked it was not only painful but incredibly shocking! So since we're so strong it would be nothing to take out those impudent "sand niggers." I actually heard that phrase for the first and several times after 9/11. Since we didn't "win" in Iraq and we didn't capture the terrorist, the lies, katrina, et cetera all started to make sense and the country knew that it had been duped. It's incredible to me the number of people I feel are really smart and on the ball Democrats who voted for the idiot, twice! What's even more incredible is how they vehemently detest the man and talk about him to me as if we were on the same side all along. Secretly, I do think they hate him so much because he failed so miserably over and over and over again. Not one damn thing right. Ridiculous.

[gristy]

23. Good points. And welcome to DU!

:hi:

[Kind of Blue]

24. Thanks very much. Happy to be here!